Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“I would never tie you up, Rosie,” he said softly, searching my eyes. “I wouldn’t.”
I stayed quiet because I couldn’t trust myself to speak yet. He took it as an invitation to continue talking.
“I need you to cooperate just for now, okay? I promised to keep you safe, and this is the only way I know how.”
“I have to go to rehearsal,” I whispered.
“I’ll take you.”
I breathed in shakily and nodded in agreement.
He had a driver. I should’ve seen that one coming, but since he’d driven last night, I figured he didn’t. Back home, all the old guys in organized crime had drivers. They also had shooters. I wondered if Dom had those as well. The one thing I’d always found interesting about all of it is how the side they showed us was different from the rumors we heard on the street. Seeing the way Dominic opened my door and carried my bag for me, like we were going from math to gym class or something, made me think about that. If he had really gone into the “family business,” he was definitely involved in some serious shit, but despite that, he had a sense of humor and acted like a gentleman in some situations. I turned to him when we reached the studio door.
“You can’t come in here.”
“Why not?” he frowned, looking over my head.
“You’ll make the dancers nervous, and we don’t have time for that right now.”
He searched my eyes. “By dancers, do you mean you?”
“No.” I looked down as if that would help me hide my blush. The sound of his laughter, which seemed to spread through me, was what made me look up at him again. “What?”
“Nothing. I just think it’s cute.”
“You think it’s cute that you make me nervous?” I asked. “It’s not. This is my career, not some joke.”
“I know it’s not a joke.”
“You’re acting like it’s all a joke.”
“Rosie.” He sighed heavily, shaking his head like he was trying not to say all of the things he wanted to say. “I’ll wait outside the room, okay?”
I turned around and walked into the studio.
When we finished and I looked at the time, three and a half hours had gone by. I wondered if Dominic had left. I knew he wouldn’t leave me alone, but for some reason, the thought of him not being outside when I finished didn’t sit well with me. I groaned inwardly. This was the last thing in the world I needed right now. I’d had boyfriends. It wasn’t like I’d been crying into my pillow, but I couldn’t remember the last time I had this “I’m so nervous about seeing them that the butterflies in my stomach are making me feel like I might throw up” feeling, and he was the last person I should feel this way about.
“Hey.” Joshua reached out and set his hands on my shoulders, turning me to look at him. “You did great. We did great.”
“I know.” I smiled.
“Why do you look worried?”
“It’s not about the performance. You know I don’t worry when I dance with you.”
“The feeling’s mutual.” He threw an arm around me and held the door with the other as one of the other dancers walked out.
The hall was empty. I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or worried, but Josh kept talking about his last performance partner, who was brilliant, and I tried to focus on that. Not only did I have the pressure of doing my best so that I could show the company that I was worthy of taking back my spot as a regular, but I also had to live up to the many brilliant partners Josh had danced with lately. I knew I could do it though, so I was using all of it as fuel to keep my head in the game. When we reached the end of the hall, he turned me to face him and grabbed my shoulders again.
“We are going to nail this every night. You know why?”
“Why?” I smiled at his certainty.
“Because our chemistry is through the roof, off the charts, and we’re fucking amazing.”
At that, I laughed, shaking my head. “Always so cocky.”
“You know it.” He winked, kissed my cheek, and walked away.
I was still somewhat laughing when I turned to see Dominic watching me and nearly jumped out of my skin.
I set a hand on my heart. “Jesus, Dom. How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.” He looked angry again.
“Ugh. What now?” I asked, walking over to him.
He grabbed the bag out of my hand. “I’m just trying to figure you out.”
“Good luck.” I laughed and walked to the door.
He reached up from behind and pushed it open, his chest pressing slightly against my back with the motion, and I felt a shiver roll through me. What the hell was going on with me? Why was I feeling this way around him? If he felt anything, he didn’t let it show. In the car, he sat in the backseat with me as Nico drove back to his place. Dominic was telling Nico the list of things he had to do the rest of the day. Finally, when he finished speaking, Dominic relaxed beside me.