The next day, Darien was browsing through the racks at Macy's with her phone pressed to her ear. She was half listening as Nick begged her to let Ainsley fly out for the weekend.

"I don't know, Nick. She's got a lot going on." Darien picked up a scarf and held it around her neck. "She might not want to."

"Why wouldn't she want to come and see her father?" Nick asked, a frustrated tone tinging his voice. "Are you brainwashing her?"

"Brainwashing her? Are you serious right now?" Darien laughed.

"I miss her, Dare. I'm supposed to get her every other weekend."

"I know. I'll talk to her. Where will you be this weekend?"

"I emailed you a schedule of our dates. Didn't you get it?"

"I'm sure it's somewhere, Nick. I don't have to keep track of all that anymore."

"How are you liking the new house?" Nick asked, changing the subject.

"It's alright. It's chaos right now, but we're working on it. I'm thinking about taking a job so it'll be slow going."

"A job? Doing what? Why would you want to work?"

"I want to work because I'm bored, Nick. And I got offered a job yesterday at the dance studio."

"The one you put Ainsley in?" Nick was outraged.

"Yeah. I danced with Kenny and he offered me a job as an instructor." Darien bristled at his tone. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Why would you think you could teach dance?" Nick scoffed. "You haven't even danced since you had Ainsley."

"Yeah, because you wouldn't let me."

Nick ignored that and continued on. "And what in the hell were you doing dancing with another man? Especially that Justin Timberlake wannabe motherfucker?"

"Is that what this is about?" Darien stopped and rolled her eyes. "Are you jealous?"

"Of course not." Nick denied, knowing he was lying.

"I'm gonna take the job, Nick. It doesn't have anything to do with you." Darien sighed. "I'm sorry you're upset but I have to go."

"Dare, wait!" Nick was saying when she ended the call. After paying for her purchases she got in her Armada and drove to the dance studio. Her heart was thrumming when she pulled into the parking lot. With a school girl giggle, she locked her truck and rushed inside. The front of the building was deserted again, but like yesterday she heard faint strains of music. Darien quietly walked down the hall and stared into a studio where Kenny was dancing next to another guy. She stepped inside the room and put her purse down by the door.

Kenny was in the middle of working out a new routine with Misha when he felt electricity sizzle through him. Without even looking, he knew Darien was standing there. With a huge smile, he turned and tilted his head at her.

"What's a beautiful woman like you doing in a place like this?" He asked, his arms opening in invitation. She rushed into them and wrapped her body around his.

"Accepting a job offer, if it's still available." She grinned back and accepted the light kiss he pressed on her waiting lips.

"It's still available." He nodded with a laugh, his hands running up and down her back.

"Excuse me?" Misha broke in. "Don't you think we should talk about this?"

"Talk about what?" Kenny asked, taking Darien's hand and walking over to where his angry friend was standing. "Misha, this is Darien Carter. Darien, this is Misha Gabriel. He's co-owner of the studio."

"Hello, Misha. It's nice to meet you." She offered her free hand and smiled openly at the frowning man.

"Hi. Kenny, are you sure about this?" Misha asked again. They had been arguing about this all day. Kenny frowned and shook his head.

"I'm sure. She's amazing and she'll be a huge asset here."

"Have you seen her dance?" Misha asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I've danced with her. She's good." Kenny said. "Do you want to see?"

"Let's see if she can dance with us on that new routine." Misha suggested.

"Ok." Darien nodded. She slipped her scarf off and put her hair in a clip before rejoining the guys. "Let's do it."

"Just watch what we do and try to follow along." Misha directed. Darien stood behind the two men and watched as they performed the routine a few times. She joined in when she was comfortable and nailed it. She grinned confidently and changed things up a little at the end.

"You were amazing, Darien!" Kenny exclaimed when they were finished. Darien couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"Thanks." She grinned at him and looked at Misha. "What do you think?"

"You'll do." He shrugged and walked out of the studio.

"Is he mad?" Darien asked after he was gone.

"Probably, but he knows he was wrong and he hates that. He'll get over it." He took her hand and drew her over to a chair. Sitting down, he pulled her across his lap.

"I hope so." She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled down at him. "I hope I didn't interrupt you guys. I can go if you were busy."

"We were just working on some new stuff. Not that busy. What were you out doing?" He ran his hands down her back and cupped her ass.

"I was shopping at Macy's and arguing with Nick when I had an overwhelming urge to come and see you." She puckered her lips when he reached up for a kiss.

"I'm glad you did." He hummed in her ear.

"What are you doing right now?" She asked, her hand tunneled through his messy hair. "Can you leave and have lunch with me?"

"Yeah, I can sneak out for a while. I've got a class at two, though." He said.

"I have to get Ainsley around then anyway." She nodded and reluctantly climbed off his lap. "Let's go."

"Let me tell Misha." Kenny disappeared into the office and was back moments later. "You ready?"

"Yep." She shouldered her purse and put her arm around his waist as they walked outside. She handed him the keys to her Armada and walked to the passenger side.

