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My eyes flickered open to see a beautiful wash of orange and yellow beaming through my window. It took a moment to get my bearings, and when I did, my first thought was of Nicolette—had she behaved, or gotten into trouble while I’d slept? An urgency to check on her had me grabbing the first available item of clothing, a pair of silk pajama pants. Throwing them on, I made my way down the hallway to where I’d last seen her.

The apartment was way too quiet. A knot formed in my gut as I crossed to her room and found the bed untouched.

Shit.

Had she really disappeared again? On the dresser sat an open duffle bag that had seen better days. Strewn around its battered frame were a host of used ballet shoes and ribbons. Their worn appearance told the story of the person who had worked them so thoroughly—dedication, passion and hard work were all evident in the duct-taped, sweat-stained slippers.

The patio door, which had been closed and locked when I showed her the room, was now open. She must have gone out to the deck. I stepped to the side of the open doorway and spotted her in the center of the stage. I should have known she wouldn’t be able to resist it.

I could just make out the white tails of the air pods she wore in her ears as she spun on one foot. She looked so powerful, spinning graceful arcs on the tip of her toe shoe. I counted the revolutions. One, two, three, four, five. She landed on the sixth, and dipped into a perfect plié. That was one of the few ballet terms I still remembered from back in the day. She switched legs and repeated what she’d just done on the other side, performing it equally well.

When had her body turned into a work of living art? She’d always been a dancer, but she’d become so much more, and I couldn’t help but admire the dichotomy of her delicate fragility and strength.

Even the sweat that covered her body seemed like a magical elixir, and it was hard seeing the real Nicolette at that moment. Memories assaulted me and my thoughts drifted back in time to when Nicolette was accepted into the performing arts program.

“What’s taking so long?” Marko demanded in my ear. “Maybe we should go back there.”

My entire family had come out to see Nicolette’s first major performance. She wasn’t the only one performing of course, but the audience was waiting for her solo which was the final performance of the night.

“Relax, she’ll be on in a moment.”

And almost like I’d flipped a switch, the lights dimmed, and the music came on.

Nicolette’s costume consisted of a skintight white tunic and shorts. There wasn’t much hidden from view, her beautiful muscular legs seemed impossibly long as she leapt across the stage. I quickly looked around to see who was staring, but everyone was, including my brothers. Romeo caught me glaring, and smirked defiantly.

Bastardo! He knew exactly what I was going through. Marko was glowing like a proud Daddy, and I wanted to punch him so hard. Didn’t he see how everyone was coveting what was ours?

“Stop trying to threaten everyone and watch her. She’s amazing,” he chastised me.

I swiveled my head back to the stage in time for her movements to shift from classical to modern style dance. She swirled her hips and performed impossible bends with her body that had everyone in the audience gasping. She was a star, and I decided right there and then that I would do whatever it took to get her on every stage in the world if that is what she wanted.

I’d beelined to the backstage the moment her dance ended and found her bent over, trying to catch her breath…

Niki had stopped dancing and was leaning on her thighs just like she had been backstage that night, her breathing no less labored than it had been then. Time should have changed everything, yet watching her now felt painfully familiar.

Back then, I’d thought the future was already written. Marko and I had plans. Nicolette was at the center of all of them.

Instead, she left.

The old ache I hadn’t felt in years stirred to life. Not because she’d returned, but because seeing her reminded me of everything we’d lost along the way.

My father’s words drifted back to me.

“Because Giovanni, you offered her the world and once she’s done running and sees how dark a place it is without you to protect her, she’ll be back. Eventually she’ll realize who has always stood beside her. That little girl isn’t meant to face this world alone. Sooner or later she’ll discover that for herself, and then it’s up to you to take her in, or cast her away, but remember, my son, it’s not you she is running from, or Marko, but her demons. Or perhaps she is chasing and not running. Regardless, she still has a choice to make, one you can’t make for her.”

To hide both the old wound reopening and my admiration of what she’d become, I kept my expression neutral as I stepped forward and offered my hand.

“Amazing, Niki. Great job.”

The praise came out so naturally that it took a minute for my carefully crafted façade to drop back into place.

She placed her delicate hand in mine and stepped down. “Thanks. Don’t worry, I’ll quickly get cleaned up and be ready for dinner.”

Dinner? Right, I’d said dinner was at six.

“Don’t be late, tesorina, or there will be consequences.” I quickly stalked away before I said anything else that could get me into trouble. We hadn’t even kissed and already I was done for. Her presence chipped away at my resistance.

I placed an order for her favorite dish at Vincenzo’s restaurant and had one of my men pick it up. I was just uncorking a bottle of red from my family’s vineyard when she entered the room dressed in a body-hugging white mini dress with no bra, and it was all I could do to keep my jaw from dropping.