Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Anthony sighed with relief when the curtain came down signaling that the recital was over. It had been a long week. He had only gotten to see Lalani a few times. With his parents on the island, and all the work Lalani had to do for the recital, they just hadn’t had time. But tonight, he knew he was going to be invited back to her apartment. Or he would invite himself. Either way, he was spending the night with her. He hadn’t had good nights’ sleep in the last three nights. He knew it was because she hadn’t been with him. Anthony didn’t want to think about it too closely. If he did, he might have a panic attack.

So instead, he focused on the irritation with the uncomfortable chairs they had to sit in. He shifted back and forth before his mother leaned over.

“Try not to be impatient, Anthony. You only have to share her for a little while longer.”

He hated that he was so transparent to his mother. He had enjoyed the recital, but he was ready to leave. He knew there was a reception afterwards. And while he was damned proud of her and what she had accomplished with her students, Anthony was feeling a little possessive of her. He knew it all had to do with his revelation. Realizing he was in love with her made him very antsy.

One of the mothers came out with the students as they took their final bow. She had a mic with her, which confused Anthony because he was sure that Lalani would be the one on the stage. She had done all the announcements, explaining what each piece was, and how hard all the kids had worked.

Alana leaned over to whisper in his ear. “Did Lalani tell you she was going to dance tonight?”

He glanced at her and shook his head.

“She was really nervous because she choreographed it herself.” She patted his hand. “I think she wanted to surprise you.”

As the applause for the students died down, the mother on stage smiled.

“Thank you friends and family for coming tonight to see the performances. Each one of the girls and boys here worked very hard, but not as hard as their teacher. We are truly lucky to have a dancer of Lalani Hawkins’ caliber here to teach in Hawaii. When she returned last year, it was New York’s loss and Honolulu’s gain. So, please welcome Lalani Hawkins.”

The room filled with applause and the lights went down. For a long, tense moment, nothing happened. He heard steps across the stage as if someone had settled down. In the next instant, beams of light came from several different directions, and there in the center of the stage was Lalani. She sat on the floor wearing nothing but a leotard, some kind of stretchy looking pants, and her ballet shoes. The moment Anthony heard the first chord of Hozier’s song; she began to move. Slowly at first, then, as the music grew, she rolled over the floor, and then up to her feet. As the chorus started she ran, then jumped in some kind of split leg jump. She seemed to float through the air, come down on her feet, and turn and do another.

He didn’t know the names of the moves, but he knew beauty when he saw it. Over and over, she jumped, floated, turned…and he was mesmerized. Then, she was on the floor again, on her knees, arching back over and touching the floor behind her. She was up again as the music rose to the final crescendo, turning over and over, until he was sure she was dizzy from it.

She floated through the air one last time before she strutted to the middle of the stage, dragging her toes along the floor. She sank to the floor as the song played the final notes. One by one, the lights went out, until the last chord vibrated through the air and the stage went dark.

For a long moment the entire audience was silent, suddenly they erupted in applause. People jumped to their feet. He might have been the first one. If he hadn’t realized he loved her before the performance, he would have known afterwards. With each leap she took, each turn she finished, he had held his breath.

The lights came up and she stood, her spine straight as a board. She bent at the waist in the most elegant curtsy he’d ever seen—and that was saying something with the English Santinis having royal blood in them.

She quieted everyone down, but he barely heard her speak. His heart was still smacking against his chest as if he had just run a hundred miles in the last few minutes. The applause began again, and the curtain came down.

“She is amazing,” his mother said to him. She studied him. “You’ve never seen her dance?”

“No. I’ve known her for less than two months.”

She patted his arm and opened her mouth to say something, but Lalani’s father and his friends interrupted them. He noticed that she had come back out in front of the curtain and was chatting with people. Without a thought of his family, he strode in Lalani’s direction. She was laughing when he reached her.

“Anthony,” she said, but if she was planning to say anything else, it was lost. He grabbed her and did the one thing he needed to do. He bent his head and kissed her. And not some peck on the cheek, or even a simple kiss. He cupped her face as he deepened this kiss. The world around them faded away as he took his time to show his feelings in the kiss.

The only thing that stopped him was more applause. She pushed against him, and he forced himself to let her go. Absently, he realized they were the reason for the applause.

He smiled. “That was the encore, folks, but I think we have cake and punch waiting for us.”

As the crowd moved into the reception area, she leaned closer. “I should stab you for doing that to me in front of the students.”

“Do you always have to have an audience?” she asked.

He shrugged and she rolled her eyes. When she turned to flounce away, he caught her and pulled her back against him.

“You were amazing.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder, a rosy tint colored her cheeks and she smiled. “Thank you.”

The simple words filled him with even more pride. The fact that she had wanted to impress him bode well for his plans in the upcoming weeks.

As she hurried away, Anthony knew for a fact that she not only held his heart, she’d captured his soul.