She looks up at me like I'm a mental patient. "What are you talking about, Jake? We're inside." She waves the doubloon around like she doesn't have a care in the world.
Which is a really bad idea when you're grabbing things off of a table in a house owned by a notoriously terribly behaved monkey.
Right on cue, Shark runs by, skreeching and scaring the crap out of Emma. He snatches the coin right out of her hand with his dirty little paw and puts it in his mouth, biting own and drooling on the carpet.
"Ew," Emma says, "um, for the record I don't want that back." She steps closer to me. "Is it safe for me to take a different doubloon?"
"I'd give it a while" I tell her. "By the way, I tried to warn you about Shark. He's the monkey who owns the place."
"What?" She asks, scrunching up her nose, "the monkey's name is Shark? And what do you mean by he owns the place?"
I do a double take at Emma. It’s my turn to look at her like she’s the crazy one. Is it possible I picked the one girl in town who knows even less about current events in St. Tropic than me? "I'm sorry, I assumed you knew about all this. You live here. Are you new in town or something?"
"Yes, I just got here from California. Why would I know about this little town and its horrible monkey? Frankly, you're a famous football player. I'm surprised you know any of these things either."
"I grew up here." I spit the words out and then regret it. The last thing I want to do is talk about the past. Sure, I’m irritated that she’s insulting the place I grew up, but I also don’t want to dwell on it.
I need a distraction, and right on cue the music starts up and couples begin flocking to the large dance floor in the center of the main room. "What do you say we forget about the monkey. Want to dance?"
She smiles and nods. Emma and I are only a few steps into the dance when I hear new names announced. My ears perk up.
It's Angie. And some guy named Tristan. Ugh, I hate him already. And not just because of the jealousy that now surges through me. Every muscle in my body tenses as my eyes scan the entrance, waiting to see them both.
I find her, wearing an absolutely stunning blue dress. The four-inch heels she's wearing make her taller than most men here.
Her blond hair is part down and part up with curls on the side and I swear all sound and movement in the room stops to watch her enter the ballroom. Or maybe it’s just me.
Emma lightly touches my arm, encouraging me to turn my attention back to her.
But I can't. Not yet. I'm frozen in place. After a few steps, Angie's eyes scan the crowd and she finds me. Those seconds of connection from across the room sizzle. I can't be the only one who feels that.
Emma clears her throat.
Angie breaks eye contact. Then the moment is gone.
Emma and I continue our dance.
Chapter 18
Angie
Tristan looks perfect. His short wavy hair and smoldering good looks are perfect for tonight. He greets me with a warm smile and a puppy dog look that takes me by surprise.
Hopefully I'm reading too much into it because tonight is just about appearances. And he’s nailing it, wearing a pirate vest underneath his tux. He actually looks quite festive.
And he picks me up in his respectable Audi convertible, so we don't have to take my beat-up BMW.
When we pull up to the valet, there is a gorgeous sunset on the horizon and a nice, cool breeze in the air.
As much as I hate to admit it, it's a wonderful night for a ball and I'm actually starting to get excited. About the ball, and about throwing the fact that I have a date back in Jake's smug face.
It doesn't take long. The announcer is still calling out my name when I enter the crowded mansion. I scan the faces and find Jake.
He's with a gorgeous knockout of course. A part of me is relieved he didn't bring Mia.
The next thing I do is scan the room for signs of Shark. I'm wearing one of my favorite bracelets. It has a blue opal stone and a diamond set in silver. I almost never wear it out because I love it so much. And the last thing I need is to have it pinched by a jerk kleptomaniac monkey.
There's no sign of the furry menace, so I turn to Tristan. "Shall we?"
He's frowning at me.
"What?"
"What was that?" He asks. "With that giant, super-sexy blond-haired guy?"
I give him the universal what-the-hell-is-it-to-you stare that lets him know that whatever comes out of his mouth next is going to have a profound impact on how the night goes. And maybe his general health as well.
He recognizes the danger signal and raises his hands in mock surrender. He’s worried enough that his eyes bug out a little. "Girl, I get it. You're the one paying, here. It's just that I'm really good at reading people. And if you're here to make that guy jealous I've got you covered." He leans down to whisper. "Making ex-boyfriends jealous is sort of a specialty of mine."
"He's not an ex." I spit out.
He raises an eyebrow at me and then breaks into a wide grin. "You can call it whatever you want, but I know that look."
Okay, so I might have underestimated Tristan. I smile up at him, grateful to have that out of the way. At least now the two of us are on the same team.
And since the night is young, maybe this ball will be more fun than I thought. "Oh yeah, Tristan. One thing, I need you to keep an eye out for Shark. This bracelet is really shiny and it’s
