Ryan started to excuse us so that we could change, but his eyes widened when he caught sight of something behind me. I didn’t need to turn around to see who it was, because I could feel the weight of eyes on my back. Awareness tingled up my spine, and I pushed away the butterflies that just decided to take flight in my stomach. There was nothing special about these guys, and I’d never see them again after today.
I gave an annoyed sigh and then turned to face the two handsome problems, just as I suspected. I didn’t like that they had sought me out in the crowd, and I hated that my skin heated at the mere proximity of my dark-haired stalker. Yeah, he was hot, but he clearly wasn’t someone I wanted to get to know.
They were both tall with broad shoulders, but the blond was slightly leaner. He had the sharp cheekbones and square jaw of a male model, and his confidence said that he knew how good-looking he was. He would have been the most attractive guy in the room if it weren’t for his dark-haired companion. This guy resembled a fallen angel with his dark hair and perfect features. He had a strong, chiseled jaw and full lips, but it was his eyes that made me unable to look away. They were a gray that reminded me of gathering storm clouds above a tumultuous sea as a hurricane rolled into shore.
Both of the guys were both looking at me with dislike, which made no sense. I’ve never met either of them. Why would they come to a showcase to hate on a random ballerina? None of my instructors pulled punches when we trained, so I knew I had a lot of work to do before I was ready for a professional company, but I also knew I was on par with where I should be at this point in my career. It couldn’t be my performance that had offended them. However, I wasn’t about to let them intimidate me, so I matched them glare for glare.
I was so distracted by the two of them that I hadn’t even noticed that they weren’t alone. A tall blond woman stood at their side with a fake smile on her face as she clung to the arm of her date. He was just as tall as the boys, and I could see a faint resemblance between them – he was probably their father.
The woman reached out towards me, and I instinctively flinched. I didn’t like being touched by complete strangers.
The dark-haired guy looked amused, but the blond chuckled with a mean undertone.
“Looks like she’s not too happy to see you,” he sneered.
I looked at the Logans to see if the strangers were people that they knew. Mr. Logan’s face was blank, but Mrs. Logan twisted her hands in anxiety.
“Katya, dear,” Mrs. Logan said quietly. “I thought we would have time to talk about this before she tried to meet you, but-”
My head whipped back to the blond woman, and I really looked at her this time. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t recognized her the second she walked up, but maybe my mind had blanked in a self-defense mechanism.
Nina Kotova had been one of the most famous models in the world ten years ago. Her star had been slowly fading since then, and now she was partially retired, only doing select campaigns and high-profile events. After seeing her up close, I doubted that even that would last much longer. The fashion industry loved girls in their teens and maybe their early twenties. Nina had been banking on her big name and coasting by for the last few years, but she had to know the end was near now that she was in her thirties.
Why did I know so much about a supermodel? Because she was also the mother that abandoned me without a backward glance.
I narrowed my eyes at Nina, and she swallowed nervously.
“What brings you here tonight, mother?” I asked her sarcastically.
The blond guy laughed at Nina. “She’s your daughter? You told Mav and me that she was your sister.”
My jaw dropped. Unbelievable. She was telling people I was her sister because she was too embarrassed to admit to the child she’d given birth to? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
“Ryan, let’s change.” I grabbed his arm and tried to pull him along with me, but he resisted.
“Katya,” he said softly. “Maybe you should hear what she has to say?”
I snorted but turned around to face Nina and arched an eyebrow. The guys were watching her squirm in obvious enjoyment, but their father looked at her with disappointment.
My ‘mother’ elegantly placed a hand at her throat as if she were distraught. The way she angled her hand so that the absurdly large diamond on her finger glinted in the light was just one more thing that made me question how genuine she was.
“Katya, darling,” she said with a shaking voice and even a tear at the corner of her eye. “I’ve been waiting to meet you for so long, but your grandmother-”
She paused dramatically and appeared to be overwhelmed with emotion, but I doubted her sincerity. The way she glanced back at the older man only cemented my opinion, because she was gauging his reaction – not mine.
“She didn’t want me to see you,” Nina finally got out in a broken voice.
I gave up on trying to appear neutral and rolled my eyes at that piece of bullshit.
“Babulya has lived in the same apartment since the eighties,” I informed her. “A quick google search would have brought up a list of most of my performances and awards, so it wouldn’t have been difficult for you to get in touch with me if you genuinely wanted to.”
I saw
