Free Dancing On Air by Nicole Hurley-Moore Page A

would be tedious. Complications can make you feel alive. Has he asked to meet you?’
    Lisette thought on Sally’s words for an instant. Perhaps she was right about complications. Lisette knew that she had already agreed to meet Evander later but part of her believed that she would tell him that they could never meet again. However, that part of her was shrinking quickly, just like her resolve. Lisette didn’t believe in fairy tales and was under no illusion that whatever she and Evander had between them would be fleeting. But an image of him smiling popped into her head and it made her stomach contract. Maybe she was playing with fire, but just once she longed to know what it was like to be loved. ‘Yes... This afternoon at The Hearth Fire.’
    ‘Good, I shall make sure you get there. Don’t worry, Lisette... No-one will discover your secret.’

    Tinder Michaels hesitated momentarily before gathering his nerve and knocking on Madame Devoré’s office.
    ‘Enter!’
    Tinder opened the door and saw that her office was almost as big as his own. The observation didn’t sit well with him.
    ‘Ah, Madame, I wondered if I may have a word?’
    Marie looked up from her desk with a hint of surprise on her face. ‘Mr Michaels, please come in and sit down.’
    Her words sounded gracious but Tinder had the feeling he had just walked into a spider’s wed. Madame Devoré was dressed in her obligatory black; the only hint of colour came from the gold mounted cameo that sat at her throat. The black drained her face of colour and accentuated her blue eyes. Her eyes were the same deep blue as Lisette’s and were Marie Devoré’s only soft feature. Tinder took a breath, strode across the room and took the seat near her desk.
    ‘I thought, Madame, that we should discuss this review and its ramifications on The Imperial.’ Tinder sat in the low chair. Its back was straight and the chair pad hard. He was uncomfortable and, to make things worse, Madame Devoré appeared to look down over her desk at him.
    ‘The ramifications?’
    ‘Yes, obviously Lisette’s fame is beginning to rise. Do you foresee any problems with that?’
    ‘It is early yet, but I do not believe so. Lisette is a gifted dancer and will do the part justice,’ Marie said evenly.
    ‘Yes, I must apologise for putting Bessie forward... I see now that Lisette was the natural choice. I shall not meddle in your area of expertise again.’
    Madame inclined her head and allowed a hint of a smile to touch her lips. ‘It is gracious of you to say so.’
    ‘Do you believe she will be able to handle the adulation and popularity that her dancing will bring? I mean, it’s just that she is so young...and she will be the object of much worship.’
    ‘Worship? I believe that is too strong of a word. However, on some level you are correct. Being a ballerina of worth, especially when she becomes a principal dancer, will bring with it fame. Lisette is eighteen with a good dose of common sense. She will not allow the attention to go to her head.’
    Tinder nodded and tried to form the words into the question he most wanted to ask. But as he raised his head and saw Madame’s piercing stare, the words melted away. He cleared his throat and tried to recover some sense of dignity. Hell’s teeth, he was the legal owner of the Imperial Theatre, not Madame Devoré. ‘But the rose?’
    Marie tilted back her head and laughed. To Tinder it sounded raspy and hollow.
    ‘Roses are to be expected, along with bouquets, gushing reviews, supper invitations, jewellery and proposals...none of which will pertain to marriage. Lisette received her first rose and believe me when I say it will not be her last.’
    ‘Oh, I just thought...’
    Marie gave him a thin smile. ‘You like her?’
    ‘Oh...um, no I was merely concerned for the girl’s welfare.’ He dropped his gaze to the green Persian rug on the floor and hoped that she had not noticed the heat that was burning in his cheeks. ‘Do you