“Clara, your poor foot,” I say sympathetically. Of all the rotten luck. As a ballerina, her feet are her livelihood. “How long are you going to be out for this time?”
“Don’t worry, it’s more precautionary than anything else. I can dance. I just need to cut back on my rehearsal time. The older I get, the more my body seems to break down.”
“I hope it doesn’t hurt too much.” I wonder if she’s hiding any other injuries. Clara is as tough as they come. The week she met my cousin five years ago, she danced in a gala performance with a broken bone in her foot. Any other person would’ve pulled out, but not her. And secretly, I’m glad she didn’t, because that gutsy move is what eventually earned her a contract with the Westminster Ballet and brought her to London. I can’t imagine her not being married to my cousin and in my life.
“It’s nothing I can’t handle. This isn’t any worse than a strained or pulled muscle. If it’ll make you feel any better, David’s been watching me like a mother hen. He’ll make sure I actually rest.”
We share a laugh. My cousin can definitely be a worrywart.
“Speaking of being protected, how are you getting along with your new protection team?” Clara asks. “Amanda mentioned on the way over that Bruce is retiring. It’s such a shame. I like him a lot.”
“Me too.” My heart still feels heavy when I think about it, but I’ve begun getting used to the idea of not having him around. “The two newbies are a mixed bag. Arthur, you’ve met. He’s professional to the point of being cold. I don’t really have much to say about him. Angela, on the other hand, is lovely. Just from our initial conversation, it seemslike we have a lot in common. She was so easy to talk to. I like her already.”
“It sounds to me like Arthur is just doing his job. Give him some time to settle in. I’m sure he needs to adjust to the new situation too. It took a while for the lads on your cousin’s team to warm up to me,” Clara muses.
“That’s what Amanda said.”
“Great minds think alike.” She elbows Clara. “And shy or not, the new Bruce is handsome.”
“If you say so.” I can’t think of another decent thing to say about him. I pull a line out of Mr. Darcy’s book. “I guess he has nice eyes.” Not that I know what color they are. I haven’t looked that closely.
“Amanda, you shouldn’t encourage her. He’s theoneguy who’s off-limits. You know the rules,” Clara says. “Protection officers aren’t allowed to date anyone they work for.”
“Then it’s a good thing I have zero interest in him. He’snotmy type.” I wince at the thought of going on a date with someone like him.
Amanda twists her body to face me. “And what is your type?”
I shouldn’t have opened my mouth. I don’t know. I mutter the first thought that pops into my head, “Um... somebody who likes horses?”
Taking out her phone she opens the note app. “Hold on.” Her nose wrinkles as she creates a list in the app. “Okay, what else?”
“Are we really doing this?”
“Come on, Ali, what else are you into? Beards? Tattoos? Piercings? Muscles? Eye color?”
“Er...” My palms grow sweaty and suddenly the car is too hot. I don’t know what type of guy I’m into. It’s never been a thing that’s high on my priority list.
Clara places a cool, calming hand on my elbow. “Whatever you say stays between us girls. We promise none of it will leak out, especially to the boys. You can trust us.” She glances at Amanda, then back to me. “Did you know that before I met David, I used to hang out at the bookshop near the Los Angeles Ballet Theatre during my breaks? I’d hoped to meet a guy there. But I never did. They were always taken. To me, there was nothing more attractive than a man who reads.”
Luckily for Clara, she met the perfect partner. David, like Papa,adores reading military history books. If you were to give them the name of a major battle, the two of them could go on for hours on end discussing how one decision made by a general or colonel impacted the outcome of said event.
“What about you, A? We know you’ve always had a thing for Eddie, but before you were an engaged woman, what types of profiles attracted you on dating apps?” Clara asks.
“Mainly guys who were open to going to Disneyland with me.” She presses her lips together. “You’d think it wouldn’t be asking much, but it was. Nine times out of ten, I’d exhaust them running from ride to ride and they’d strand me two hours into the date. It’s their loss. They missed one of the world’s best fireworks shows.”
The embarrassment from a few moments ago flees the car. Clara and I giggle. These two are family. I can trust them. They’d never hurt me—unlike my former classmates. I take a deep breath. “What else are you attracted to? Tattoos?” I ask, needing a few more moments to compose myself.
“Yup, tattoos are cool by me. They just didn’t rank as highly on my list of top attributes. Eddie has three, you know.”
“Huh, I never knew that.”
“They’re in places that don’t show much.” She winks.
I cover my ears. “La la la. I don’t need to hear that. I’ll be scarred for life.”
“They’re on his shoulder blade, lower back, and his biceps.” She rolls her eyes. “Places thepresswon’t photograph. Anyway, quit stalling. What qualities or physical traits in a guy are important to you?”
That’s the million-pound question. My eyes flutter and my voice grows quiet. “Besides horses, and being someone I can trust... er, I guess if I were looking, I’d like to find a guy who is motivated to go after his goals.”
