Dancers, Quitters, and Garden Gnomes by Emily Evans

Author:Emily Evans [Evans, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-05-26T04:00:00+00:00

The next day, Alyssa entered Thayer’s Manhattan mansion with him and looked around with new eyes. It was the kind of place that families had lived in for generations. She drew in a deep breath and handed her coat to the butler.

“Thanks,” Thayer said and greeted the man, before leading her to a small formal living room. The furniture was lined in dove gray satin with splashes of hot pink accents like the stargazer lilies in the vase on the end table, and the hot pink pillow on the uncomfortable-looking armchair. The wood had enough intricacies to proclaim it as hand-carved and special. The furniture didn’t fit him. It had a feminine edge.

Thayer’s sister sat on an over-stuffed window seat reading a book. She had a plump baby-fat kind of face, no makeup, and a school uniform in Shay Green, indicating she went to the affiliated junior high. Her Oxfords were kicked off on the floor.

“Hi.”

Paige looked up with eyes brighter than Thayer’s, a more vivid green, paler white skin, and darker hair that she wore loose in a wild mass down to her waist. She was going to be a beauty, but at that age, and given her lack of makeup, Alyssa would bet she didn’t see it yet.

Paige popped up. “You brought her.”

“Alyssa, this is the mistake, Mistake, this is Alyssa.”

Paige’s green eyes flared. “You’re the mistake, not me. You brought her, now get out.”

Thayer chuckled, delighted she’d gone off on him, and left.

Paige huffed out a breath. “Boys.”

“Boys.” Alyssa echoed the sentiment.

Paige fidgeted.

Alyssa sat down. “So you’re interested in ballet?”

Paige’s shoulders relaxed and she grinned, and then she frowned and toyed with the button on her cuff. “I have a talent show coming up. And Marcy Danes says I’ve got no talent so I want to leap off the ladder like you did.”

Okay. “Ah. Have you studied much dance?”

“Nope.” Paige picked at the thread holding the button and got a strand loose.

“Ah.”

Her eyes lit. “And I want sparkles along the hem of my skirt. And pink toe shoes.” The button popped off, and Paige stuck it on the end table.

Paige was cute. Alyssa smiled. “When’s the talent show?”

“December 1st.”

Her smile dropped. That date was a conflict. Alyssa softened her voice to ease Paige’s disappointment. “I have a Willow Dance League competition on that date.”

Paige’s face fell. “You might not be able to be there, but you could still train me, right?”

“No one could get you into toe shoes and on pointe by that date.”

Her face crumpled further, making her look younger.

“But satin pink ballet slippers with ribbons would be very pretty, too.”

“And the sparkles on the skirt?” Paige started in on her other cuff, picking at the thread.

“Absolutely. And I can teach you a few tricks with the routine, but only if you work hard and practice even when I’m not here. And you’re on time when I am here.”

“I will be.” Her hand dropped away, and she straightened her posture.

“When do you want to get started?”

Paige rubbed her hands together.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.