Chapter Thirteen

Her phone was dead. Again. If he wasn’t so stressed, he’d think it funny how often she forgot to charge her phone. It was so…un-Jade-like.

He prayed someone needed something from the closet soon. He couldn’t bear to think about being stuck in here until the end of the show, or worse, tomorrow morning when the cleaning crew showed up to put everything back in order. Certainly he’d be missed before then. His performance part of the show was done but still, it was his show. Someone would get worried. Several people knew he’d gone to look for something in the costume closet. Eventually they’d come looking. Wouldn’t they? They would. He wasn’t an insignificant child, he was a superstar. He mattered.

He hammered on the door again, but with the chaos and noise of the program, he was pretty sure someone needed to be walking by in order to hear it. He swore violently and gave the door a kick. Not as hard as he wanted to, but damaging his leg kicking a metal door wasn’t a good idea. He turned around and slithered to the floor. That elevator episode had been bad, but this was worse. It was a closet. And filled up with so much crap it seemed like the walls were closing in on him. He tugged at his shirt collar, and Jade’s voice sounded a long way off when she spoke.

“Han, are you going to be okay? You look like you might pass out. Or throw up.”

He’d neither the strength nor the desire to pretend with her. The meltdown he had in the elevator was mild compared to what he was feeling now. He covered his ears with his palms and squeezed his eyes shut in an effort to block out the sights and sounds rising up from the past. It barely registered when Jade sat next to him and rubbed his arm. What happened to all the air?

“I need to get out. Get me out.”

He opened his eyes, and Jade was on her knees in front of him. He quickly shut them again. Looking at her made him feel things he didn’t want to feel, things he couldn’t deal with.

She pulled his hands away from his ears and put hers on his cheeks. “Open your eyes and look at me, Han.”

That voice. That wonderful voice. He could do nothing but obey. His vision was filled with the most gorgeous eyes he’d ever looked into. Jade’s eyes. A plethora of emotions swirled around in them, but what struck him hardest was the concern. For him. No one ever looked at him like that. Not even Marguerite. He knew she’d cared about him, but so much of what she felt centered around his talent, his gift. She had cared about that more than she had cared about him as a person, as a child who was alone and desperate. A child running from a world filled with indifference and hoping to find someone who thought he mattered. And he had mattered to her. But not in a way he truly needed, and certainly not the way Jade’s expression told him he mattered to her.

“Han, focus on me. Listen to me. You’re going to be okay. The air in here is not going to run out. Everything is going to be fine. We will get out. You need to take some deep breaths and try to calm down.”

Sweat drenched his body, and he began to tremble deep inside. He took a breath in through his nose and let it out slowly, but it didn’t help. In that moment, he realized he was dealing with more than just his claustrophobia. In less than a week, everything Jade had given him, was giving him right now, would be gone. Just like everyone else in his life he cared about. The important people always left. His mother. His brother. Marguerite. Now Jade. He clenched his teeth as anger flashed through him. He wasn’t supposed to feel like this about Jade. He had decided. So that couldn’t be it. It must be because he wasn’t able to get her out of his system the way he did every other woman he desired.

He groaned and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to look at her right now. What her eyes were telling him was too much to cope with on top of his claustrophobia. Every single piece of him ached and throbbed for her.

Then her lips were on his. Soft and tender and filled with so much more than lust. The fire was there. The fire was always there. But it was the rest that tied his gut in knots and had so many sensations and emotions exploding in him at once he couldn’t control them. Most of them buried for so long he no longer had the strength to keep them down.

He wrapped his hands around her arms and set her away from him. “No. It’s too much. I can’t do it. I can’t think about it.” He put his hands on either side of his head. Maybe if he squeezed hard enough, the memories, the feelings, the needs would all go back down, deep down inside where they belonged.

“Han. Please let me help you. What do you need me to do to help you cope?”

He dropped his hands in defeat, his gaze frantically moving over her. He wanted to kiss her, touch her, feel her writhing under him so he couldn’t think about anything else. It overwhelmed him, and the strength to fight his demons vanished like a wisp of smoke. Whatever defenses kept them at bay, Jade’s concern, her unselfish desire to help him with nothing in it for herself, to give him whatever he needed, whether it was best for her or not, obliterated them. Desperation set in. Because the one thing he could think of to make him forget, he couldn’t ask of her. The mere thought of using her to satisfy his own selfish desires turned his stomach. The fact he’d used women in that way his whole life turned his stomach. Even though they’d used him right back. Even though he made sure they knew the score before he got involved with them.

