Full Circle by Donya Lynne Read Free Book Online Page B

built quite an
empire, drawing the best dancers from all over the world.”
    “Like Carol?”
    His gaze darted to hers then flicked away as
he cleared his throat. “Yes. Like Carol.”
    “Is she why you stopped dancing?” She might
as well get the notion out there.
    He cleared his throat again and shifted as if
he couldn’t get comfortable. Karma knew she was pushing her luck by
bringing up Carol. But he never talked about her, even though Karma
could tell his ex still haunted his thoughts, even if only
occasionally.
    If they were going to have a future together,
Mark needed to purge that woman from his mind sooner rather than
later. Going forward without doing so was like trying to slog
through knee-deep mud. It could be done, but it took a lot of work
and left you completely drained. Karma didn’t want to have to work
that hard at trying to overcome Mark’s memories of Carol, and she
shouldn’t have to. No woman should have to compete with her man’s
past girlfriends, and sometimes that’s how Karma felt. Like Carol
was still right there, getting in the way.
    Seeming a bit flustered, Mark gave a tight
shake of his head. “No, she’s not the reason why I stopped
dancing.” His earnest gaze met hers. “Not entirely.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I knew before she . . .” He
paused and pursed his lips as if the words had locked up in his
throat. Then he sighed and started again. “I knew before
she . . . left me  . . . that
dancing wasn’t my future. I had decided I wanted to follow after my
grandfather and build a business.”
    Karma heard something unspoken hanging beyond
his words. “But . . . ?”
    He heaved a deep sigh. “But I thought I could
still dance as a hobby.” He rubbed his palm over the lower half of
his face. “And I thought Carol and I would take over the studio
someday. That my parents’ empire would become our empire.
That I would use my business education to manage the business into
the next generation and somehow find a way to still participate as
a performer or at least an instructor.”
    It sounded like he was admitting the truth
not just to her for the first time, but also to himself. As if he’d
forced himself not to remember the plans and dreams he’d made when
he and Carol were together.
    “You know,” he said with an uneasy sigh, “I
don’t want to talk about this now. I don’t want this trip to be
about what happened in the past.” His gaze faltered as his eyebrows
ticked inward, making it seem as if that was exactly what this trip
was about and he just didn’t want to admit it. “I want it to be
about us. You. Me. Our future. You’re what’s important to me now.
What happened eight years ago isn’t significant, anymore, Karma.
You are.”
    But the hard lines of his face remained, and
his mouth formed a taut, straight line, and she wondered what he
wasn’t telling her. Clearly, what had happened eight years ago was
more significant than he wanted to admit.
    “You’re my life now, Karma, and I want this
trip to solidify that.”
    She wanted to believe him, but it was obvious
he was hiding something. He said the past was insignificant, but
that was a lie. With Mark, the past was everything. The past had
kept him from committing to her the first time around. It had
nearly destroyed any chance they would be together. And it was
still affecting him and their relationship now.
    The voice in the back of her head warned that
Carol wasn’t gone. Not just yet. Carol was still there, filling the
tiny gaps where her and Mark’s souls hadn’t fully melded together,
yet. In fact, Carol was the reason why their souls weren’t
yet completely one. Until Mark expelled her from his system for
good, Carol would always be there. A third party in what Karma
wanted to be an exclusive relationship.
    Mark told her he loved her. His actions
reinforced his words. But there was still one small door in his
mind she wasn’t allowed to enter, and every so often she