The Swan and The Sergeant - Alana Albertson Page 0,47

me. “I love you, too.”

“You smell even sweeter than I remember,” he whispered.

Another star for Palmer’s Cocoa Butter.

Selena

I had to be camera-ready in forty-five minutes to film the new fitness video, Dancing Under the Stars: Cardio Tango. How incredibly lame was that? What was a Cardio Tango anyway? And with the gossip about me everywhere, I would rather do anything but this.

Bret left the hotel early this morning to take a day off. I couldn’t blame him.

I bolted out of bed, tripping on the comforter and landing on my butt.

Good God, almighty! I stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was all matted together like cotton candy. I couldn’t even get a comb through it. I whipped through my patented ten-minute beauty routine—showered, put on deodorant, brushed my teeth, and lathered some conditioner through my hair, then wrapped it in a towel. Thank God they had makeup people on set. I threw on some sweats and grabbed my purse.

I texted my driver to meet me in the service garage then headed for the door, taking one last glance in the mirror. Oh, good Lord—I still had the towel wrapped around my hair. I reached up to take it off but stopped myself; I’d look like a babushka just in case anyone saw me. Perfect disguise. The towel stayed.

Luckily, there were no cameras to be found, and I slid out the back door of my hotel and found my driver.

Six minutes later, he pulled up to the studio. A few cameras lingered outside, but I just shoved past them. It took all my strength to plow through the front door.

The other girls were sitting on the couch in the lobby in matching blue and white dance shorts and halter-tops, like a trashy version of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Nicole had her arms draped around Vika, with Jenny sitting close. Strangely, Elizabeth had removed herself from the group and was at the other end of the couch.

Jenny hustled over to me. “How are you? Stupid tabloids.” She put her arm around my shoulders and ushered me away from the paps in the window. “Don’t worry, Sel, it’ll all blow over. I told everyone it’s not true.” She winked at me. Jenny always had my back.

Time to come clean. I didn’t want Jenny to have to lie for me.

Vika walked over to me. “So, it is true? You dumped Dima?”

I stepped from Jenny’s side and faced Vika. I could understand why Vika was upset. Though we weren’t as close as Jenny and I were, Vika and I had become like family when I was with Dima. She had always assured me that Dima loved me, and we would end up together.

“Vika, I…” I still had my sunglasses on. I couldn’t face them yet. “I…” Oh, God, they could all see right through me. I couldn’t lie to Vika’s face. “I…I’m sorry, but it’s true. I’m with Bret.”

Vika let out a gasp. “Dima told to me that he wanted to get back together with you, but you dumped him because he didn’t want the kids,” Vika said, getting up from the couch and walking straight at me.

“That’s not true. But Vika…Dima and I have been broken up for years. I didn’t want to get back together with him, so he ended the partnership. It really has nothing to do with me dating Bret.”

Vika stabbed her finger at the paps through the window. “I actually defended you to the sleazy reporters.” She straightened up and set her jaw. “You’re so stupid, Selena. No one will ever dance together with you again.”

Every word was like a rock to my head.

“Do you hear me, you…you…you and that stupid towel on your head!”

My chest tightened. I never wanted this to happen.

Elizabeth tried to sneak out of the lobby, motioning Jenny to escape with her. But Jenny stayed put on the sofa, seemingly hypnotized by the drama. Elizabeth sat back down.

I didn’t know what else to say. So I said nothing.

Vika looked up. Her normally blue eyes were now a piercing shade of turquoise. The blinding lights of the cameras were still going off, trying to snap a picture of Vika and me. The ambulance chasers! As if this situation wasn’t bad enough…as if I had actually done something wrong! I’d never cheated on Dima. It was the other way around.

Vika and those baby doe eyes—she’d cheat on Benny in a heartbeat if she thought she could find someone else to take care of her.

“Dima