Looking at this woman kneeling in front of him, eager to give him whatever she could to help him, left him disgusted with himself. When had he seen her do anything but give of herself? She’d gone against her instincts to give her sister the kind of wedding she wanted. She’d gone out of her comfort zone repeatedly to perform at his benefit in order to help children desperately in need of it. What had he ever done to deserve what she was offering right now?

He looked over her shoulder, ashamed to look her in the eye any longer. Big mistake. He could’ve sworn the room shrank right before his eyes. Whether he deserved her help or not, he needed it. He didn’t dare think about having to spend an entire night locked in here. Was it possible that keeping everything locked inside him, never voicing it to anyone, made it larger than it really was? Could talking about it make it go away forever? Or maybe, telling her would make her realize there was nothing she could do. Letting him screw her would certainly help the here and now, but since she told him she didn’t want a fling—and he wasn’t willing to ask it of her—he decided she needed to know just how ugly his life had been. Maybe then she would back off and leave him alone so he could pull the pieces of this life back together. But the thought of her actually doing that made his head explode. The here and now receded, and he emotionally vomited all over her. Alejandro Rivera, Devil of the Dance Floor, was gone and only five-year-old Alejandro remained.

He pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. “I need you to listen to me, Jade. I need to tell you what happened so you’ll understand why I can’t give you what you want. What you deserve.

“I was five when it happened. I was so sick of that pimp banging on our door, because every time he did, Mamá told us to hide in the closet and be quiet, even though we already knew what to do. Whenever a man came to the door, we had to stay in the closet, no matter what we heard, until she told us it was okay to come out. That last time was the worst. I was so scared. He wouldn’t stop screaming at her. I don’t know if he was throwing things, throwing her, or both. Mamá was crying and talking so fast I couldn’t understand what she was saying.”

He swallowed and squeezed his eyes shut. He was such a baby. But he needed to say it. Jade had to know the kind of person he really was. To see he didn’t deserve the help she was trying to give him.

“Javier, he was the brave one. He kept whispering to me that everything would be fine. As long as we stayed there and kept quiet, everything would work out okay. We had to be patient. Javier said he wanted to get out of the closet too, and help Mamá, but he wasn’t going to because Mamá knew what was best.

“I wasn’t brave like Javier. I didn’t want to help; I wanted to get out and run as far away as I could. I didn’t want una madre who had men over every night, a mother who made us spend so much time hiding in the closet. I wanted a real family like my friend Raul. I wanted to get out of there, go to Raul’s house and never come back.”

He rested his forehead on his knees for a moment and took a deep breath. He wanted to laugh at himself in disgust. Was he still that same scared little boy? Afraid to say it out loud? He lifted his head.

“But I was too scared to move.” He clenched his jaw in an effort to hold the words back, but they tumbled out anyway, his voice harsh. “I hated her, Jade. I hated my mother.”

He took a deep shuddering breath, trying to relieve the feeling of suffocation. Though surprised what a relief it was to finally say it out loud, he’d said enough. He felt like a deflated balloon with nothing left inside and had no desire to talk about it anymore, to think about it anymore. And he certainly didn’t want to feel like this about Jade anymore.

Why didn’t she say anything? Was she disgusted with him now? She should be.

Then he looked into her eyes and everything started bubbling up again. Maybe being in this closet had tipped him over the edge and his sanity with it. He hadn’t been so out of control since that fateful night. After that, being in control was his obsession, his goal, his number one priority. Control of his body, his environment, his women, his emotions. And now it was finally biting him in the butt. He could only hold the lid on for so long before it left him where he was right now. In control of nothing. He couldn’t even get himself to move. Exactly like that night.

“Mamá screamed.” He put his hands over his ears again, realized what he was doing and instead balled them into fists and put them on his knees. Almost thirty years later and he could still hear it echoing in his head. “Then everything went silent. I don’t know how long the silence lasted before we heard someone moving around. The angry voices were gone, but worse, there weren’t any voices at all. We waited and waited and waited for Mamá to tell us we could come out. It was so hard. I couldn’t breathe. I wanted to run, but I couldn’t move. Javier went to sleep after a while, but I couldn’t. Someone was out there. It had to be Mamá. Why wouldn’t she let us out? The closet was dark and so small. I could’ve sworn we were running out of air, and I started to get dizzy. I kept trying to breath, but it only made me dizzier until I finally passed out. I don’t know how long it was before Javier woke me up, telling me it was time to get out because something was wrong.”

