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Eva whirls in from behind me. “Come dance,” she says. “We’re going to dance again.”
Leo leans down to be heard over the music. “For the record, Daph, I’d pick you over Dad every fucking time.”
Then he strides out to where Haley is waiting and cuts in on Cash, who is immediately swept up by Elaine. Lucian and Elaine are absolutely ridiculous dancers. It makes me laugh, and laugh again, because everyone is afraid of Lucian. Here, in Leo’s ballroom, he’s…
I don’t know how to describe it. He’s so focused on Elaine that nothing else matters. Neither of them seems self-conscious. Elaine keeps pulling Cash in to dance with them, and he keeps trying to dance back out, but it’s not happening. Everyone is drunk and happy.
Eva takes both my hands in hers and spins us both around. Her face is pink from champagne, her hair is coming out of its twist, and she’s laughing. I don’t see her laugh like this very much. I’ve always thought she was smart and serious and regal. It turns out she’s also a hero, in her own way.
It’s warm in the ballroom. Loud. Balloons bounce against everyone’s feet. We’ve thoroughly destroyed the dessert table. Mrs. Page went to bed hours ago. Gerard keeps coming in and out, and so do the last of the servers.
The evening goes fuzzy. Something falls away as we dance. It’s not like the dinner party Lucian insisted on having after I got here, with everyone cutting glances at each other and sitting up straight. Maybe this is what it would have been like if our parents were normal. I’ve always loved parties. I never knew they could be like this.
“Are you okay?” Eva asks over the music. “You look so far away.”
“Thirsty.” We go over to the table, where there is ice water. I hold the glass in my hand and sway to the music. Eva’s doing the same thing. We both look out at the party together. Lucian and Elaine are attempting to swing dance. Cash is calling out instructions. And Leo is actually dancing with Haley. When he spins her close, she rests her head on his shoulder. I can see her smile from here. After a minute she leans up to whisper in his ear, and the way he angles himself to answer her is so intimate that I don’t feel like I should watch.
Leo looks over at us. He usually doesn’t drink, but he’s had one or two tonight. “Dance,” he says.
Eva abandons her ice water.
“I’ll be right there. I’m going to check my messages.”
“Boo,” Eva says, but she’s laughing again, and then she’s dancing with everybody else.
I get my phone from the dinner table and flip it over. The screen is hazy. Or I’m drunk. A few blinks and I can focus again.
My heart jumps into my throat.
Emerson: Tell me if you’re okay.
Daphne: I’m perfectly fine!!
The music gets louder, and I can’t believe, I honestly can’t believe, that this is happening at all. Constantines in Leo’s house. The way he looks at her. Lucian, being a goofball for once in his entire life. Longing squeezes at my heart. I want to be as close with someone as Leo is with Haley. I want that. I want it so much.
My phone buzzes in my hand.
Emerson: I’ll send the police to check.
Daphne: Do NOT do that. My brother would freak out.
Emerson: Which brother?
I blink at the phone. Read it again. Cold awareness fights to get through the champagne drunk, but it can’t quite make it. He knows I have more than one brother. He knows.
Daphne: Did you look me up on Facebook?
Three little dots float on the screen. I peek over my shoulder to make sure he’s not watching through the window. That’s silly. He couldn’t get into Leo’s courtyard. There’s no way he’s watching me right now.
Emerson: Of course not, little painter.
It doesn’t make me feel any better.
He’s typing again.
Emerson: I don’t need social media. I have a complete dossier on you.
Noise beats at my ears, so loud I think something’s gone wrong with the music. It’s not the music. It’s my heart.
