Chapter Thirty
Willow
January
“Guess what!” Willow had been anxiously waiting all day for her nightly video chat with Harry and she couldn’t wait to share her Official Best News Ever.
He put a finger to his chin and made a thinking face that was so cute she had to grab a screenshot of it. “Ummm…” He looked right at the camera so it felt like she was actually making eye contact with him. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me?”
He’d been saying stuff like that more often and it felt really, really good. Especially because she’d been thinking stuff like that about him, too. “No…” She smiled widely as he made a shocked face.
“But you are!”
“No, that’s you. You’re the one who’s the best thing that ever happened to me. And that’s a pretty big deal since you still hold that title even after what happened today.”
Understanding lit his eyes. “You were cast as Juliet!”
Willow nodded frantically. “I was! I really was!”
“Oh, my sweet angel, I knew you would. After I saw what you could do with something as boring as The Nutcracker…” Mischief quirked the corners of his mouth.
“I warned you not to go.”
“True. But then I wouldn’t have such a complete understanding of how good you actually are. I mean, I bet anyone can dance the role of Juliet and make the audience feel something. After all, she’ll have the music and the story to help her. But you. You made people feel something in a ballet as boring as The Nutcracker. That’s real power right there, Doll.”
“God, I miss you.”
And she did.
She felt the lack of him down to her bones.
An empty space where Harry was supposed to be. Even something as important as finally getting to perform her dream role somehow felt less.
Wasn’t achieving your dreams supposed to be the best thing that could ever happen to a person? Wasn’t reaching new landmarks and checking goals off your bucket list the whole point of life?
It just…didn’t feel that way.
Sitting at her kitchen table, chatting with Harry, that was the best part of her day. Better even than the high she got after a killer rehearsal. Better than the compliment she received from the director about her recent performance. And even better than seeing her name beside the role of Juliet on the cast list.
And tomorrow’s chat with Harry would be the next best part of her life. And the next conversation, and the next. She was quickly realizing that Harry had become the best part of her life.
Better than dancing.
Better than working for one of the best companies in the world while living in one of the best cities in the world.
Better than checking things off her bucket list.
What did that mean?
The answer was so simple and so complex all at the same time. It meant that Harry was the most important thing in her life. It meant that he was worth more to her than any amount of success in her career. She tried to imagine any number of possible outcomes to her life, being promoted to principal dancer, becoming a ballet mistress, or, going all the way to fantasy land, she imagined what it would be like to become the director of American City Ballet—a status akin to God in the dance world.
Nothing she imagined satisfied her the same way imagining falling asleep next to Harry every night did.
Nothing felt as right as Harry.
“Hey.” Harry knocked on his tablet screen and leaned close to the camera. “Where’d you go?”
“I’m right here.” Willow smiled at his adorableness.
“Sure, your body’s there, but your mind sure isn’t. I was so far off your radar we weren’t even in the same zip code.”
“But we aren’t in the same zip code,” Willow quipped before making a sad face. He had no idea he was so very much on her radar that she was contemplating a life without dance just to be with him.
“Sure, if you want to argue semantics. Or, you could tell me where your mind went just now so we can talk about it.”
Willow hesitated a fraction of second, not exactly sure how honest she wanted to be. “I miss you is all. Lots and lots. More than you know.”
Harry’s concern melted into a smile. “I love you, Willow Tamran. My sweet angel. And I miss you every moment I’m not at your side.” The honesty in his voice was so pure it hurt. “You’re still coming down this weekend? That’s still good? No snags in the plan?”
“No snags in the plan.” Willow stood and carried her tablet with her to rummage through the fridge. “Will you cook for me again when I’m there? I’m getting really tired of protein bars.”
“You bet your sweet ass I’ll cook for you again.”
Willow blushed from head to toe at the mention of her sweet ass, remembering where his finger went the last time they were together.
“Look at you blushing. You still don’t know what to do with the fact that you liked it so much, do you?”
Willow shuddered. “I don’t want to like it as much as I did. I feel…dirty.” She grabbed a container of Greek yogurt and checked the date.
“You are dirty. You're my dirty little angel and I absolutely love it.”
“I’m glad that you love it, but next time, would you warn me?”
“If I warn you, you’ll tell me no and you won’t get to come as hard as you did that weekend.” Harry smirked at her shocked expression. “Besides. I’ve told you before. When it comes to the bedroom, I’m in charge. I promise I won’t do anything to you that you don’t want me to, but one look at your face tells me you’d be totally fine if I was there right now with my finger up your—”
“Harry!” Willow widened her eyes at the camera.