His mouth snapped shut when he realized he was speaking Spanish. Had he been speaking it the whole time? Did Jade know enough Spanish to understand him? He looked at her. Were there even any English words left in his head? He forced himself to open his hands and wrapped his arms around his legs. Somehow it felt better to hug his knees to his chest. Like it protected him from…everything.

“It’s okay, Han. Tell me the rest. You need to. You’ll feel better for it, and I won’t tell anyone what happened to you.”

She had understood, had spoken in Spanish as well. What had he done to deserve such a woman in his life? He hadn’t believed they existed beyond the fiction of books and movies. She put her hand on his, where it was wrapped around his legs. Warmth and peace flooded him with the gesture. Whether or not he needed to say the words was irrelevant. He could no longer keep them in.

“Mamá was so still at first I thought she was sleeping. That she forgot we were in the closet and went to bed. Javier had my hand and was pulling me behind him, so he got to the bed first. I didn’t see much before he turned around and wouldn’t let me get any closer. But I’d seen enough. All the blood. She was dead. Beat to a pulp by her pimp. He’d laid her on the bed, straightened up the place and left. Javier said if he found out we had been there when he killed her and knew it was him, he’d kill us too. So we grabbed some clothes, all the food and money we could find, and left. I don’t even know if the police ever caught her killer.”

Then Jade’s arms were around him, his head pressed into her chest, and her hand rubbed his back as though he was still that scared little boy. He stiffened. He didn’t need her sympathy, her pity. All he’d needed was to say it out loud. For someone else to know. Still, though he hated to admit it, the human contact, her genuine concern for him, helped. He may have helped to free her from her own fears with his dance lessons, but she’d freed him as well, from his past. A calmness settled over him as he rested there soaking up the tenderness she showered on him, something he’d needed since his mother died, though he hadn’t realized how powerful it could be until she gave it to him. A soothing balm to his broken soul.

He took a long, deep, cleansing breath before he pulled away. Suddenly he felt all kinds of stupid. Did he really have so little backbone getting locked in a closet made him say things he never wanted to talk about, never wanted to say to anyone? He was an idiot. People didn’t want to know about your ghosts, to listen to sad stories about your childhood.

Before the silence had a chance to get awkward, someone unlocked the door and opened it. Barely able to control his panic to get out, he shoved Jade away from him and scrambled to his feet. He didn’t bother with niceties, just pushed his way past the person who opened the door and bolted out. All he could think about was getting out of the building to breathe some fresh air before he could return to overseeing the program.

The rest of the show went by in a blur, but he liked that it kept him too busy to think. About anything. And though he told Jade he wanted her to stay for all of it, he knew she left. And the fact he could instinctively know she was gone made him twitchy. Why did she have to have this effect on him? His life was perfect before she came along. He had everything he could possibly want. Fame, money, looks, a kickass body, and a new business that would keep him in the dance world long after his body no longer could. It was all he’d ever wanted. Needed even. Now she had him wanting things he decided long ago he didn’t want. Or need.

Damn her. He had no use for a woman’s arms around him, giving him things he hadn’t known he needed and asking for nothing in return. She filled a hole in his soul he’d been perfectly content to leave empty, and in the process left a gaping one elsewhere which had him aching inside and out. He didn’t need this. Didn’t want this. Had made damn sure he never got within a mile of this with the women in his life. Thank goodness it was less than a week until the wedding. One more rehearsal, the wedding day and he could be done with her. Could concentrate his efforts on coping with the new hole a woman had carved out of him.

****

Han was different, but she couldn’t put her finger on how.

He was a bear at rehearsal, but she didn’t think it was that. After all, he was the Devil of the Dance Floor. She’d seen that side of him plenty. No, it was something else. It didn’t help that her stomach sank every time she tried to figure it out. Not that it really mattered in the end. A few more hours and he would be, for all intents and purposes, out of her life. She didn’t know which hurt more. That he didn’t want to give her the relationship she needed, or that he couldn’t. And she still had to figure out a way to live without him.

It certainly didn’t help that they were a couple for the entire wedding, so he was always there. Walking with her down the aisle. Sitting next to her at the bridal table, posing for pictures with her. Or that the wedding, thanks to Beck’s generosity, was a fairytale come true. It left her feeling like she was living a fairytale. And she wasn’t even the one getting married.

