arm relaxes, and a wave of pride rushes through me as I stare at her.
“That was my first professional production,” she replies, biting back her smile.
“I’ll never forget that ballet,” the woman says, almost looking emotional. “It was by far my favorite.”
“Mine too,” Hanna replies.
“Are you still with the company? I’d love to see you dance again.”
Hanna handles this with so much grace, it’s unbelievable. With a pleasant smile and a look of gratitude, she simply replies, “I’m actually retired. But I’m honored to hear you say that.”
“Well, good for you,” the woman replies.
They talk a moment longer about ballet, and if Hanna wasn’t the center of attention, I would end this conversation quickly, but I don’t want to steal this from her.
My dad has other plans because just then he steps up to the podium and calls my name, asking me to say a few words.
Fuck, I hate this part.
But I manage it without looking like a complete idiot. Standing at the front of the room, next to him, I do my best to address everyone, but I only see two people.
The rest of the party wraps up quickly, and I lose track of Hanna for a moment as we say our goodbyes, and I’m crossing the room in a hurry before I feel a hand on my arm. Spinning around, I come face to face with Zara.
“Hey!” she says, stopping me as my eyes still dance around the room. “I haven’t been able to say anything to you all night.”
“Oh, sorry. It was busy.”
She’s being strange, looking at me with skepticism as she forces a smile. I know her well enough to know her real ones to know that’s not it.
Her hand lands on my arm. “You know we’re proud of you, right?”
I scoff, rolling my eyes. “Don’t say it like that. It’s weird.”
There’s a hint of humor in her eyes. “Well, whatever. You know what I mean.”
I try to relax for a moment, stopping my search for Hanna as I let myself talk to Zara for a moment. “You look beautiful tonight.” And she does with a new glow in her cheeks and sleek black dress I keep my eyes from glancing down.
“I’m sorry you had to third wheel it with them,” she says carefully.
Shrugging in response, I run my hands through my hair, messing up the product that held it in place. “It’s fine. Not like I have time to find a date.”
“You should find time, Nash. I hate thinking about you out there by yourself all the time.”
Fuck, this is awkward. Why is she telling me this? Because she feels bad for leaving me alone? I wish she wouldn’t. With what I have planned this evening, I’m very glad my dad and Zara moved out.
“Are you sure there isn’t anyone…”
My eyes widen as I glare at her. “What? No.”
“You could tell me…if there was.”
“Why are you being so fucking weird. I told you there was no one.”
“Jesus, calm down,” she says, putting her hands up. “I just…noticed your attention across the room all night.” Her eyes glance over my shoulder, focusing on something, and as I turn, my gaze lands on Ellis standing with my dad, and my breath starts to stutter in my chest.
What the fuck is she implying? She couldn’t possibly know… How could she?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I snap. I want to say something about how he’s my friend or make up some excuse as to why I did keep staring at him all night because fuck, look at him. It’s almost hard to focus on him, like the way he looks in that suit literally hurts my eyes. But no. I’m not even going to acknowledge what she’s implying.
“Okay…” she says carefully. “Not that there’s anything wrong—”
“Zara, stop.” It comes out too harsh, and we definitely catch the attention of a few people around us, so I do my best to recompose myself, smiling politely.
“It’s been a long day. I’m out of here.”
Before I can leave, she grabs me and pulls me into a hug. I can’t help myself from wrapping my arms around her waist and squeezing her closer. Everything that used to bond us still does. Her sister and my brother still died in that crash together, so nothing that happened after changes how we feel about each other now.
But I realize as we separate, I’m not hiding things as well as I thought I was. And that only makes me irritable. When I try to