Prologue
Mia
May
My palms were sweating, my heart racing. You would think I was about to go onstage and dance for 100,000 people.
But no, this was much, much more nerve-racking.
I wiped my hands on my jeans. The material felt oddly foreign to me. They weren’t my usual choice of clothing. From the time I was five and started my first dance class, tights and leotards became my comfort zone. Lycra was like a religious uniform for me, and any other type of clothing was pretty unacceptable. Anything taking up my time that didn’t involve music and dancing was too much of an annoyance to be bothered with.
Now, dancing was only a pipe dream.
Or at least, how I’d always seen my future and dancing intertwining.
But like my mother always did, I had a backup plan.
When I was sixteen, I tore my ACL from overuse. I didn’t even blink because I knew I would be okay. It was nothing a little surgery and some physical therapy couldn’t fix. I promised myself I would do better, not overdo the practices so much, take more days off. A little tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in my knee wasn’t going to keep me down for long.
If only it had been the one time…
No, I couldn’t think about that. Not now. It was what it was. It changed everything, but I was learning to live with it. I always had a backup plan, one I knew I would be happy with.
I just needed a little breathing room so I could follow my new dream.
That was something I wouldn’t get if I went to a local college. Hell, it wasn’t something I would get if I went to any college if my parents had their way. But it was time they started realizing I needed my space, a little time just to be normal for once in my life.
Mia Armstrong, daughter of Nik and Emmie Armstrong, the rock world’s version of a princess and one-time dance prodigy, was anything but normal. I couldn’t leave the house without a bodyguard shadowing me, crowding me in, suffocating me.
I never complained—much—about the lack of privacy, my nonexistent social life, or even the fact that I had only one best friend who wasn’t considered immediate family.
A friend I needed to create just as much space from as I did everyone else in my life now that I’d screwed that up.
My heart squeezed painfully thinking of Jordan. I messed up badly with him, and now our once-close friendship was strained. All because I’d been feeling sorry for myself after the doctors all confirmed I wouldn’t ever be able to dance professionally again.
The hair brushing across the back of my neck irritated me, and I automatically pulled it into a tight, twisted knot on top of my head as I walked into the dining room where everyone had gathered tonight at my request. I could do this. I had a plan all set out, one I believed in, one I could execute.
There was only one hitch.
My family needed to be on board with it, or all my plans would be ruined. My desperation for a taste of normal, for just a little freedom, for finally finding out who this new Mia was that didn’t include a lifetime of dancing professionally.
Momma and Daddy were sitting at their normal spots at the dining table. Daddy at the head of the table and Momma right beside him on his left. Uncle Jesse sat beside her, with Uncle Shane and Uncle Drake across from them. Jagger, my younger brother, sat closest to where I came to stand in front of them all.
Gail, our housekeeper, had already set out the snacks I’d requested, and they all had glasses of iced tea in front of them.
I set down my laptop, ready to start my presentation.
That was how desperate I was, how much I ached for them to give the thumbs-up. I wanted this just as much as I’d wanted dancing; something I once ate, slept, and breathed with my entire being.
I stood in front of them and pushed aside my nervousness, pretending this was just another audition. Only, back then, I’d always had the confidence I would end up with whatever principal part I wanted.
This…
Yeah, I wasn’t sure of the outcome of this, but I knew that whatever happened, it would be life-changing. Because if they didn’t approve of my plan, I didn’t have a Plan C.
I guess I wasn’t like my mother as much as I’d always thought. Emmie Armstrong had a hundred different contingency plans. I only had the two, and now one was obsolete.
Clearing my throat, I brought everyone’s attention to me. “Thank you for coming tonight,” I said by way of greeting. “I know you are all very busy, and it means a lot that you would take time out of your day for me.”
“Anything for you, princess,” Uncle Drake assured me, his blue-gray eyes softening on me. “Day or night, no matter what, we got you.”
“Mia, baby, what is this all about?” Momma asked, her face concerned. “You made it sound like this was life or death. Is everything okay? Did you hear from the doctor again? Do they want to do more surgery?”
A lump filled my throat, and I quickly swallowed it down. “No, Momma. Nothing like that. We’ve already exhausted all those avenues. Everyone always says the same thing. That second tear…” A shuddery breath left me, but I stiffened my spine and put on a bright smile for them. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you all about college.”
Every male at the table suddenly sat up a little straighter, including my baby brother. Their smiles dimmed, and I read the “no” already in their eyes. Unable to accept that, I turned on the projector of my laptop, and my presentation appeared on the wall behind me.
“Please don’t say anything until after you hear everything I have to say. I’ll be happy to answer any and all questions after I’m finished.”
They started to protest, their answers ready to tear out of them without even hearing my proposal.
Momma leaned forward, her hands raised, stopping any words from leaving the five males’ throats. “She’s obviously put a lot of time and thought into this. Let’s hear her out.”
I gave her a thankful smile, and the one she returned to me bathed me in love. Taking courage from her encouragement, I flipped to the first page of my presentation. I laid out the background on the university I wanted to go to. It was a small school, but not so small everyone would know everyone else. I could blend in with the crowd without being overwhelmed.
“I also have an evening job lined up, contingent on my enrollment,” I explained, and every set of eyes at the table grew huge, with the exception of my mother’s. A hint of a smile teased at her lips that she tried to keep hidden as Daddy leaned forward in his chair.
“What kind of job, Mia?”
I smiled, the one I’d learned and perfected from him. It was his stage smile, the one he used to charm tens of thousands of rock fans when he performed with the Demons. “I will be teaching the toddler-, preschool-, and kindergarten-aged kids at a small dance school just a few blocks off campus. I’ll also teach a weekly adult class.”
“Won’t that sting, sis?” Jagger asked with a frown. “Your dream is over, and you want to torture yourself by teaching others to do the one thing you no longer can?”
My breath hitched, but I didn’t lose my smile. “Actually, teaching is my new dream. And I can still dance, dummy. I just can’t perform like I used to.”
“I don’t know. It seems like that would just be a slap in the face for you on a daily basis.”