hard. I can read the words on his lips as he asks Langley who I am. After she responds, his gaze returns to me, but his eyes narrow slightly and turn chillier.
I stare back, confused by the sharp edge in his gaze. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t remember me. Odds are he doesn’t. I’m sure he hasn’t thought of me as much as I’ve thought of him. But if he does remember, what’s that harsh look for? Am I a mistake he’d rather forget? A regret from his past?
Since Langley has firmly planted herself in front of them, I can’t walk away without her. I have no choice but to go retrieve her. Flutters erupt in my belly because I’m about to talk to Cole for the first time in two years. Nerves buzz beneath my skin but I resolve not to let them show. I hold my head up high because I have nothing to be ashamed of.
Derek and Cole are looking at Langley when I approach. “Hi.” I include them both in my greeting. “I’m Nikki, Langley’s aunt.”
“I know,” Derek says. “You look just like her mom.”
I smile, but my grin falters when ice-blue eyes meet mine and I realize I’m not imagining it. There’s no warmth in his gaze for me. None at all.
“Good to see you, Nichole,” he says evenly.
His greeting gives me a jolt. He does remember me, but obviously not as fondly as I remember him. My chest tightens with embarrassment and confusion.
Beside me, Langley corrects him. “Everyone calls her Nikki.”
“Nikki,” he repeats as if the name leaves a bad taste in his mouth. “So you’re Renee’s sister. She told me all about you.”
With those ominous words, a realization hits me. This wouldn’t be the first time Renee spoke badly about me to someone. When I first arrived at the ballet company, our relationship was in tatters and it became her favorite hobby. What did she say this time to put that look of utter disgust on Cole’s face?
My stomach turns and resentment sparks inside my chest. Based on his reaction, when Renee spoke about me, Cole didn’t know she meant me , someone he knows intimately. Now that he realizes, the fact that he would still judge me so harshly based on her word and without giving me the benefit of the doubt is unfair.
It hurts twice as much because in my head I’ve built him into a figure of perfection. He’s my ideal. The man I’ve compared all other men to for years. But that man was a figment of my imagination. A total fantasy, nothing like the judgmental person who stands in front of me now.
I reach for Langley’s hand. “Come on, sweetie. We’d better let them get on with their shopping.”
She pulls out of my grasp. “Can I invite them to the studio tomorrow to see you dance?”
My whole body tenses as I cut my eyes back to Cole. It’s better if he says no himself since I’m sure he will.
“They might already have plans for tomorrow,” I say, praying that it’s true.
He opens his mouth and I think he’s about to agree when someone raises their voice from across the aisle and draws his attention away.
“Demolition Man Dempsey?”
Cole sighs.
“You’re Cole Dempsey. Am I right?” An older man in a red baseball cap approaches him.
Derek beams up at his father, who finally nods after a brief hesitation and pastes on a smile.
“I knew it. I told my wife that was you. How you doin’? You ever coming back to the Sharks?”
“I’m retired,” Cole replies.
The guy in the baseball cap pulls a store flyer from his shopping cart and asks Cole to sign it with a pen he already has in his hand. Cole politely writes his name as he engages the man in a brief conversation about the Sharks’ chances this year.
The Sharks?
“My dad used to be a hockey player. Demolition Man was his nickname because he demolished everyone else on the ice,” Derek explains, probably noticing the confusion on my face.
I knew Cole wasn’t a stockbroker like his friend said that night, but a famous hockey player? I know a little about football and baseball,
I stare back, confused by the sharp edge in his gaze. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t remember me. Odds are he doesn’t. I’m sure he hasn’t thought of me as much as I’ve thought of him. But if he does remember, what’s that harsh look for? Am I a mistake he’d rather forget? A regret from his past?
Since Langley has firmly planted herself in front of them, I can’t walk away without her. I have no choice but to go retrieve her. Flutters erupt in my belly because I’m about to talk to Cole for the first time in two years. Nerves buzz beneath my skin but I resolve not to let them show. I hold my head up high because I have nothing to be ashamed of.
Derek and Cole are looking at Langley when I approach. “Hi.” I include them both in my greeting. “I’m Nikki, Langley’s aunt.”
“I know,” Derek says. “You look just like her mom.”
I smile, but my grin falters when ice-blue eyes meet mine and I realize I’m not imagining it. There’s no warmth in his gaze for me. None at all.
“Good to see you, Nichole,” he says evenly.
His greeting gives me a jolt. He does remember me, but obviously not as fondly as I remember him. My chest tightens with embarrassment and confusion.
Beside me, Langley corrects him. “Everyone calls her Nikki.”
“Nikki,” he repeats as if the name leaves a bad taste in his mouth. “So you’re Renee’s sister. She told me all about you.”
With those ominous words, a realization hits me. This wouldn’t be the first time Renee spoke badly about me to someone. When I first arrived at the ballet company, our relationship was in tatters and it became her favorite hobby. What did she say this time to put that look of utter disgust on Cole’s face?
My stomach turns and resentment sparks inside my chest. Based on his reaction, when Renee spoke about me, Cole didn’t know she meant me , someone he knows intimately. Now that he realizes, the fact that he would still judge me so harshly based on her word and without giving me the benefit of the doubt is unfair.
It hurts twice as much because in my head I’ve built him into a figure of perfection. He’s my ideal. The man I’ve compared all other men to for years. But that man was a figment of my imagination. A total fantasy, nothing like the judgmental person who stands in front of me now.
I reach for Langley’s hand. “Come on, sweetie. We’d better let them get on with their shopping.”
She pulls out of my grasp. “Can I invite them to the studio tomorrow to see you dance?”
My whole body tenses as I cut my eyes back to Cole. It’s better if he says no himself since I’m sure he will.
“They might already have plans for tomorrow,” I say, praying that it’s true.
He opens his mouth and I think he’s about to agree when someone raises their voice from across the aisle and draws his attention away.
“Demolition Man Dempsey?”
Cole sighs.
“You’re Cole Dempsey. Am I right?” An older man in a red baseball cap approaches him.
Derek beams up at his father, who finally nods after a brief hesitation and pastes on a smile.
“I knew it. I told my wife that was you. How you doin’? You ever coming back to the Sharks?”
“I’m retired,” Cole replies.
The guy in the baseball cap pulls a store flyer from his shopping cart and asks Cole to sign it with a pen he already has in his hand. Cole politely writes his name as he engages the man in a brief conversation about the Sharks’ chances this year.
The Sharks?
“My dad used to be a hockey player. Demolition Man was his nickname because he demolished everyone else on the ice,” Derek explains, probably noticing the confusion on my face.
I knew Cole wasn’t a stockbroker like his friend said that night, but a famous hockey player? I know a little about football and baseball,
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