Five years ago
Chapter 3
Aurora
I have been staring at the stranger since I entered the ballroom a few seconds ago.
Those eyes... They shine like a sunrise...
"Pair number forty-three, please," someone announces in English. The woman's voice is as sharp as a knife yet distant, far away. Strange. "Forty-three."
A warm breeze brushes against my ear. Someone takes my hand. "Aurora, it's our turn."
I blink hard, yet I can't tear myself away from the mesmerizing fire of those captivating green eyes. A tingling sensation runs down my back, then continues along the back of my legs and up the front again. It reaches my thighs, my stomach, and finally my heart, which immediately starts beating harder against my chest.
"Come on."
Who is speaking? Could it be the person shaking my arm? The vibration travels all the way to my fingertips while I remain lost in the stranger's eyes.
It's as if there's only the two of us.
Just him and me.
Nothing else.
Not even the earthquake forming in my shoulder.
"Dammit, Aurora!"
Someone whirls me around.
The glowing fire vanishes. Instead, there's Enzo, with a pronounced furrow between his perfectly groomed eyebrows. A bead of sweat trickles down his high forehead and crawls into the elongated groove.
"It's our turn," he says, rushed, and suddenly, I'm wide awake.
I know where I am. And why I traveled hundreds of miles from my home in the heart of Italy here.
This is the audition for the most innovative dance training in Europe. The Académie de Nouvelle Danse Paris accepts only the most promising talents each year. In a multiday selection process, they study the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates. They evaluate with a keen eye and show no mercy when it comes to nervousness or any other feelings that don't belong on the dance floor.
If I don't give my best now, I will regret it for the rest of my life. Enzo and I have already failed the auditions at England's most prestigious dance centers. There was no place for us in our homeland of Italy either. This is the last chance. Everything depends on it.
My promise. My big dream.
Determined, I nod at Enzo, gather my focus, and lift the corners of my mouth. Hand in hand, we stride into the center of the expansive ballroom, its walls mirrored from floor to ceiling. I make an effort to breathe calmly and gather my concentration. Distraction is the last thing I need now.
Only a few steps to go, and we'll be there. I don't look to the right or left. And definitely not forward, where the long table stands, and the gaze of five pairs of eyes bores into my body.
Including the stranger's.
I can't see him, but I feel the heat of his radiance effortlessly reaching me from a distance. He watches me, observing every move, sensing every bit of uncertainty.
Still, I maintain my composure. My heart beats so fiercely that I can hear my blood rushing in my ears. It's only interrupted by the muffled sound of my dancing shoes on the polished dance floor.
We've arrived. Enzo extends our intertwined hands upward, and I execute a turn. I stop gracefully in front of him, ready to dance in close embrace. In an elegant motion, I place my free arm gently on his warm shoulder.
"Ready?" he whispers softly, the furrow on his forehead now vanished.
Despite barely being able to breathe from excitement, I remain outwardly composed. My response is a brief nod. The lady by the stereo presses a button, and the classical waltz music fills the room.
