Dancing for the Lord The Academy - By Emily Goodman Page 0,68

surprised her. “It’s just—well—thanks, Danni.”

She tossed a smile back at her family. “Grab six seats in the dining room,” she told them. “We’ll meet you there.”

“You don’t have your own special table?” her father demanded. “Stars of the show and everything?”

“Nope.” Nick grinned. “We have a special bedtime, though, with another performance tomorrow night.” He was preparing the way for them to leave early, Danni noticed—and doing it effortlessly.

He turned apologetic as soon as they were away, however. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “They’re probably just in for the one night—you’ll want to spend time with them. I—“

“Need someone to make sure you ice that shoulder before you fall into bed,” Danni cut in before he could say anything. “And in the meantime, why don’t you take a couple of Advil? It should at least help with the swelling.”

He grimaced. “I finished my bottle off this morning,” he admitted.

She stared at him. “You’ve been hitting it hard,” she realized.

“I’m hurting, Danni.” Nick’s voice was low. “Honestly, I don’t want to do this tonight. I want to go home, curl up on that stack of pillows, and ice my shoulder until it stops screaming at me—and I can’t do that until they’re out of here, because there isn’t a single person in this room who will understand it if I cut out early.”

She squeezed his hand firmly. “We’ll leave early,” she promised. “Make whatever excuse you need to.”

He stopped abruptly and groaned. “I’m not going to have to make an excuse,” he said grimly.

Danni turned to stare at him, concerned. Was his shoulder really bothering him that much? But no—the expression on his face was from more than physical pain. “What’s the matter?” she asked cautiously.

Nick grimaced, gesturing with his head without moving any part of his body. “Well…remember how I told you that my mom would probably be here tonight?”

“Yes….”

“And I probably implied in the process—though I didn’t actually come out and say it—that my dad wouldn’t be joining her.”

She nodded.

“Well…that’s my mom.” He shifted so that she could follow his gaze. “And the man beside her…is my dad.”

Chapter Twelve

“That’s your dad.” Danni frowned. “He doesn’t look particularly scary,” she pointed out patiently.

“Oh, he’s not scary,” Nick admitted readily. “He’s just…not a big fan of me dancing.”

“You’d think, as good as you are, that he’d cut you a little slack,” she told him softly.

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you? And yet here we sit, and we’re about to be in for a wonderfully hostile confrontation.” Nick grimaced. “All right. Let’s do this.” He didn’t make any move to flag his parents down as he waded back into the crush of people. Halfway to them, however, he stopped. “Do me a favor?” he asked her quietly.

Danni waited. As much as Nick’s mood had changed in the last few minutes, she had the feeling that she needed to hear what the favor was before she agreed to it.

He smiled briefly, acknowledging her wisdom in not agreeing immediately. “Don’t tell my parents I’m hurt, okay?”

She started to argue with him. Didn’t his family, at least, have the right to know how he was feeling? On the other hand, if he wanted to keep it to himself, that was his business—and if the look in his eyes was any indication, there was reason enough for it, whether she wanted to admit it or not. “Okay,” she said simply.

Nick squeezed her hand gratefully—and then there was no more chance to discuss anything, because they were standing in front of the couple that he had pointed out earlier.

“Hey, Mom,” Nick said lightly. “Dad.”

“Nick, you looked wonderful out there!” His mother hugged him warmly. “I know you said you were dancing the part of the prince, but I hadn’t realized just how intense it is!”

“Oh, there are roles that are more intense.” Including a couple that required a good bit more energy—which Nick was suddenly grateful that he hadn’t had to summon.

“Well, you were perfect,” she insisted. “I’m so glad we got to come.”

“I’m glad you were here, too. But hey, don’t give me too much credit, Mom.” Nick was aware that his father wasn’t more than a few inches away, but he made no effort whatsoever to pull him into the conversation. They’d been down that road before, and it never, never ended well.

“And this is your partner—the Katarina you mentioned at the first of the year?” The words emerged as a question.

“Oh—no. Kat…got hurt.” Which was all Nicholas intended to say about it no matter how