Luc chuckled. "I'm not straight."
"Really?" She rolled her eyes. "I guess I'm out of luck then."
Luc wasn't sure what expression crossed his face, but it made Adrianna snort with laughter.
"Don't worry. I'd never fool around with someone I work with. It's not worth the drama. I'm most definitely not hitting on you."
Luc's shoulders dipped as he exhaled. Not that Adrianna wasn't an incredibly beautiful woman, but he had to agree that sleeping with a co-worker, especially his boss, was stupid and never ended well.
"I'm dating my brother. Stepbrother," he corrected, the words rushing out of him before he could stop them.
He held his breath again, waiting for her to react in some way. When she stayed quiet, he rubbed the back of his neck, wondering if he could simply walk out on her. He'd known telling her would be awkward, but it was turning out worse than he'd hoped.
"If you want me to hand my notice in—"
"Excuse me?"
Luc stared at her. "Which part? The part where I told you I was dating my stepbrother, or where I offered to quit?"
"Yeah, that. You are not quitting on me, Luc Earnshaw."
"And the other part?
"It's... unconventional," Adrianna said, picking up the menu again. She held it in front of her, almost like a shield. "But you've got different parents?"
Luc nodded. "We were brought up together. My mum married Adam's dad when I was five and he was four. They adopted each of us." He stared at the table. "As far as they're concerned, we're brothers in the eyes of the law, which means sleeping together is incest." He forced himself to look up to meet Adrianna's stare. "I'd understand if you felt the same way."
"Like I said, it's unconventional. But you know me: I'm a live and let live kind of person. Who you love doesn't impact me in any way. As long as you're still getting the job done, why should I care who you want to sleep with?" She pursed her lips. "I'm also not sure I agree with your parents' logic. I don't care what a piece of paper says. The fact is, you and Adam aren't biologically related."
Luc sighed heavily. "I wish Mum and Dad saw it that way."
Adrianna tilted her head to the side and regarded him sadly for a few moments. "I'm sure they will. Parents get to make mistakes too, you know. They get to have knee-jerk reactions and throw their toys out of the pram. And then they get to apologise."
Luc hoped that was how things would pan out, but with every day that passed, that hope was fading.
"Do you have a photo?" Adrianna asked, her voice brighter.
Luc pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and pulled up one of the photos he'd taken of Adam dancing.
Adrianna whistled as she took the phone from him. "He is hot. I can see why you'd want to screw him." Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "I don't suppose the two of you are into ménage à trois?" She licked her lips. "Having sex with two brothers is on my bucket list."
Luc gaped at her, not sure whether she was being serious or not.
"I'm kidding," she said, laughing and waving her hand at him. "The look on your face is priceless." She turned his phone towards him and snapped his picture.
"Thanks," he grumbled, as she handed it back to him.
"Don't delete it," she ordered. "Show that to Adam. It'll give him a laugh."
Luc didn't even look at the photo before putting his phone away.
Adrianna's expression became more sober as the smile drifted away from her lips. "If you need to take some time off to sort things out with your parents, I'll understand."
Luc shook his head. "If they want to talk to us, they'll get in touch." He was grateful Adrianna was being so understanding.
"You don't sound very confident that they will."
He shrugged. "I want them to come around, for Adam's sake. Them not talking to us is breaking him apart, but I haven't been that close to them in a long time."
"The offer's there."
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
Adrianna smiled broadly again. "I know, I'm an awesome boss, aren't I?"
Luc couldn't disagree with her; she had always been good to him.
"So, when do I get to meet Adam?"
"He's away visiting a friend at the moment."
"Away? You mean he's moved in with you?"
"Yeah," Luc confirmed. "For now, at least. I don't know what'll happen long term."
"I definitely need to meet him now," Adrianna said in an authoritative tone.
"I'll organise it," Luc promised. "As long as you don't suggest a ménage à trois to him."
Adrianna laughed. "You think I'll offend him?"
Luc shook his head. "I think he'd be up for it. But like you said: sleeping with someone you work with leads to too much drama."
"You know I'm wishing I hadn't said that now?" Adrianna said, clicking her fingers.
Luc tugged at his collar, still not sure if she was kidding. The one thing he knew for sure was that he never wanted to play poker with her.
"I'm joking," she assured him. "Stop looking like a rabbit caught in headlights. Now, are we going to order food? I'm pretty sure you're only allowed an hour for lunch."
Luc leaned back in his chair and finally picked his copy of the menu up. "It's fine. I have a really cool boss. She won't mind if I get back to the office a bit late. We can take our time."
"Really?"
Luc nodded confidently. "Really."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Adam
Once the dance company were done rehearsing for the day, Mason showed Adam up to the studio that was contained within the theatre building.
"I've got a couple of hours," Mason said. "Then I'll have to start getting ready for tonight's show. Is that long enough?"
Adam shrugged. "I guess it'll have to be."
He sloughed off his outwear, stripping down to his dance shirt and tights. Next, he pulled his black ballet shoes on and began to stretch out, aware that Mason was watching him the whole time.
"What?"
"You don't look excited."
Adam glanced up, as he stretched over his leg to touch his toes. "Should I be?"
