Page 26 of Dancing on Air

The trust had been set up to pay for Cora’s schooling. Her aunt’s house, having sat empty for years, now had renters in it.

She still didn’t know if she wanted to sell it or one day live there. After all, outside of the small building on her brother’s island, it was the only home she’d ever been happy in. Still, she doubted she’d ever want to return to Ohio.

When the elevator stopped on the twenty-third floor, she followed Max down the hallway to the door marked twenty-three-twenty-three.

The moment they stepped into his apartment, Cora knew she was way out of his league. This was the apartment he’d bought out from under his family? It was massive and obviously worth far more than any she’d ever been in before.

Chapter Seven

“Trust me,” Max said as he tossed his keys in the bowl his sister had bought him a few Christmases before that sat on his aunt’s old table. “I really did get a deal. Half of this stuff in here was my aunt’s.”

“And your aunt was…?” Cora asked, turning circles in the living room.

“Dame LaRue.” He waited for Cora’s shock.

“Seriously?” She half squealed, half yelled it. Then she cleared her throat and asked in a quieter voice, “You are related to Madame Jaqueline LaRue?”

He nodded. “She was my great-aunt.”

Cora walked around and ran her fingertips over the rich oak of some of his aunt’s furniture. “How did you afford this place?” she asked, turning to him.

“I cashed out my trust fund. While my family fought over who was due everything, I made an offer. Let’s say my great-aunt’s lawyer liked me more than the rest of my family. Besides, I was still overseas at the time, which gave me the advantage of not being killed by any of my family when they found out I’d bought it.” He motioned around. “Look around, I’ll go get my notes.”

The apartment was huge. Three bedrooms each with their own bathroom. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room faced the East River.

Still, since the BAC and his parents’ offices were in midtown, the apartment had its downsides. At one point he’d thought about getting his own car. Then the realization of having to pay for parking sank in.

He pulled out his sketch pad and the folder filled with his notes and found Cora in one of his guest rooms.

“This is all so… amazing.” She turned towards him. “I guess I had assumed like everyone else that you still lived at your parents’ place.”

He shook his head. “How about we look over these in the studio?” he suggested.

“You have a studio?” She followed him to the pièce de resistance of the apartment. His aunt had purchased the smaller apartment next to this one and had busted out the walls years ago to build her very own private dance studio, complete with a home gym and spa area. They walked through the door at the end of the hallway, and he smiled when she gasped.

“There were rumors of Madame LaRue’s private studio.” She turned to him. “No one ever confirmed its existence.”

He chuckled. “My great-aunt liked her privacy.”

“So why haven’t you shown the world this space now that she’s gone?” She walked to the center of the room and took a quick spin. “It should be noted or”—she shrugged—“archived somehow.”

“I guess I take after my great-aunt,” he said with a smile. “I like my privacy.” He held out his notes.

After tossing her bag down, she took his notebook from him and sat down in the middle of the floor. She appeared totally comfortable on the hardwood as she ran through page after page.

He paced while she read through the brief storyline that he’d written over three years ago.

When she was done, she glanced up at him.

“Wow,” she said, blinking a few times. “Just… wow. This is really good.”

He swallowed the fear he’d felt from the moment he’d written the first few words.

“Are those the notes on the scenes?” She motioned to the notebook he still had in his hands.

“Just notes.” He walked over and set the notebook down out of her reach. “For now, you know the basics.”

Cora stood up and set his smaller notebook on top of the other one. “Why don’t you show me what you have in mind? I know it must be hard not jumping up on the stage and doing so with Luc.”