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“Of course. We know you’ll take good care of her—you already have.” Anne rose and hugged him.
“I was afraid you’d think I shouldn’t ask while I was in school.”
Anne grimaced. “That’s because you don’t know I married the first time when I was still a sophomore in college. I’m sure you’ll do fine. I assume y’all talked about this a little?”
“Yes, we talked a few weeks ago. She wants to wait a long time. I’d rather not wait so long—a year at the most. But, we’ll work it out.”
“Are you sure y’all talked about it? I’m surprised she didn’t say anything to me. The last time she talked to us, she still thought you were losing interest in the relationship.” Anne chewed her lip.
“No. We talked about it after Sunday night dinner a few weeks ago. Maybe she’s still unsure, though. Maybe she didn’t want to tell you until I’d asked her formally. After I give her the ring, she’ll feel better. I know I’ll feel better to make it official.”
“And your mother and father know?” Gherring asked.
“Yes, sir. They love Emily. And my sisters like her better than me.”
Anne said, “I have a ring that belonged to my mom. I’d love for you to use the stones in her ring. You don’t have to, but it’s going to be hers someday. The ring that belonged to Tom’s mother is going to Charlotte.”
“That would be awesome. Charlie’s going to help me chose a setting for her. But she seems so sentimental—I bet she’d love having the stones from her grandmother’s ring.”
“When are you going to ask her?” Anne asked.
“As soon as I can get the ring and come up with a cool way to ask her. I’ve been working nights parking cars and saving up the money. I’ve hardly seen her the past couple of weeks, between parking cars and dance lessons. But it’ll all be worth it in the end.”
Anne disappeared into the bedroom in search of the heirloom ring, and Gherring was left alone with Spencer.
“Spencer, I have a bit of advice about these Best girls. They get a notion in their heads, and it’s hard to convince them otherwise. Are you positive Emily knows you’re in love with her?”
“I’m sure. But even if she had doubts, she won’t have them after I give her the ring. Right?”
“Yes, the thing is... Well, I almost lost Anne between the time I bought her ring and when I actually asked her to marry me. I really don’t want you to make the same mistake.”
If Gherring wanted to scare Spencer, he’d accomplished his goal. How was he going to make sure he didn’t lose her? “Okay. Thanks for the advice.”
“Here’s the ring,” said Anne, handing him a small box.
“And let me hook you up with my jeweler,” said Gherring. “He owes me. He’ll take care of you and give you top priority.”
“Thanks so much. This wasn’t nearly as awful as I thought it’d be.”
Anne laughed again. “Glad we weren’t as frightening as you thought.”
*****
Becca had been very methodical in her planning. She knew she might only have one opportunity to talk to Spencer. Since she’d taken the ballroom dance classes in the past, she was aware of the schedule. This Wednesday would be the tango roundhouse dance, where every man would rotate dancing with every woman. He’d have to dance with her if she went, unless he wanted to cause a scene. Becca had an in with the dance instructor, who’d already informed her Spencer was talking about getting engaged soon. She had to act fast, to keep him from making the biggest mistake of his life.
She was dressed to entice, in a skin-tight black dress with a deep v in the front that displayed her assets well. The slit on the side of the dress went all the way up to her hip so when she lifted it, her entire leg was exposed. She had on five-inch platform shoes that made her legs look longer. She was certain when he saw what she was offering, he wouldn’t be able to resist. And all she had to do was get a picture with him taking advantage of her, and the uptight, virginal Emily would drop him like a hot rock. The dance studio photographer was in on the plan, although he didn’t know her intentions. She’d only told him she was going to get dirty with Spencer, and she wanted some pictures. She was more than willing to make it worth his while to do her a favor and give her copies of the pictures. Even if Spencer turned her down, she might be able to use one of the pictures with them dancing together. And the photographer was willing to text the picture, so Emily wouldn’t know it came from her.
She wanted Spencer, but she wanted to hurt Emily even more. She was so angry with Steven Gherring for filing charges against her. The search warrant and police questionings were frightening and humiliating. And it had cost her a lot of money to hire an attorney. Granted, her parents had paid for the lawyer, but they’d cut her allowance afterward. Overall, Gherring had made her life miserable for a while, and she’d almost been caught red-handed. She could have been sent to prison. She wanted revenge, and the only way to hurt him, was to hurt Emily. She’d come to despise the sickly sweet girl who’d taken Spencer’s attention away from her. Emily Best didn’t deserve him, anyway.
She peered into the studio where the teacher was explaining the rules for the roundhouse tango. She spied Spencer across the room. She was a little disappointed he hadn’t dressed up. Most of the women wore nice dresses on roundhouse night, and a lot of the men wore slacks and dress shirts. But Spencer was clad in jeans and a sport shirt. Of course, he still looked hot. Nothing could prevent that. But the pictures would have been so much better if they’d both been dressed up.
Alumni were always invited to roundhouse night, so there were a number of other girls that’d returned for the opportunity to practice the tango. Sizing up her rivals, she only found one girl who presented real competition. She was tall, with long blond hair, but her dress was nothing spectacular. Satisfied in being the most alluring girl present, she flung the door open and sauntered acros
s the floor, deliberately ignoring Spencer. She planned to adopt an air of total surprise when she saw him.
Spencer studied his feet while the teacher clarified the rules for the evening. He had to switch partners, dancing with all the women present. A number of extra women and a few extra men from previous classes had joined for the reunion dance. He noticed a lot more girls nearer his age. The thought of dancing with them made him even more nervous than dancing with the older women that were normally in his class. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans.
Glancing up at a late entry, he spotted a young girl in a skimpy black dress. He returned to the obsessive contemplation of his shoes, but heard the guy next to him murmuring something about the new girl. He peeked under his eyebrows at her, and felt a heavy rock in his stomach. It was Becca.