The expensive designer dress not only looked good on her but made her feel good about herself. She was partnered for the day with none other than Alejandro Rivera in a tuxedo. And the backdrop for it all: the historic Greystone Mansion, a castle fit for any girl’s dream.

For Jade, the best part was that she did it all without her locket. It didn’t fit with the look Lexi was going for, but rather than being anxious without it, she felt free. For the first time she was actually living her life, being the person she was supposed to be. She hadn’t once reached for the locket to find it missing, and she had Han to thank for helping her over that final hurdle.

When the time for the wedding party dance arrived, she decided to live in the moment and enjoy the fantasy. Nothing like this would happen to her again, and she wasn’t going to ruin it by worrying about the emotional quagmire of the future. She deserved a fairytale day just as much as Lexi. Han wasn’t going to spoil it because he wasn’t her Prince Charming. She’d pretend he was and savor every moment. She was grateful for all he’d given her, as well as her sister. So screw the future; she’d deal with reality later. The reality of nailing their dance was enough right now. All the hard work and emotional turmoil had been worth it. The satisfaction of having silenced a roomful of wedding guests with their dancing, of getting it just right, was well worth the time and effort they put in. Still, after they left the dance floor, she collapsed in her chair with relief and fanned herself.

“You did it, Jade.” Han smiled slightly and raised his brows “How does it feel?”

She fiddled with her linen napkin for a moment. Good question. How did it feel? She closed her eyes, the white noise of a room full of wedding guests eating, talking, and laughing filled her head for a moment. “It feels…wonderful. Liberating. I understand better now, why you do it.”

He smiled again, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Sí. Is good, no? I am proud of you, Jade. You’ve come a long way from where you were two months ago, and your dancing today was beyond anything I hoped to accomplish.”

“I should be thanking you. Because of you, I’ve been able to lay the last few of my ghosts to rest. I could never repay you for that.”

“I don’t expect you to. Believe it or not, I enjoyed the process.”

He leaned back in his chair and shifted his gaze over her shoulder then back to her. “Damn, what is it with that guy? He’s walked through the room twice that I’ve seen and had his eyes glued to you each time. It looks like he works here, but I haven’t seen him actually working. I’m tempted to go ask him what his problem is. He’s old enough to be your father for God’s sake.”

She turned in her chair to see who he was referring to but didn’t find anyone that looked like the man he described. “I don’t see any old men in a Greystone Mansion uniform.”

He shook his head. “Never mind. He left.”

She unclenched a hand she hadn’t realized was balled into a fist until that moment and searched the crowd for Lexi. Whoever it was Han had seen, she didn’t need it ruining her sister’s day. Her heart slowed its thunderous pace when her eyes landed on her sister’s laughing face. She frowned momentarily and suppressed a shiver. Why was she so worked up about a possible gatecrasher? Because the only old man she could think of who would be interested in her was her stepfather?

“What is it Jade? You’ve gone white as a sheet.”

“Nothing.” She swallowed the desire to vomit and crossed her arms over her stomach. “Just me being stupid. Ignore it.”

His brows drew together in a frown, then his jaw clenched for a moment before he nodded his head. “Will do.”

She laughed, and her tension eased. “The only old man I could think of who’d be looking at me is Gene Murray. I freaked myself out.”

He nodded, and an indecisive look momentarily crossed his face. “Why didn’t you press charges for what that bastard did to you?”

“Han…” She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. “This isn’t the place. I don’t want to discuss my stepfather at Lexi’s wedding.”

He ran a hand around the back of his neck. “You’re right. And it’s not like I have a right to that sort of information anyway.”

Shoot. Now she wanted him to know. “I think it was mostly because it was so out of character from the man I’d known for years. I really think grief and alcohol changed him. He’d been good to my mother. Loved her. And after the mess she’d been through with my biological father, she deserved some happiness. I felt like it would taint her memory in some way if I went after him. When it comes down to it, he really didn’t do more than some inappropriate touching. Besides, I didn’t have much of case against him. It would have been my word against his.”

He reached out and took her hand in both of his. “Lexi didn’t know it was going on at the time?”

She shook her head. “She was never around. I think he made sure of it. And I’m glad. She knows now, but not then.”

“So he didn’t try anything with her?”

“Nope. Thank God. She’s assured me of that.”

“This may be highly inappropriate, and it probably isn’t the time or the place, but aren’t you worried about there being other victims?”

