Harlequin Romance March 2021 Box Set Cara Colter (the mitten read aloud TXT) 📖

performing to their best ability. She enjoyed her classroom teaching but it was the Christmas plays, the carol concerts, the Easter parades and all her various dance productions that really made her job so satisfying. This might not be her choreography, they might not be her students, but they were on stage because of her and the buzz was incredible. No matter what her future held, teaching dance had to be part of it.

Luckily, there was enough assistance in the dressing rooms for Charlie to stay watching in the wings all evening and she was right there when Violeta Costa and her partner performed their duet, the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. Charlie’s eyes filled, her chest tight as she watched the perfectly executed steps, the emotion conveyed through music and movement, experiencing the poignant joy of seeing someone at the absolute top of their profession perform. Alone in her spot, it felt as if she was experiencing a private performance just for her and it was almost a shock when the applause rang out, the audience on their feet. But then, this audience had also been on their feet for every one of the small children’s performances, generous with their love and applause.

As the lights dimmed ready for the next dancer she relived the pas de deux in her mind, feeling the passion in every step and gesture. Was this how she’d always thought love would be, sudden and fiery and all-consuming and potentially doomed? Had she always been influenced by the drama of love rather than reality, expecting it to flare hot and passionate until the flames went out? She’d never had any particular longevity in her previous relationships, although they’d always been full-on from the start. She loved falling in love, she loved that first touch, the getting to know them part, the butterflies in her stomach and the way her whole body would quiver with anticipation for a word, a glance, a kiss. But that kind of attraction and excitement, the fun of falling in love, was only part of a marriage. A long-term relationship needed something steadier alongside flirtation and heady desire. And being steady was something Charlie had run from since the day she’d finally quit her life as an embassy child.

Matteo didn’t need flutters and flames; he needed steady. He needed supportive. He needed someone to remind him that life wasn’t all work, to remind him that he didn’t bear the responsibility for the whole world on his shoulders, that his grandfather’s expectations were ridiculous, that he was allowed to cut loose sometimes.

She hugged herself, suddenly cold and shamed. Matteo needed someone who wouldn’t impulsively suggest marriage and impulsively walk away from it, somebody who wouldn’t think heading off to Vietnam was the best way to escape a difficult situation. He needed someone on his side. Not a martyr who allowed him to get away with putting his marriage second, but a partner, someone who would weigh up a difficult situation and calmly decide what she would do with that information. His childhood had been cold and lonely. He needed help to see he deserved love and happiness, that putting his happiness before his duty was allowed.

The question was, could she be that person? Not only that, but could she maintain all that made her happy within that marriage? Not play the perfect wife until she was bored and resentful. Could she find balance? It was ironic; she was a dancer and yet balance was something that had eluded her for her entire life.

But she already knew the answer to the biggest question of all. Did she want to spend her life without him? She could fill it with travel and adventures and excitement, but something would always be missing. She knew that now. She just had to find a way to let him know.

Finally, the gala was over and all Charlie needed to do was ensure that every child was changed and left with the right parent or guardian. Thanks to her helpers it wasn’t too long before she’d seen them all run into the arms of proud parents and grandparents, ready to be whisked off to celebratory meals. Tonight the village squares would be full of proud local families. A party had been planned for all the guest dancers and some of the region’s more illustrious residents to raise some more money whilst thanking the guest artists for their support. Charlie had an invitation but she wasn’t really sure whether she was up to smiling and playing nice. Not when she needed to speak to Matteo. To tell him she was coming home. To him.

‘Charlie, thank you so much.’ Lucia rushed up, a smiling Natalia by her side. ‘You’ve made Rosa’s year—I’m so glad you’re part of my family.’

‘It was nothing,’ Charlie said, slightly embarrassed as she thought about how close she’d been to leaving the family. ‘It was all Natalia’s doing. I just supervised really.’

But Natalia shook her head emphatically. ‘You were on your holiday, Charlie, and yet you gave up all this time to help my children, and to make their dreams come true. I hope to see you next time you’re in Ravello; you must allow me to take you out and thank you. It’s a shame you won’t be living here permanently; I could do with an assistant teacher, especially one who can teach so many alternative disciplines. Is there any way I can persuade you?’

Charlie laughed as Lucia exclaimed how wonderful that would be, but inside she felt a wisp of sadness that they couldn’t really stay in Ravello, live in Matteo’s villa. She was at peace here in a way she’d never really been before, the combination of the sun and the scenery and the sea certainly helped, but it was more than that. It was as if she’d finally found her home.

‘Have you seen Matteo yet?’ Lucia asked and Charlie was just trying to find the right way to say that he hadn’t