Maybe her lackluster mood was because she was so exhausted. Yeah, that had to be it. The six back-to-back classes she’d taught that day, not to mention the extra hour she’d spent with a student who’d been struggling with her triple pirouettes, had taken it out of her. Thus had been her schedule for the month since she’d left Colorado.
Her feet hurt, her knee throbbed. And she was lonely.
Which was strange, because she was surrounded by people all day. Students, other teachers, her roommate. So how could she be lonely? Where had this ache in her chest come from? She’d finally achieved what she’d wanted. Rapunzel was scheduled to premiere next week, and her artistic director had already offered her a permanent teaching position. All she had to do was sign the contract. The offer hadn’t been a surprise. She’d known they’d come at her with something. But what had been a surprise were the second thoughts clouding what should have been elation. Her mother and Annabelle had flown out and taken her to a congratulatory dinner. They’d laughed, drunk champagne, and went to a show.
But in the back of Stella’s mind had been those pesky second thoughts. As though accepting the offer would be a mistake. But how could fulfilling her dreams be a mistake? Stella knew she had some time to think about the offer. Her artistic director said he needed an answer by the time Rapunzel wrapped. Two weeks. But Stella had the feeling she wouldn’t need two weeks. Why take that much time to decide on something she wasn’t sure she wanted anymore?
Stella had yet to figure that one out and she supposed that was the reason for her melancholy mood tonight. Beyond just being tired.
Behind her, Jessica, the roommate the company had set her up with, came out of the back bedroom. Stella turned and pasted a smile on her face and lifted the mug to her lips.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Jessica asked as she wound her scarf around her neck.
Stella eyed the woman’s red hair, which was styled in loose, perfect curls. “No, I’m good.”
“You want me to bring you some pizza back?”
The thought of some Chicago-style pizza should have made Stella’s mouth water. Instead, her stomach continued to turn over. “No, I’ll just heat up some leftovers.”
Jessica strung her handbag over her shoulder and turned to leave, but she stopped at the last minute. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you—you’ve got some mail on the counter.”
“Anything exciting?”
Jessica shrugged. “Looks like mostly junk. But one of them looks like a handwritten letter.”
A letter?
Her roommate smiled and opened the door. “You’ve got a secret admirer I don’t know about?”
Stella snorted. “Yeah right.”
“Don’t wait up,” she responded, then shut the door behind her.
The apartment was silent once again, leaving Stella alone with her thoughts. Sometimes she’d go back to the dance studio and use the alone time to practice. She always loved an empty studio where she could crank up the music and dance however she wanted. But lately she hadn’t been interested. And what was even more disturbing was that she didn’t know why.
Maybe she should have gone out with Jessica and her friends. Perhaps an evening out with other women would do her some good. Just some old-fashioned fun to take her mind off…
Brandon.
That’s what was bothering her. And Stella knew that walking down to the corner pizza place wouldn’t erase her mind of the man who’d let her leave.
Funny how she’d sworn she’d never give up her dreams for a man again, and here she was considering walking away from it all for one.
How messed up was that?
Stella set her mug down and groaned. When Brandon had initially asked her to stay, she’d been over the moon. To the point where she’d been ready to throw her arms around his neck and scream yes! But then he’d rescinded it by saying it was a decision she needed to make on her own. As much as her brain understood, her heart had a harder time catching up. He’d told her she’d hate herself if she let the opportunity go by. And she knew he’d been right. This was something she’d needed to do. But after being faced with an offer of a full-time teaching position, all she’d wanted to do was call him just so she could hear his voice. Instead she’d called Annabelle, who’d squealed and booked a plane ticket so they could celebrate. And then she’d gone back to feeling lonely. Like something was still missing. Still unfulfilled.
At first she’d been unwilling to identify what the missing piece was. The thing that kept her up at night watching stray cats out the window. She wanted Brandon.
Not only that. She also wanted him to want her back.
Okay, yeah, she knew he wanted her. But she wanted him to want her enough to come after her. To be that guy who booked a red eye, then showed up on the doorstep all disheveled because he’d been up all night and hadn’t really thought his plan through because all he could think about was getting to her.
Except real life isn’t the movies.
And Brandon had done the noble thing by letting her leave. He’d been selfless by sacrificing his wants for her happiness.
Stella got that. Really, she did.
And she loved him for his chivalry. Men like Brandon West were one in a million.
Yeah, and you’re seriously thinking about choosing a teaching job over him.
God, she was an idiot.
Was she really going to give up a once-in-a-lifetime guy for a teaching job? Her entire adult life, she thought this was what she’d wanted. Ever since losing out on that other job, her sole focus had been getting back here. To recapture what she’d lost. For a man.
What had she been trying to prove by coming back here?
She’d left her house. Left her mom, her best friend. Brandon. At least she still had her studio. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to give that up completely. Even though she wasn’t there to run the thing, she still missed her students. Their smiles, their enthusiasm. Misty, the woman Stella had hired to run the place, called regularly and kept her up to date. But it wasn’t the same.
She missed it all. Missed home.
Stella pushed away from the window, grabbed her mug, and dumped the contents down the sink. So now she was good and depressed…or even more depressed. Normally, she’d call Annabelle, but those conversations always turned to Brandon.
Maybe she should just call him. They hadn’t talked much. She supposed he thought he was giving her the time he thought she needed. At first she had. But now? Now she just wanted to hear his voice.
She snagged her cell phone from the counter and was about to dial his number when her gaze fell on her mail.
More specifically the letter Jessica said she had.
Ms. Stella Davenport, along with her address, was written in a handwriting she didn’t recognize.
So that ruled out Brandon.
Bummer.
But still…who would write her a letter? Who even wrote letters anymore? Most people just texted or e-mailed.
The thought that someone took the time to handwrite something to her was sweet. No one had done that in years and now her interest was piqued.
She set her phone down and picked up the plain white envelope.