"Uh... yeah! Assuming you want to apply for Ballet Torsion."
Adam froze. "I'm just not sure it's my dream anymore."
Mason came and sat close to him, mirroring Adam's stretch, even though he had to be more than warmed up after a day full of rehearsals.
"And when–if—Mum and Dad start talking to me again, they'll need me back at the dance school."
"Is that what you really want?" Mason asked quietly, before switching legs, an action which prompted Adam to do the same.
"Luc thinks it's time I start doing what I want to do."
"I'm not going to disagree with that, but is being a professional dancer still something you want? It's a hard life, Adam."
"You said it was worth it?"
Mason grinned at him. "It is. I love every minute of it. But I eat, breathe and sleep ballet." Mason pressed his lips together. "Last time I checked, so do you."
"I love dancing," Adam agreed. "But would I be thinking about applying for a company if Mum and Dad hadn't chucked me out?"
Mason shrugged. "Maybe not, but is that because you've given up on your dream completely, or because you feel you have to help your parents out?"
Adam couldn't answer that.
Mason bounced up to his feet. "Come on. Let's finish warming up and get the photos you need taken. Then we can work on the video. If you're not feeling the passion by the time we're done, I'd say you've got your answer." He held his hand out to Adam. "But for what it's worth, I think Luc's right. You should do what you want to do. If that's applying for a dance company and moving in with Luc, go with it." He grinned. "And I give you that advice as someone who is most definitely not trying to get into your pants."
Adam couldn't help but smile as he took Mason's hand and allowed his friend to pull him up. "That must have been really hard."
"What?"
"Agreeing w
ith Luc."
Mason winced dramatically. "Yeah, I'm not your brother's greatest fan. But he does talk sense sometimes."
"You know he was only an ass to me because he was in love with me?"
"I'm glad you've forgiven him." Mason began to bounce on the spot. "I'm glad he makes you happy."
They continued warming up. Adam was mostly silent, but Mason talked enough for the both of them, chattering about his daily training and rehearsal schedule with so much enthusiasm, that his words chased away Adam's dour mood.
By the time he was standing in passé reléve, his toe pointed to his knee so Mason could take his photo, Adam felt genuinely excited about applying to Ballet Torsion. It was an excellent ballet company and it would mean he was with Luc.
"What if my parents can't run the dance school without me?" he asked, as he switched legs.
"Big ego there," Mason teased.
"You know what I mean," Adam growled. "They can't afford to pay another teacher the going rate."
"They'll manage," Mason said. "They might have to juggle the timetable around, so they only have to get a part-time teacher, but they will manage." He hugged the camera to his chest, his feet naturally settling into first position as he stood, facing Adam. "If dancing professionally is still your dream, you need to reach out and take it now."
"Before I'm too old?" Adam asked.
"Yeah. It's not like we have the longest careers, is it?"
Adam shook his head. There was a sad truth to it, but most dancers retired in their mid-thirties. Their bodies simply couldn't take the gruelling pressure anymore. But he would always have teaching to fall back on. He wondered what Mason would do when his career came to an end.
"Afterwards, if it's what you really want to do, you can go back to teaching for them. Or you could open up your own dance school."
"Maybe we could open up our own dance school?" Adam suggested.
Mason bobbed his head from side to side. "Maybe. I might try my hand at choreography." His dazzling blue eyes lit up as he spoke. "We could start our own dance company," he said, his eyes widening with excitement.
"Careful," Adam said. "You're about to start bouncing."
Mason laughed and did exactly that, bouncing from foot to foot gracefully.
"You're like Tigger on crack," Adam said, shaking his head. The truth was, Mason's tireless energy was one of the things he'd always loved about him.
"Tigger on crack?" Mason snorted. "We're done with photos. Want to move onto the barre work?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"If you can stand still long enough to hold a camera steady."
"I think I can manage."
For the next half hour, Adam practised the requisite barre exercises, accepting pointers from Mason to improve his posture and form before he did them one final time for Mason to record. Then he moved onto centre work, showing the power and strength of his body as he went through the slow, controlled movements of grand adage. He chose to do double pirouettes after receiving encouragement from Mason. Next came jumps, both small and large. Starting from fifth position, he dipped into a plié and used that to power a changément, during which he changed his feet position over, so he landed back in fifth, with the opposite foot in front. He preferred the larger jumps, especially the grand jeté and tours en l'air, which saw him making a complete revolution of his body in the air, as he changed foot position to land in closed fifth.
Every movement he made sent adrenaline coursing through him, making his body buzz with raw exhilaration. This was what he loved doing. Dancing. It was invigorating and freeing in a way that teaching simply couldn't compare to. Not for him, anyway. The realisation that he'd pushed his dream aside for far too long hit him like a sledgehammer to the back of the head and he almost faltered half way through a grand pas de chat. Somehow, he managed to steady himself enough to land in an arabesque.
"How was that?" he asked, as he rested his hands on his hips and leant forward to catch his breath.
"Great," Mason grinned. "I'd hire you."
"Sadly, it's not your choice."
"Sadly?" Mason asked, hitching an eyebrow. "Does that mean you do want this?"
