Page 26 of Passion’s Song

“Look at you,” April said, nudging him with her shoulder. “When did you learn how to schmooze?”

“It’s a part of the job,” he said with a laugh. “And as for your job tonight, you are going above and beyond.”

“How so?”

“Because you’re making me look good. I don’t know a damn thing about art. If not for you, I’d have looked like an idiot tonight.”

“No, you wouldn’t. You can BS your way through anything, Damien. I discovered that the day you convinced Mr. Pendleton to let you out of taking the chemistry final because you believed the periodic table was against your religion.”

His head kicked back with his laugh. “That was a pretty sweet moment.”

“It was epic.” April laughed along with him. “When you put your mind to it, you can do just about anything. I suspect you would have done just fine without me.”

“But it wouldn’t have been nearly as enjoyable,” he said. His eyes glittered with mischief, but also with just enough heat to make April suck in a breath.

When he leaned forward, she became light-headed.

But he didn’t go near her mouth, which was exactly where her overly active imagination had pictured him heading. Instead, he whispered in her ear, “Thank you for being by my side tonight. And for having so much knowledge about art in that brain of yours.”

April put a lid on the can of wishful thinking that had her imagining Damien kissing her, and reminded herself exactly why she was here and what was expected of her. And of him.

“As you may recall,” she said, “this all comes at a price. I expect to see you at A Fresh Start bright and early tomorrow. It’ll be just an introduction, but once you’re done with tomorrow’s class we’ll work on a more formal syllabus.”

A pained look flashed across Damien’s face.

“I guess there’s no way for me to back out of the deal now, is there?”

April hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “You want me to go find Rebecca James? I’m sure she and her cameraman would still love to speak to you, Mr. Top Ten Bachelor.”

“I’ll be at the center tomorrow. You’re ruthless, by the way,” Damien said, taking her by the hand and leading her out of the gallery.

“You’d better remember that,” April told him.

The crowds filling the street had started to thin, making it easier to navigate from gallery to gallery, and from food booth to food booth. April laughed herself into a coughing fit when Damien bit into a shrimp creole–stuffed beignet and sent all the filling flying out the opposite end of the bread.

A brass jazz band started to play, and Damien held a hand out to her.

April shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said.

“Hey, aren’t you the musician here?”

“And when does being a musician equal being a dancer?”

“Hmm,” Damien murmured. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky. “I can recall coaxing you onto the dance floor at the senior prom and you shocking everybody with your dance moves.”

April couldn’t help the huge smile that formed on her face. “Fine, I used to watch music videos and practice in my room. But that was a long time ago,” she added. She could feel the blush climbing up her cheeks. “I don’t dance anymore.”

Damien held his hand out again.

“Please?” he said. He had the nerve to sic the puppy dog eyes on her. He was not playing fair at all. “Just this once?” he added.

“God, you’re needy,” she groused.

He barked out another laugh as April reluctantly allowed him to pull her out into the middle of the street, where dozens of other revelers dressed in their finery danced to the brass band. Second lining, as it was known, was a New Orleans tradition. It didn’t matter if you were hosting a run-of-the-mill house party or a fancy shindig like the one they were attending tonight; no celebration in the Big Easy was complete until partygoers marched the second line.

With her arm hooked in the crook of Damien’s, April continued down the street, waving the handkerchief he’d handed her in the air and high-stepping along with the trail of revelers. April could feel the heat from Damien’s body all along her side where they occasionally touched. It ignited dozens of tingling sensations, sending them scattering across her skin.

She didn’t want to feel this way, dammit! She’d put it in her head to fight these feelings with everything she had.