One year later...
Olivia
Backstage at the Metropolitan Opera House was even more chaotic and exciting than I’d ever dreamed.
“Olivia!” I turned to see Derek rushing toward me past a sea of dancers.
My boyfriend. My heart tripped over itself like it always did when I spotted him. One would think that after a year of living in the same city and seeing each other whenever we wanted, this crazy head over heels giddy sensation would fade.
But one would be wrong.
“I’ve missed you,” he said as he reached my side and bent down to give me a quick, hard kiss that had my friends saying ‘aaw.’
“It’s been twelve hours,” I reminded him teasingly.
“Yeah, but a long twelve hours,” he shot back.
“You two are so lucky,” Eve said with a sigh. She held up her phone. “But I promised Cooper I’d take lots of videos, so he could see what he missed when he comes home on leave.”
Cooper had followed Eve’s brother’s footsteps and was off at basic training. They saw each other whenever they could, though, when he had time off and Eve had breaks from college.
Cora and Austin arrived behind Eve. “Did we miss anything?” Cora asked breathlessly. These two had gone off to the same school and had families in the same town so they were practically joined at the hip.
“The curtain hasn’t gone up yet, and Collette doesn’t even make an appearance until the second half,” I reassured her. I gestured toward Ethan who looked like he might pace a hole in the floor, he was so nervous on Collette’s behalf. “Austin, you might want to go distract Ethan.”
“I’m on it,” he said.
“You’ll be up there one day too,” Derek said.
I laughed. “Nah. Being a ballerina is Collette’s dream. I’m happy on my path.” The MFA program had been an amazing path to get my degree while learning from the top choreographers at Avery Queen. I might not be in the spotlight yet, but I was on my way.
“Where are Bianca and Ryan?” Eve asked.
I rolled my eyes as Derek wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Last I saw, they were making out in a closet.”
They’d each gotten into colleges on the East Coast but a couple hours apart. One would think they’d been apart for decades the way they acted when they did finally see each other. “She’s the one who was so excited to see the backstage of the Met,” Cora laughed. “And she’s spending her time in a closet?”
We all laughed at that. But truth be told, the former diva had mellowed quite a bit over the past two years. She still loved dancing, but when she got to college, she’d declared her major in teaching, of all things. It seemed her experience as the teacher of the dance class last year had helped her see where she really shone.
“This is Collette’s first year, and she’s already making an appearance on the stage,” I said. “I bet we’ll get more backstage passes in our future.”
“But…” Eve looked at her phone. “It’s almost time. Cora, let’s go find Bianca and Ryan, so we can get to our seats before the curtain goes up.”
When they were out of hearing, Derek leaned in. “They do know I could get us all backstage passes any time they wanted, right?”
I pulled away to look up at him in horror. “And use your connections like that? They would never.”
He grinned, and my heart clenched at the sight. Derek was still getting used to this new life where his friends—and me, of course—loved him for who he was, not who he was related to. But every once in a while, he still needed reminding.
His parents needed the occasional reminder too...that they were no longer pulling his strings. But after a whole lot of conversations and negotiations, a tentative truce had been reached. They’d even started inviting me along for family dinners when they were in the city. I called that progress.
Derek’s arms wrapped around me from behind. “How did I ever get so lucky?”
I spun around and went up on tiptoe, so I could give him a quick kiss. “I don’t know, but I feel like I’m the one who really lucked out.”
He grinned. “Then we can be lucky together.”
“Deal.” I nodded toward the audience. “Come on, let’s go grab our seats. I got us tickets front and center because—”
“Don’t say it,” he groaned, but he was already laughing.
I leaned into him and lowered my voice. “Because nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
He sighed as he squeezed my waist. “I can’t believe you said it.”
“I said it.” I went up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “And you love me for it.”
***
We hope you loved the last book in The Ballerina Academy series. We had so much fun writing these books and loved every character we created!
About the Authors
Maggie Dallen is a big city girl living in Montana. She writes adult and young adult romantic comedies in a range of genres. Check out all of her YA romances at www.sweetyaromance.com
Anne-Marie Meyer lives in NW Arkansas. She spends her days with her knight in shining armor, four princes, and a baby princess.
When she's not running after her kids, she's dreaming up romantic stories. She loves to take her favorite moments in the books and movies she loves and tries to figure out a way to make them new and fresh.
Join her on Facebook or Instagram or her website www.authoranne-mariemeyer.com