She looked down at their joined hands and nodded her head. “I was. At first.”

“Why not now?”

“Jolene and Ben—the family friends that gave us a place to live and left me the business when they died—helped put my mind at rest about it. They knew something bad had happened and after some time had passed, I was able to tell Jolene why I didn’t want to live with my stepfather, why I didn’t want Lexi anywhere near him. Not that I gave her any details, but enough she knew we shouldn’t be around him. They hired a private detective to keep tabs on him. He never did anything else suspicious. Was never seen in the company of another female, much less teenage girls. I was content to get away and put the past behind me. Which included some lengthy therapy.” She bit her lip. “I really don’t want to be thinking about him today of all days.”

He let go of her hand. “Time to change the subject. Would you like me to get you something from the bar?”

She started to refuse the offer, then thought better of it. Taking the edge off with a drink might be just the thing. Gene Murray had taken enough. He wasn’t going to ruin this special day.

“Gin and tonic sounds perfect.”

He raised his brows. “Our evening at The Conga Room didn’t start you down the wrong path, did it?”

She laughed softly. “Geez, what kind of impression do you have of me? That wasn’t the first time I’d ever had alcohol, amigo. I was drinking at dinner the night we met, remember? It was just the first time I’d had enough to get buzzed.”

He winked, and her heart squeezed at the momentary return of the old Han. “Just making sure. One gin and tonic coming right up.”

As she waited for Han, her eyes rested on Lexi. Her little sister was happy and heading off to a new chapter of her life. One that Jade now played a different role in. Part of her was sad she no longer had a little sister to care for, but a bigger part was happy. Lexi was starting life with a man who was as crazy about her as she was about him, and although their journey to get there hadn’t been an easy one, the difficulties made it all the more precious. Jade was now free to do and go wherever she wanted whenever she chose. She and Lexi could now be true sisters. What a glorious feeling.

She looked across the room at Han as he waited his turn at the bar and saw he was talking with a woman obviously having a fan girl moment. Not that she blamed her because, truth be told, not long ago she would’ve been guilty of the same thing had she run into him standing in line, rather than in a broken elevator.

Her thoughts were brought back to the present when a waiter set something on the table next to her. A man just invaded her personal space, and it didn’t faze her. A small smile pulled at her lips as she looked down at her empty dinner plate and saw a folded piece of paper next to it. What in the world? She picked it up and opened it.

Jade,

I’m sorry to intrude on Alexa’s special day but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to apologize for the way I treated you after your mother died. I understand if you can’t forgive me, but you have to know how deeply I regret everything I did. If I could go back and change things I would.

Gene Murray

She folded the paper and set it back on the table as Han set her drink in front of her and then sat down. She picked it up and took a healthy swig, trying to discern exactly what she was feeling. Like alcohol could somehow make her think more clearly. What an idiot. She breathed deeply before she took another swallow.

“What the hell happened while I was gone?” he growled, reached out a hand towards her, then put it on the table and balled it into a fist.

Pain darted through her at his unwillingness to touch her now. The man with touching OCD. She took a deep breath, started to speak, then cleared her throat and tried again. “My stepfather gave me a letter of apology.”

He swore in Spanish under his breath. “So that’s why that old man kept looking at you.”

“Most likely.” She shook her head. “I’m trying to decide if running after the jerk and confronting him is a good idea. I don’t want to ruin Lexi’s day. She’s so happy, and she doesn’t know our stepfather is here.”

He nodded. “Are you afraid to be alone around him?”

“That, too. But I so want to tell him how he ruined my life for so long. He shouldn’t be allowed to get away with sending me an apology and thinking everything is fine now.”

He reached out his hand towards her fist as it rested on the table near her drink, then picked up his drink and swirled the ice around in it. “If I had the opportunity to tell my mamá how she ruined my life with her choices, I would. I’ll go with you so you don’t have to face him alone. Lexi doesn’t need to know. She can think we’re sneaking off together.”

Jade’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at him, saw his worried expression. He had her back if she needed him. She didn’t want to miss this opportunity and regret it for the rest of her life, so she jumped to her feet. “Let’s do it.”

He stood too and put his arm around her waist, directing her towards the balcony doors. So now he wanted to touch her? She bit back a frustrated growl. She needed to stop worrying about where his hands were and get used to them not being on her. After today, his touch would be a thing of the past.

