A Fool's Gold Christmas (Fool's Gold #9.5)

“You’ve been very good to me,” she told him. “I was really stupid with the martinis. That won’t happen again. I’ve learned my lesson. About liquor if not love.”


She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She’d never been in love before, so had no idea how long it took to feel better. One thing she knew for sure. As soon as she got through the holidays, she was going to start looking for a new place. There was no way she could live next door to Dante. She would be around him too much to forget him.

Her friends would help with finding a place, she thought, that knowledge easing some of the pain. Plus her mom had offered to loan her the money for a down payment. Knowing May, she would probably want to make it a gift, but Evie would prefer to pay her back. It seemed the grown-up thing to do.

“Would you like a yard?” she asked. “Do you like going outside? I can see you lying in the grass, sunning.”

Alexander draped across her, his eyes half-closed, his purr comforting her.

She would keep busy, she told herself. Maybe take some classes at the college. There were also her ideas for the expanded teaching schedule. And that exercise class her mom had mentioned sounded fun.

“I’m going to get over him,” she told her cat. “I swear I will.”

But the ache in her heart seemed bigger every day, and sometimes she wondered how anyone survived losing a great love. How did you learn to forget? To be happy again? She wondered if maybe that was simply a matter of finding small joys in life and stringing them together. Maybe after a while they became bigger than the pain.

She could only hope.

* * *

“OKAY,” GIDEON SAID from his place backstage. “They win.”

Evie looked at the nearly sixty excited, squealing, running, jumping and dancing girls careening around the stage and nodded. “Right there with you. I feel like if we back away slowly and don’t show fear, they won’t attack.”

It was the long-anticipated afternoon of the dress rehearsal. Everyone was in costume for a run-through of the show. Wings quivered, sequins glittered and tap shoes rang out on the wooden stage. Evie had been worried about getting the girls dressed and having them work with their costumes. What she hadn’t anticipated was the excitement that would send them into a giggling, bouncing frenzy.

She told herself to simply pick up the microphone and speak with authority. That the girls would instantly quiet and listen. What she didn’t know was what she was going to do if she was wrong.

“Breathing isn’t helping,” Gideon said quietly. “I don’t like that.”

“They’re my responsibility,” Evie told him. “I’m going in.”

But before she could gather her courage, the door to the convention center opened and Dominique swept inside, followed by Morgan, who played the Winter King.

The petite former dancer moved with a grace that captivated the girls. As one, they turned to watch the elegantly dressed woman. Dominique’s hair was perfectly coiffed. She had on a trim, tailored suit, the color of her green eyes, and four-inch heels. She stopped in front of the stage and faced the students.

“Good afternoon, ladies.”

“Good afternoon, Ms. Guérin,” they answered in unison.

Dominique offered a smile. “I see you’re all ready for your dress rehearsal. What I want you to remember as you prepare for your moment in the spotlight is that each of you is a star. A beautiful shining light that will transform those privileged enough to see you.”

She paused. “When I danced professionally there were times when I was tired or hurt or ill. Times when I didn’t want to gather myself enough to give my all, but I always did. I remembered that, while this was just one performance for me, this was a memory for everyone watching. They had taken time out of their lives to come see me. They wanted to experience the joy and beauty that only comes from dance. They wanted the experience.”

Evie glanced around. Every single girl was staring, riveted by the famous woman’s words.

“You will give them that experience. Each of you will offer a memory that can be carried a lifetime. When you feel nervous, breathe deeply. If you start to shake, focus on the music. Evie has taught you well. We are both so proud of you, and I am very much looking forward to watching each of you perform.”

Talk about a memory, Evie thought, clapping for her boss, as the girls joined in. For the rest of their lives her students would remember being encouraged by Dominique Guérin.

Evie stepped toward the stage. “Thank you, Dominique. Now, let’s all move offstage. Gideon will start the music and we’ll take it from the top.”

Nervous energy now channeled productively, the dancers did as she asked. Evie turned off the microphone and walked over to her boss.

“Thank you for this. You’re exactly what they needed.”