(The Company #1)
Publication date: May 6th 2014
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
The world of professional ballet is built on illusion. The illusion of perfection. The illusion of effortless beauty. The illusion of eternal love.
But backstage, few members of the Union Ballet Company suffer from such illusions.
Anna Glaser has dreamed of nothing but dancing professionally her entire life. And when she’s finally offered a position with Union, she takes it, giving little more than a passing thought to what she might have to give up in exchange. But Sebastian Kaplan, the director who gave her the chance, won’t forget so easily.
When Anna meets Cain, who has been dubbed by the local media as Union’s most eligible bachelor, she realizes that making a deal with the devil might mean that Heaven — in the form of a gorgeous dark-haired man — is forever out of her reach.
Dancers at Union know that something that glitters and shines under the stage lights can still be vicious and evil when the lights go down.
Adagio is the first episode in the series The Company – an engaging drama-filled ride through the darker parts of the ballet and the lives of those who live to dance.
*This book contains explicit content and is suitable for readers over 17
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Amazon
Excerpt
With Hal and Ian both at work, Cain had the rare opportunity to be in the loft alone. It was a mostly open space with plate glass windows that overlooked the bridge spanning the river outside. The bar where he and Hal worked was down the street about a mile. Cain watched TV for a while, contemplating what to do with his free time and silence. He no longer felt like going to the gym, so he did a few half-hearted pushups on the geometric patterned area rug in front of the couch. It took about an hour before the walls felt as if they were whispering to him, and loneliness drove him to get dressed for work. He arrived at Dibby’s at two for a five o’clock shift.
“I knew you’d be in early.” Hal smiled from behind the bar.
“Yeah, well.”
“Too quiet at the apartment?” Hal’s smile was sympathetic. Even though they gave him crap, Cain knew that Hal and Ian were both careful around him. Sometimes he appreciated it, and sometimes he felt sick of being treated like a cracked heirloom.
“Yeah.” Cain pulled on an apron and joined his friend behind the bar.
“Plenty of action here.” Hal indicated the almost empty restaurant.
Cain smiled. It didn’t matter. At the bar there was light and movement, and he was with Hal. It was the complete silence that drove him crazy at home. And when Hal was around, silence was never a problem.
“You left kinda quick earlier,” said Cain. “You knew I was just kidding about Julianna, right?”
“Yeah.” Hal turned away and began wiping down invisible spots on the counter.
“Hey,” Cain said, getting his attention back. “Seriously. Is there something going on?”
Hal stared at him, and was quiet for a minute. “Of course not. She’s Sebastian’s. I wouldn’t touch her with a ten foot pole.”
“I doubt your pole is quite ten feet.”
“Feet, inches…” Hal laughed.
Cain threw a dishrag at him. “Right.”
The afternoon slid by and as the sun set, Cain found himself looking forward to class the next day, mostly because he knew he’d see Anna again. There was nothing wrong with being excited to see her, he told himself. It didn’t mean anything. He was just intrigued. He told himself that he could control his naturally masculine interest and just be friends with a pretty girl. He was sure he could.
Hal and Cain headed home before midnight — the bar didn’t really get moving until the tourist season in the summer, and on weeknights they were often home before it got too late. Once things picked up at the company, neither of them worked as much. Ballet and exhaustion didn’t mix.
But backstage, few members of the Union Ballet Company suffer from such illusions.
Anna Glaser has dreamed of nothing but dancing professionally her entire life. And when she’s finally offered a position with Union, she takes it, giving little more than a passing thought to what she might have to give up in exchange. But Sebastian Kaplan, the director who gave her the chance, won’t forget so easily.
When Anna meets Cain, who has been dubbed by the local media as Union’s most eligible bachelor, she realizes that making a deal with the devil might mean that Heaven — in the form of a gorgeous dark-haired man — is forever out of her reach.
Dancers at Union know that something that glitters and shines under the stage lights can still be vicious and evil when the lights go down.
Adagio is the first episode in the series The Company – an engaging drama-filled ride through the darker parts of the ballet and the lives of those who live to dance.
*This book contains explicit content and is suitable for readers over 17
Goodreads
Amazon
Excerpt
With Hal and Ian both at work, Cain had the rare opportunity to be in the loft alone. It was a mostly open space with plate glass windows that overlooked the bridge spanning the river outside. The bar where he and Hal worked was down the street about a mile. Cain watched TV for a while, contemplating what to do with his free time and silence. He no longer felt like going to the gym, so he did a few half-hearted pushups on the geometric patterned area rug in front of the couch. It took about an hour before the walls felt as if they were whispering to him, and loneliness drove him to get dressed for work. He arrived at Dibby’s at two for a five o’clock shift.
“I knew you’d be in early.” Hal smiled from behind the bar.
“Yeah, well.”
“Too quiet at the apartment?” Hal’s smile was sympathetic. Even though they gave him crap, Cain knew that Hal and Ian were both careful around him. Sometimes he appreciated it, and sometimes he felt sick of being treated like a cracked heirloom.
“Yeah.” Cain pulled on an apron and joined his friend behind the bar.
“Plenty of action here.” Hal indicated the almost empty restaurant.
Cain smiled. It didn’t matter. At the bar there was light and movement, and he was with Hal. It was the complete silence that drove him crazy at home. And when Hal was around, silence was never a problem.
“You left kinda quick earlier,” said Cain. “You knew I was just kidding about Julianna, right?”
“Yeah.” Hal turned away and began wiping down invisible spots on the counter.
“Hey,” Cain said, getting his attention back. “Seriously. Is there something going on?”
Hal stared at him, and was quiet for a minute. “Of course not. She’s Sebastian’s. I wouldn’t touch her with a ten foot pole.”
“I doubt your pole is quite ten feet.”
“Feet, inches…” Hal laughed.
Cain threw a dishrag at him. “Right.”
The afternoon slid by and as the sun set, Cain found himself looking forward to class the next day, mostly because he knew he’d see Anna again. There was nothing wrong with being excited to see her, he told himself. It didn’t mean anything. He was just intrigued. He told himself that he could control his naturally masculine interest and just be friends with a pretty girl. He was sure he could.
Hal and Cain headed home before midnight — the bar didn’t really get moving until the tourist season in the summer, and on weeknights they were often home before it got too late. Once things picked up at the company, neither of them worked as much. Ballet and exhaustion didn’t mix.
Delancey Stewart writes contemporary romance.
Stewart has lived on both coasts, in big cities and small towns. She’s been a pharmaceutical rep, a personal trainer and a direct sales representative for a French wine importer. But she has always been a writer first.
A military spouse and the mother of two small boys, her current job titles include pirate captain, monster hunter, Lego assembler and story reader. She tackles all these efforts at her current home outside Washington D.C.
Author links:
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Stewart has lived on both coasts, in big cities and small towns. She’s been a pharmaceutical rep, a personal trainer and a direct sales representative for a French wine importer. But she has always been a writer first.
A military spouse and the mother of two small boys, her current job titles include pirate captain, monster hunter, Lego assembler and story reader. She tackles all these efforts at her current home outside Washington D.C.
Author links:
Blog
Goodreads
Tour-wide giveaway
--5x eBook copies of Adagio - INTL
--A 12x16 piece of framed art called Dancer in Rest and Motion (image attached) - US only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for being on the tour, Suzy! :)
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