He bent his head and whispered in her ear. “We’ll act like we’re going outside for a little fun, so Lexi doesn’t know anything is wrong.” His arm tightened and pulling her close, he nibbled on her neck.

Her throat closed up with emotion, and all she managed was a nod as heat from his caress fizzed through her. When they were outside, she sucked in a breath on a hiss and halted in her tracks when she saw her stepfather making his way across the grounds. Her first look at him in almost a decade. All of a sudden confronting him didn’t seem like a good idea. She could barely look at the man without wanting to run screaming in the other direction. “Han—”

His hand tightened around her waist. “Don’t lose courage now. You’re strong, Jade, I’ve seen it. You can do this. I’ll make sure he doesn’t get away with saying or doing anything that makes you uncomfortable. You need this.”

She turned and buried her face in Han’s shoulder. She may be strong, but this was one demon she didn’t want to face. Especially not today. Just seeing the man was putting her in a tailspin, much less actually talking to him. Truth be told, he had more power to hurt her than she him. Telling him off would accomplish nothing more than getting her all wound up. She grabbed the lapel of Han’s jacket and balled her fist. Tears filled her eyes, and she squeezed them shut as her breath caught in her throat. She forced herself to let it out slowly. To concentrate on making herself relax. To not let her emotions get the better of her. She focused on the steady beat of Han’s heart as she rested her head against his chest.

What do you know? Being in Han’s embrace worked the same magic as her locket. She took in another deep breath and let it out slowly, savoring the glorious scent that was Han. Han, who’d helped her to a better, brighter future, whether or not he ended up being part of it. She pulled away and looked up into topaz eyes that would forever haunt her dreams, and they were filled with concern. For her. He may have spent the day pretending he didn’t care about her, but he did. It may not be what she wanted and needed from him, but she did affect him on more than a sexual level. Whether he liked it or not.

She licked her lips, suddenly thirsty as the warmth of the summer sun beat down on her. All she wanted was to go back inside where it was cool, and life was about happy things. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to do this. What’s the point? Anything I say would never affect his life the way he affected mine. Abandoning him the way we did and never speaking to him again is the biggest statement I could make. The fact he wishes he could go back and change what he did means it’s been eating away at him all these years. I hope his guilt gives him an ulcer. No reaction to his apology seems like pretty good payback to me.”

His brows drew together, a troubled expression on his face. “But what about closure? Don’t you think confronting him would bring a sense of closure for you that could help? Letting him know exactly what the consequences of his actions were.”

“Closure?” She shrugged. “It isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, Han. I really think the best kind of closure for me is not letting what he did affect the way I live my life from here on out. Forgetting him and moving on is my best closure. Why would I want to waste any more emotion on someone like him, when I could be spending my time enjoying someone like you?” She smiled and ran a finger lightly down his cheek, reveling in the feel of his five-o’clock shadow on her fingertip. Enjoying touching someone was all the closure she needed. “Let’s get back to the reception before we miss the cutting of the cake. The best part of a wedding reception is the cake.”

Han chuckled and dropped his arms from around her, taking her by the hand and turning around to head back inside. “No doubt.”

When she looked at Han’s smiling face, into eyes where the smile didn’t quite reach, some of her joy faded. Still, Gene Murray was well and truly in her past, that chapter of her life closed for good.

After he helped her back into her seat and sat down next to her, she realized she’d forgotten to ask him how things were going with Cat. The week up to the wedding had been so hectic, she hadn’t asked what happened with her after the fundraiser.

“How’s Cat? Did she enjoy being on stage?”

He nodded and this time the smile did reach his eyes. “If you ask me, she’s going to be a superstar. She’s received several offers since the show, and it’s only been a week. I told her to take her time and decide what’s best for her, and that I’ll help her in whatever way she needs me to.”

“Pay it forward?”

He shrugged. “Partly. But mostly I like the kid and want her to have a better life.”

“I told her to get in touch with me if she needed anything, but something just occurred to me. If she wants to get out of East L.A., I’d love to have her stay with me until she figures out what she wants to do. Lexi’s room has been empty for a while now.”

He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment. “I don’t know Jade. That’s a lot to take on. She’s a pretty messed up kid. Maybe you should think about it for a while and let me know if you still want to do it.”

“She may be a bit messed up, but she’s got her head on straight. If she wants to pursue a future in dance, I want to help her do it. Tell her, Han.”

He nodded. “All right then, I will. But after that, leave me out of it. I’m not going to be your middle man.”

“I wouldn’t want you to.”