A Chance in the Night by Kimberly Van Meter

to explain. Anyway, you aren’t costing the state a dime, so yeah, you’re perfect. Don’t worry so much. You’ll be great.” He looked down at Nico. “Tell your mom she’s gonna be great so she’ll stop freaking out.”
    Nico grinned up at her and gave her a thumbs-up. “You’re gonna be great, Mama,” he said, and a sweet smile lit up her face.
    “If you say so,” she said, ruffling his hair. “Okay, you sit here with your coloring books and toys and I’ll see just how cut out I am to be an instructor.” She gave Christian a mock stern look as she warned over her shoulder, “If I crash and burn, this is all your fault.”
    “I take full responsibility because I’m not worried,” he retorted, jerking his gaze sharply away from the view of her sculpted backside and pert behind. The long, clean lines of her body spoke of her background and the grace with which she carried herself further gave her away. Her hair was tucked into a bun but a few tendrils escaped, framing her bare, makeup-free face nicely, and he wondered if he’d ever seen a more beautiful woman in all his life.
    He listened as she introduced herself, garnering a few interested looks when she shared her background with the New York City Ballet and when she lifted and executed a perfect pirouette with the grace of an angel lighting on earth, the few reluctant stragglers grudgingly came to attention.
    “How many of you have ever thought about becoming a dancer?” A few shy hands went up. She nodded with a smile. “Well, even if you’re not planning to become a professional dancer, dance is good for posture, coordination and staying in shape. I’m going to teach you some basics today. How does that sound?”
    The girls nodded and clapped their hands, totally won over, just as Christian knew they would be. He leaned over to whisper to Nico, “Do you enjoy watching your mom dance?” he asked.
    Nico nodded. “Sometimes she dances in the living room and it’s funny. I like when she does that spinning thing. ’Cept one time she was doing that and bonked her toe on one of my toys,” he confided with a giggle. “I wasn’t supposed to leave it out. I got in trouble.”
    “One can never underestimate the importance of putting away one’s toys,” Christian agreed solemnly. “Especially if one’s mom has a tendency to dance in the living room without warning.”
    Nico let another small giggle escape before saying, “I like you. You’re a lot nicer than that other guy who lives with the scary lady in the big house.”
    Huh? “Other guy? Who might that be? A friend of your mommy’s?”
    “I dunno. But I live with him now. I don’t like it. I like my room at Mama’s better.”
    “You don’t live with your mom?” he asked, confused.
    Nico shook his head, tucking his lip under his teeth. “No. Mama said I used to live with her but then I had to move when I was little. But I get to visit her. It’s fun when I visit because we go places like the park and stuff.”
    “What’s with the scary lady? Is that the man’s wife?” he asked, trying to unravel the mystery.
    “I don’t think so but she’s always around. She pinches me and squeezes my arm real hard when I make her mad. She gives me looks like this—” Nico illustrated by narrowing his little stare in the meanest way possible for a four-year-old, which Christian found quite impressive. “And calls me a ‘little bastard.’”
    Christian’s temper flared. Adults who called kids names and hurt them were lower than scum in his book. What did this little kid ever do to this woman to deserve that kind of treatment and why the hell did Skye let this woman around her son if she was so mean to him? Of course, Nico didn’t have the answers so Christian kept his questions to himself for the time being. Instead he agreed with Nico with mock seriousness, saying, “That is pretty scary. She better be careful or her face will freeze that way.”
    “Really?” Hope lit up Nico’s