“I call it like I see it, kiddo.” Hildy reached over and squeezed Cole’s arm. “I’m sure Charlotte can get you up to Amelia’s level. It’s just going to take a little work.”
There was a gleam in Hildy’s eye that Charlotte didn’t miss, though she pretended not to notice.
“Can we go back to the pool?” Amelia asked Hildy.
Hildy put a hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “Sure, honey.” She glanced at Charlotte, then at Cole. “We’ll see you both later.”
Amelia gathered her things into her dance bag, lifted her hand in a wave and walked out, Hildy close behind.
Charlotte slowly drew her eyes to Cole’s.
“I’m a hopeless cause, aren’t I?”
She laughed. “No. Not at all. But we can do some extra practicing if it makes you more comfortable. This really isn’t easy if you’ve never done it before.”
He groaned. “I’m going to make a complete fool of myself.”
She stuck her hands on her hips. “Enough with the pity party. You have an excellent teacher.”
At that, he smiled. “True. You’ve definitely made progress with my team. Gotta say, I was impressed.”
“Really?”
He looked confused. “Yeah. I’m sure you’ve been told that before.”
“Not so much,” she said. “Mostly I perform. I’ve only done a little bit of teaching. Maybe that’s why Connor hasn’t gotten back to me about the studio.” She walked toward the speaker and picked up her phone.
Cole frowned. “What about the studio?”
“I offered to buy it,” she said.
His heavy sigh told her something was wrong.
“What is it?”
“It’s just that he mentioned possibly selling to someone in Chicago.” Cole looked genuinely pained to break the news, but once he did, she struggled to process it.
“He did?”
Cole shrugged. “Said he got an offer from someone wanting to buy the business. That’s really all I know.”
“Do you know if he took it?”
“I don’t,” Cole said.
“It was probably a longshot. I just got my hopes up,” she said.
“Then convince him to sell it to you.” The finality in his tone was unmistakable.
She scoffed. “How do I do that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but I bet you can think of something.”
At the moment, she couldn’t, but he was right, she didn’t have to give up so quickly, especially since she didn’t have any details about this possible sale. Besides, this was her second chance, her backup plan. And if it fell through, she wasn’t sure what she’d do next.
34
The following day, Charlotte started her morning with a run that took her right past Julianna’s house. She stopped in front of it and stared at the door. It was early. Connor probably wasn’t even up yet.
She hadn’t been able to sleep for fear of losing her chance of buying the dance studio, and honestly, it had tied a huge knot in her stomach.
She’d come here to take it over. She’d come because she wanted to be the one to carry on Julianna’s dream. She’d come for absolution.
She marched toward the front door and knocked, aware that she might not be doing herself a favor showing up unannounced.
But when the door opened and Amelia stood on the other side of it, dressed and wearing a sparkly headband, she hoped she was in the clear.
“Miss Charlotte?” Amelia’s big eyes stared at her.
“Hi, Amelia,” she said. “How are you?”
“Fine.” The little girl gave her a quizzical look. “You saw me yesterday.”
“Right,” she said. “Your turns are looking beautiful.”
She smiled. “Thanks. Why are you here?”
“I’m here to see your dad,” Charlotte said. “Is he here?”
Amelia turned. “Dad! Miss Charlotte is here to see you.”
Connor emerged from another room, baby on his hip, looking slightly more alive than he had the last time she’d seen him. Charlotte smiled. Connor didn’t.
“Charlotte?”
“Sorry to barge in on you,” she said, stepping inside.
“I’m trying to get the kids ready for the babysitter,” he said. “Can this wait?”
“Not really,” she said. It wasn’t true. It could wait. It wasn’t life or death. And yet, it couldn’t wait. Because if he sold the business to someone else and she missed her chance, she’d never forgive herself.
“Okay, well, here.” He shoved the baby in her arms, and the little girl squirmed. “Follow me.”
She did, straight through the house and into the sweetest nursery Charlotte could’ve imagined. The soft cream was accented by colors just slightly deeper than pastel and in the corner was a rocking chair. She could practically see Jules rocking her babies to sleep right there, singing a quiet lullaby.
“Charlotte?”
She turned to find Connor staring at her, holding a stack of diapers. “Sorry, what?”
“What’s so important you showed up this early?”
She shifted the baby to her other hip and watched as he packed the diaper bag with all the necessities. He seemed better, but she wondered if he was just going through the motions.
“Don’t sell the dance studio to that person from Chicago,” she said.
He stopped packing and looked at her. “How’d you find out about that?”
“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “Sell it to me.”
He shoved a small container of wipes and a change of clothes inside the bag and walked out of the room, Charlotte close on his heels.
“I know Julianna. I know what she wanted to do here,” Charlotte said. “And I know I’m the person to carry on her legacy.”
He was in the kitchen now, pouring coffee into a travel mug, and that’s when she saw the threat of tears behind his eyes. The pain of thinking about Julianna was still so raw.
“I loved her, Connor,” Charlotte said. “And I’m a good teacher.”
“It’s too late,” he said. “I already sold it.”
Charlotte’s heart dropped straight to her feet. “You did?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t have time to think about it. They made me a good offer.”
“So, it’s a done deal?”
He screwed the lid on his travel mug and took the baby from her. “I mean, there are papers to sign, but other than that, it’s a done deal.”
Amelia appeared in the doorway and took her sister from Connor. “We’re going to be late.”
Charlotte’s eyes had filled with tears. She was so sure she knew what she was doing when she left the ballet. How could she be so wrong?
“I’ll see you tonight, right, Miss Charlotte?” Amelia faced her now.
Charlotte nodded. “I’ll be there to watch.”
“What’s tonight?” Connor asked.
“My dance class, Dad,” Amelia said, her tone slightly exasperated. She walked out of the room. “We’ll be in the car!”