Adam grabbed the bottle of water he'd brought with him and took a long swig. "Yeah," he said, still breathing hard. "I do." He was aware of the feverish excitement in his voice. "I really do. Do you think I stand a chance? Be honest, Mase."
"I really do think you're in with a good chance of getting in. Do you want to look at the footage I shot? Make sure it's okay?"
Adam nodded and wandered across. They sat on the floor, watching the recording on the tiny screen.
"Wow, I'm good," Adam breathed.
Mason jabbed him in the ribs. "And incredibly modest. When are the auditions?"
"Next month. If I get that far."
"You will," Mason said with absolute certainty. "Believe in yourself."
"Yes, boss."
"I mean it," Mason said, his voice suddenly sober. "You are good enough. Don't ever doubt that, okay?"
Adam frowned as he stared at his friend. He wasn't used to seeing Mason looking or sounding so serious. "Is everything okay?"
"Of course."
Despite Mason's words, Adam realised his friend looked tired and a little gaunt.
"Mase..."
"I'm good. Just tired. It's almost the end of the season, it's normal." He glanced up at the wall clock. "Come on, I've just about got time to grab some food before I have to be back here." He was on his feet again and grabbing his coat and boots, before Adam could breathe, let alone speak.
"You'd tell me if there was something wrong, wouldn't you?" Adam asked, as he switched his own shoes over.
"Travelling all the time is hard," Mason replied as he pulled his coat on. "I've been doing it for three years. It might be time to try something new. But you won't have that problem when you get into Ballet Torsion. You ready? I'm starving."
"You could apply too," Adam suggested as he joined Mason at the door.
Mason shook his head firmly. "Nope. I'm not going to tread on your toes. If I decide I'm done travelling, I'll find another company to apply to."
"Afraid I'll beat you?" Adam asked playfully.
Mason wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, a little."
Adam's eyes widened. "I wouldn't, you know that, right? You're an amazing dancer." He nudged his shoulder against Mason's. "Believe in yourself."
Mason rolled his eyes. "You're a jerk sometimes, you know that?"
Adam draped his arm over Mason's shoulders, pulling him close so he could use his other hand to rub Mason's head with his knuckles. "Only to you, because I care."
"Lucky me." Mason twisted away and grabbed Adam's wrist, pulling him out the door. "Food. Now."
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Luc
"Luc?" His mum stared at him as he stood on the doorstep, hugging a folder against his chest.
"Can I come in?" he asked curtly. "Or shall I just give this to you now?"
Her gaze dropped to the folder in his arms. "What is it?"
"A marketing plan for the dance school." He held it out to her.
She didn't take it, instead she stood aside and gestured inside the house. "You'd best come in."
Luc exhaled. He'd half expected to have the door slammed in his face. He hoped the fact it hadn't been was a good sign.
He wandered through to the kitchen, where Ken was already sat drinking a large mug of coffee. Ken glanced at him.
"Adam's not here," Luc told them both, as his mum took the seat next to her husband.
"Luc brought us a marketing plan," she told Ken.
"You came all this way?"
"Three hours, each way," Luc replied, taking a seat opposite them. He put the folder on the table and slid it towards him.
"Where's Adam?" his mum asked.
"He's gone to visit Mason for a few days." He wasn't going to explain why, that was Adam's news to tell. He opened up the folder. "There's
a full twelve-month plan in here," he explained. "Everything from how to continue running your social media campaigns, to offers and dance demonstrations, broken down on a week by week calendar." He took a brief pause to register the softness of his mum's eyes and the way Ken's jaw had relaxed, before carrying on. "It concentrates on bringing in younger pupils and increasing class sizes at that end of the dance school, but I've also put suggestions for starting adult classes. I've already arranged your first wave of dance demonstrations. All the contact details, dates and times are here," he leafed through the plan to find the right page. "You just have to have dances ready and turn up.
"Adam's been continuing to run your social media stuff, but you both need to take over. So I've put together a selection of posts for each platform for you. I think there's roughly fifty of each. By the time you've used those up, you should have a good handle on what to put on Facebook and Twitter." He handed them a USB memory stick. "This has all the photos I took." He leafed through the folder again. "And here's a list of each photo and a caption for you to put on Instagram. You'll use lots of them on Facebook and Twitter, too, but it's all written down."
He took a deep breath. "Basically, this folder is a step-by-step guide to promoting and building up your business. Follow it and I guarantee you'll have things turned around within twelve months."
He dropped his hands to his lap. Waiting. Hoping.
"This must have taken you hours to put together," Ken said quietly.
Luc shrugged. "I'd already started it before..." he glanced away. "Anyway, I said I'd help you. I—we—don't want you to lose the dance school. We know how much it means to you." He pushed his chair back and stood.
"You don't have to go," his mum said, standing with him. Her voice was soft, but quiet.
Luc hesitated. His plan had been to turn up, drop off the marketing plan and a brief explanation and leave. But his feet were betraying him. They didn't want to carry him out of the house and away from his parents forever. He only hoped Adam wouldn’t be angry when he found out that Luc had not only visited their parents without him, but without his knowledge, too.
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