“Oooh, look!” Chanda cried out, pointing up.
I trained my attention on the aerialists overhead as I watched to see what would come next. Within seconds, the woman was spiraling down silk scarves from the ceiling. Midway down, she swung upside down with her left leg stretched parallel to the ground. The male aerialist slid partway down and ended in an upside-down split.
The crowd cheered them on as I jerked my attention away from them to continue to peruse the crowd. I stopped to speak with a few people trying to detect the tone of their voices, but I didn’t recognize any of them.
“May I have this dance?” a man asked in a low voice, approaching me from the side.
Glancing at Chanda, she smiled at me, gave a brief nod, and then walked away.
Not once had she given me a chance to decline the man’s offer. I knew what she was up to. Chanda would make sure that I wouldn’t chicken out and that I would stick to my promise to let loose tonight.
“Sure,” I said, offering him my hand as he led me onto the floor.
We danced to a classical song, and I used that time to assess his height and bearing. It wasn’t Lake.
My mind wouldn’t let go of the kiss we’d shared. I’d been so surprised that all of my feelings had come rushing back to full strength as though they’d never left. And with the kiss and those memories came other memories.
The feeling of his arms around me, his kisses on my neck, his hands on my breasts, my legs wrapped around his back, and how he felt inside of me. I wanted...needed to feel that one last time before I pledged my life to another man.
After I’d finished dancing with the first man, I danced with two others, confident that they weren’t Lake either.
“I’m starving. Are you ready to get something to eat?” Chanda asked when we met up again.
“Not really, but I’ll sit with you,” I said, walking with her as we headed to the tables.
Dinner was being served, but the food was the last thing that was on my mind.
“So?” Chanda asked after we’d been served.
There were five other people seated at our table, three men and two women.
“So, what?” I asked, toying with the salad that I’d ordered, despite my lack of hunger.
“Did you find your Prince Charming in any of the men you danced with?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t be sitting here with you at this table,” I replied drolly.
Chanda laughed. “Either that, or you found him with another girl already. I’ve told you—”
“I know what you told me about Lake and...that’s fine. I mean, I’m marrying another man, anyway. It’s not like I’m expecting the man to get down on his knee and ask for my hand in marriage. Even if he wanted that, we know that could never happen.”
“Right, because you’re determined to marry Sheffield Tech, which includes marrying a man that you don’t even love and who’s possibly an asshole.”
“Shhh!” I grumbled harshly, glancing around the table to ensure no one else had overheard her remarks.
Chanda waved a hand.
“No one cares about that tonight. Everyone’s here to get their freak on, and they could not care less who you are or aren’t marrying. Besides, I told you that everything that happens at these things stays here. If someone overheard you, they’d never repeat it beyond these walls. And frankly, they wouldn’t give a damn,” Chanda explained.
I rubbed my hand across the back of my neck. “Yeah, but still,” I said, looking around.
After we’d finished our meal, I danced with two more men before I was ready to give up and go home. My plans had failed. I wasn’t even certain if Lake had shown up tonight. So far, my efforts to seek him out had been unsuccessful.
I’d just spotted Chanda on the floor with some man when someone else approached me asking for a dance. I accepted the dance, and we made small talk while he tried unsuccessfully to woo me.
Just as I’d finished what I considered my last dance of the evening, someone else was approaching me with a smile. I hated to have to turn him down, but I was over the evening already.
But it was the voice that I heard behind me that had my attention. Spinning around, I stared up into those sparkling emerald eyes and questioned how I’d ever wondered if those other men were Lake.
I was very familiar with his eyes, but for a while tonight, I’d forgotten about them. Forgotten how they lit up whenever they landed on me or grew darker when desire filled him. Forgotten how they could communicate his feelings to me with no words.
“May I have this dance, Liltee,” the voice repeated.
CHAPTER 8 – LAKE
NEW GUESTS POURED THROUGH the doors, and I diligently made my way in that direction, keeping my eyes trained on them.
Convinced that none of them could be her, I was just about to turn away when a woman moved slightly out of my line of sight. I stared, wondering if it were a trick of the light or if that had been her. Moving to the left just a little, I glimpsed her again.
A woman in a silk and lace champagne, gold, and purple gown, which opened in the front over a large silk petticoat, glided across the floor.
Could that be her, I wondered.
I drew closer to her, stalking the shadows so she wouldn’t see me immediately.
She fingered the diamond choker at her throat, drawing my eyes in. The woman swallowed nervously as her chest rose and fell, pulling my gaze down to her cleavage, pouring from her square neckline.
Slowly her head turned as she scanned the occupants of the room. A black silk gloved hand rested at the choker on her neck before she slowly made her way into the interior of the club.
I needed to get just a little closer
