Dance For Me (Strip in the City, Book 2)

40 • Hot Warning

Dominick

"Gemma! It's good to see you, kid!" I said, waving to one of my favorite clients.

Technically, I wasn't supposed to have favorites, but there was something about this kid that pulled at my heartstrings. She was the one who'd asked for the ballet wish, and I would've done anything to make it come true for her.

The last time we spoke, things had been looking promising. She'd been put on the waitlist for a new study that could save her life, and the family was holding their breath and praying like hell, hoping to get in.

I gave her a high five, and I noticed how thin and pale her hand looked. I shook it off and pretended like I hadn't seen it.

"Good to see you too, Fairy Dom Mother," Gemma said, teasing me. The kid had started calling me that on the first day we met. She still had hair back then. Long black hair that was pulled up in pigtails.

Hair or no hair, the kid had the kind of bright spirit that the medicine couldn't touch. She had a spark to her, and in some ways, Gemma reminded me of what Tan must've been like when she was a girl.

Some people were just born like that. Sunny.

Unfortunately for me, both Tan and Gemma–the two people who could make even a grumpy ass like me smile–seemed like a cloud had settled in front of their brightness. Dulling it.

I'd noticed my girlfriend had lost some of her light in the week following the soft opening at Blanche's. I wasn't sure if it was because of me or the move to Brooklyn, or if it was something else altogether, but I hated seeing her like this. And now, as I watched Gemma get wheeled into the office in her new pink wheelchair, I saw that some of her spark had dulled too.

I gestured for them to follow me back to my office, but Gemma's dad stepped in front of her chair.

"Could I speak to you alone?" Mr. Rodriguez asked.

I looked between him and his wife, and a cold, sinking feeling settled in my gut. I'd been doing this job long enough to know what that look meant, and I really didn't want to have this conversation. I already knew what he was going to say.

I pulled out my wallet and handed her mom a twenty. She took it hesitantly. "Why don't you take Gemma to get a scoop of ice cream across the street while Dad and I talk."

Gemma brightened, and her mom gave me a teary grin that made my throat close up.

With a fake smile plastered on my face, I waved goodbye to Gemma and her mom and led Mr. Rodriguez back to my office. By the time I closed the door, he was choking up.

I dropped into my desk chair and pushed a box of tissues his way.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Tell me she got into the study."

He took a handful of them and blotted his eyes. I wanted to look away but forced myself to stay present. "She did."

"That's great news, Enrique! Why the tears?"

Empathy was a skill I'd learned to handle with care. If I let a parent's grief consume me, I wouldn't have been able to do this job for as long as I had. Many wish granters washed out after a year, unable to take the stress.

Lucky for me, living around grief was my superpower.

Even though I was good at keeping my emotions in check, there were certain kids, and certain families, like the Rodriguez family, that were special to me.

When he was finally ready to talk, Mr. Rodriquez cleared his throat. "That's why we requested the meeting with you today. Gemma told us she wanted to see you, and well, we need to ask you to change her wish. We won't get to use those tickets." He pulled an envelope from his coat pocket and then set it on my desk. "She needs to have a surgery before she starts the new treatment."