‘Because I made a life for myself?’
She did not answer. Yes, she hated him for making a life that did not include her and she would never forgive him for marrying another woman. ‘Come on, Anya.’ He touched on a subject he did not necessarily want to discuss. ‘Don’t tell me you haven’t seen anyone.’
‘Of course I have,’ she said. ‘Do you really think I kept myself on ice for you?’
She lied.
There had been no one else.
Dance was all she had.
She had not just kept herself on ice, she had turned into it. No one could ever come close to the memory of him and so she held onto it and held back from others.
‘It was good to see you, Roman,’ she said. ‘Please don’t expect a repeat performance in Paris. I would prefer it if you stayed away.’ She turned to head to the shower, but then changed her mind. ‘You need to let your twin know you are alive, or I shall. You chose to reappear,’ she said. ‘I shan’t keep any secrets for you from now on.’ She told him Daniil’s address. ‘He changed his name a couple of years ago, so that you might find him. I can’t believe you have not spent every day searching for him.’
Then she looked at a man who had simply turned his back on the life they could have had, and, yes, actually she could believe it.
‘I hope she was worth it.’
‘Worth what?’
The end of them.
‘Go,’ Anya said.
She wanted him to leave now.
And, because it was Roman, just like that, he went.
It was pride that stopped her calling him back.
* * *
She stepped into the shower and quickly dressed for her after party.
Blasting her hair with the dryer, it fell softly around her face. Her hands were still shaking from their brief reunion.
She pulled on a pale grey dress and some heels and then headed out.
Colour she saved for the stage.
‘Where were you?’ Mika asked, as she climbed into the limousine to head to the hotel where the party was being held.
‘I had people to greet.’
They sat in silence, Anya lost in her thoughts. Mika was sulking at being kept waiting and he read what was being said on social media about tonight’s performance. They ignored each other but as they stepped out onto the red carpet they came alive again, for it added to the mystery of the dance world. There were screams for Mika, because he had quite a fangirl following. Mika, though, put a protective arm around Anya and they smiled for the cameras and then headed inside.
Instead of refusing the delicacies that were being offered, as she usually did, Anya took a serviette and a small beignet and bit into the warm, sweet dough.
There were a few raised eyebrows when she took another and then another. The lemon in her water was her usual fuel for this type of thing.
But sex had made her hungry, or was it that Roman was back?
Yes, the people around could see the changes. Not just that she ate but that her cheeks were pink and her green eyes glittered.
After all these years, her body felt alive again and yet he had killed her soul.
The next morning as the famed ballet troupe headed for a snatched week at home or straight on to Paris before rehearsals began in earnest, Anya fought with herself not to stop the car and get out.
Roman was in London.
And as she sat on the plane and strapped on her seat belt she wanted to disembark. It felt wrong to be leaving when he was here.
She turned away from the chatter of colleagues and stared out of the window and thought of Roman and Daniil catching up after all these years, and then she thought of what had taken place last night.
Then, despite harsh words to Roman and a brutal lecture to herself, insisting that she was through with him, she consoled herself with one thought.
She would see him at the christening, she was sure.
It wasn’t over.
It never had been.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
