Prima - Alta Hensley Page 0,25

Sun Times than for your typical tabloid, but hardly a surprise,” I murmured, barely listening once he’d admitted to backing off in the interview.

Instead, my mind was all over the place. What the hell was I going to do now? Was I really willing to break all of my cardinal rules for this woman? Sure, I felt an intense connection with her, but I couldn’t honestly deny there was a good chance it was a physical thing. If that was the case, then it would fade away eventually anyway. Brief infatuation was really not worth risking everything I’d spent my life working toward.

But sweet Jesus. That kiss.

How could I even look her in the eye again? How would I be in the same room with her without remembering how she’d melted in my arms from the heat of that kiss? This was the exact reason why I knew I shouldn’t get close with anyone at work. It would be damn near impossible to be around Clara again without these questions churning my insides, much less having to deal with the memory of those soft lips and that incredible body against mine.

Imagining Yuri finding out about the kiss was enough to have me shutting it all down even more. If he were to hear anything about this, then my little brother would have a real reason to give me hell. He’d enjoy every fucking moment, too, and that was the last thing I wanted.

But it would be deserved. I couldn’t flaunt the rules and taunt the devil and not expect to be placed squarely in hell.

9

Clara

My heart pounded at rapid speed as I gripped the barre backstage, waiting for my cue to make my very first appearance on stage. Tonight’s performance signified the beginning of my new career. This made all my recent decisions so much scarier, much more real, and the full force of my new life was really beginning to affect me.

Training was one thing. It had been hard enough to win the other dancers over — which I’d succeeded at least a tiny bit — but it was a battle I still fought day by day. I was also acutely aware winning the respect of the ballet world as a whole was going to be something else.

Moving mindlessly through one position to the next to give myself something to do, I used the time to steady my nerves, attempting to calm myself. I knew once I stepped onto the stage, I was heading back into the limelight, and all that came with it.

I was not only scared for me about going into this. Although I was really not looking forward to the idea of even more negative publicity, I worried what that negativity would do to others who didn’t deserve it. I was also scared for my grandmother and her health. She had been thrilled, over the moon for me to return to the one thing that had always made me so happy, especially when she saw how serious I was about my comeback. But I was afraid about having to leave her alone. She’d been okay so far. We’d been introducing the help of home healthcare nurses, and all had been fine, but I was still around at the moment. It wasn’t always going to be that way. If tonight went well and sponsors began to want me again…

“Okay, Simyoneva,” Yuri said in a quiet but firm tone as he maneuvered through the obstacles of ropes, lights, props, and dancers as if they didn’t exist. “I’ve been thinking about it. Because of the fact that somehow more press than the few we contacted found out about this little show, and because of how we are trying to move forward and not look back, you know I’d already decided we need to do zero interviews before the opening curtain. And depending how the performance goes tonight, maybe none after.”

I didn’t know if I wanted to jump up and hug the man thanking him for saving me from the ugliness I well knew could be hidden behind supposedly innocent questions, or to shout at him in anger asking what the hell he was thinking. Not only were interviews part of the gig, they were part of my contract. Alek expected me to not only perform flawlessly on stage, he was counting on me putting myself out there and building up the ballet company. I’d not said anything when Yuri informed me pre-performance interviews had been nixed. Even if some