"I'm driving?" He laughed.

"I hate to drive and I always have to." She frowned.

"Alright." He got in the Armada and looked around. "This thing is like a tank. It's huge!"

"I know. It's completely impractical, but I love it." Darien laughed. "I used to have a Prius in Tampa but I felt like such a soccer mom driving it. There were like fifty of them in the pick up line every day. This though, is much more rare."

"Yeah, because most people can't afford the gas to drive it." Kenny laughed and backed out of the parking lot.

"Luckily, that's not an issue with me." Darien turned in her seat and smiled at him. "So, Nick wants Ainsley to fly to Canada and join him on tour this weekend."

"Yeah?" Kenny asked, dirty ideas already racing through his mind.

"And I think I'm gonna let her go." Darien impulsively decided. "Do you have plans this weekend?"

"Nothing I can't change." He took her hand and kissed her wrist. "I have to work during the day Saturday. It's my busy day."

"I understand." She nodded. "And Saturday night?"

"I'm all yours, baby." He winked at her. He drove them to a outdoor bistro and held her hand all through lunch as they talked about anything and everything.

"I grew up in New York City. My dad still works on Wall Street and he still lives in the same penthouse on Park Avenue." Dare said with a smile when Kenny asked about her family. "I have a brother. Chance. He's an investment banker."

"So, you came from money." Kenny observed.

"I guess." Dare shrugged. "I know you're from the East Coast. Boston, right?"

"I was raised in Stoughton. It's about 15 miles from Boston." He nodded. "My family still lives there.

"Do you go home often?" Dare asked, her fingers caressing his hand.

"Not as often as I'd like." Kenny shrugged. "I'm pretty busy out here. What about you? You go back to NYC ever?"

"I haven't been since I left Nick. Ainsley and I stayed up there for a few months last year. I haven't been back since." Dare shook her head.

"Why did you leave Nick if you don't mind me asking?" Kenny had been curious about this since yesterday.

"There's not really one definite reason." Darien shrugged and looked away. "I just looked in the mirror one day and had no idea who was looking back at me. All I saw was Nick Carter's wife and Ainsley Carter's mother. There was nothing of me in the girl I was looking at."

"You lost yourself." Kenny observed.

"I started dancing when I was a toddler. My mother was a Rockette so I was dancing in the womb. It was all I knew growing up. I never wanted to act or sing. For me it was just dance. I loved the way it made me feel. So when I turned 18 I auditioned for the Black and Blue tour. It took a while but I eventually got the job."

"That was a big deal. I auditioned for it too." Kenny smiled. "I was too young, though."

"That would have been crazy, huh?" Darien smiled slightly and wondered if things would have been different if she had met Kenny first.

"Yeah. I don't think I could have competed with Nick Carter back in the day though." Kenny was honest. "You never would have looked at me the way you are now."

"Nick was dazzling back then." Darien agreed. "I hated him when they first made me dance with him. He was a complete prick to everyone around him, even the guys. But one night after rehearsal, we ran into each other at Mcdonald's and talked all night long. And then we got to be so comfortable with each other, it just felt right when it progressed into a relationship."

"And then life on the road happened, right?" Kenny knew the pitfalls of trying to have a meaningful relationship on tour.

"Yeah, I guess. I got pregnant halfway through the tour. So Nick and I ran off to Vegas and got married. We had both just turned 20. It seemed like the right thing to do." Darien sipped her water and shook her head. "And for him it was. Nick was meant to be a husband and a father. He's amazing with Ainsley."

"And with you?" Kenny leaned back in his chair and watched Darien's face.

"I got caught up in being a wife and mother and gave up dance. I devoted my time to following Nick around and taking care of Ainsley. When she started to get older and showed such talent in dance, it made me want things I used to have. But Nick didn't think it was a good idea for me to dance again, not when we were so focused on Ainsley's career."

"What about yours?" Kenny wondered.

"That was mine then. Nick was gone a lot so it was just me and Ains. And I figured out that I liked it better that way. I wasn't counting the days until he came home anymore. I found less and less reason to call or text him." Darien shrugged. "I fell out of love with him."

"He had no idea, did he?" Kenny could see where this was going.

"No. He came home from recording in London last summer and was greeted to an empty house and an envelope with divorce papers in it." Darien looked away and shook her head. "I went about it all wrong, but I felt like I had no choice."

"Hey, you had to do what was best for you." Kenny took her hand again. "You'll all be happier in the end. Even Nick."

"I hope so." She looked at him and tilted her head to the side inquisitively. "Why are you single?"

"Now, that's a short story." Kenny chuckled. "I dated Ashley Roberts for a long time. And then we went on tour together and it fell apart. We weren't strong enough to withstand all the stress of the road."

"It is hard." Darien agreed.

"And ever since then, I've held myself back. I've been busy and I knew that I didn't have the time to devote to a serious relationship. So I was content to be alone." Kenny kissed her hand again. "You ready to get out of here?"

"Yeah." She stood and laughed when he pulled her against his side. She loved the way she fit under his arm. It was perfect.