Arkady has dedicated his life to the world of ballet. He is known as the bad boy of the dance world, and is an ever rising star. Then he gets injured in what is at first thought to be a tragic accident but turns out to be so much worse. He's lost ballet, and his life feels unbalanced. A friendship with his no-nonsense physical therapist starts him on a new path. He has her friendship, a more honest relationship with his parents, his beloved dog Lou and, for the first time, maybe love in the form of an artist with a disability of his own. But the past isn't done with him yet.

Rise Again

“Sorry to be rude, but do you work?” She doesn’t look particularly sorry.


“I’m an artist. I have my own gallery. I do pretty well,” Cade replies. Arkady bites back a smile. He knows from Google searching after they’d met that Cade is highly successful.


“Lovely. Would you like to come to dinner?” she asks, which is the last thing Arkady expected her to come out with.


“Mother, we haven’t even been on a date yet,” Arkady mumbles, and he can feel himself blushing. He didn’t think he’d end up dying of embarrassment on the same day someone tried to kill him.


“I would love to, but maybe after we see how the first date goes?” Cade replies, and Arkady’s glad that it doesn’t sound like Cade’s been scared away by today’s events. Arkady can’t lie; it would hurt if he had been.


“I will leave it with you and my son to organize, but the invitation is open,” his mother says.


Chapter 25