Pas de Deux: Part One (A Cross and Pointe Novel) (Volume 1)

A gifted dancer with a traumatic past... Sammi Carnevale relocates with her family in hopes of putting a nightmare behind her. Although the change of scenery helps rekindle her lifelong passion for ballet, she still feels broken. Until, disguised as a man and flying under the radar, she begins working out at the local legendary boxing club, Ronan’s Gym, and starts to reclaim her power. But when a confrontation with some disrespectful clientele reveals her true identity, she can’t hide anymore—especially not from co-owner and hometown war hero Cillian Ronan, to whom she is instantly attracted and terrified of. How can she let him get closer to her without revealing her dark secret? Time is running out… After the suicide of a close Army buddy and dealing with the corrupt businessman that holds half his father’s gym, Cillian Ronan is out of options to support his younger sister, a struggling single mother, until an invitation to compete in a MMA tournament with a huge prize on the line is extended. But when he realizes that the skinny, quiet kid from his gym is really a beautiful young woman in disguise, he puts his own problems aside to focus on her. She’s an enigma to him, one that he desperately wants to figure out, but instead of letting him in, she holds him at arm’s length. Until one night, when the truth finally comes out. Sammi finds freedom in her journey to heal, gradually opening up to Cillian more and more. But will she ever be able to fully trust him? Or will her fear of being hurt again keep her away from him?