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“Can you dance?” a female voice he didn’t recognize asked, and he looked up to see Ronnie had returned with the girls she’d been working with.
“I can,” he replied to the young teenager. “But I don’t enjoy it.”
“You should dance with Ms. Veronica,” Jax said. “She’s pretty. I bet you’d like dancing if you danced with her.”
Terrence did his best not to look at Ronnie when he answered. “You’re probably right, but Ms. Veronica has been dancing for hours. I’m sure she’s tired and doesn’t feel like dancing anymore.”
“Why don’t you ask her instead of making assumptions about how you think she’ll reply?” Ronnie said, walking his way with a sultry smile. Any other time, he would have welcomed such an action, but at the moment, it left him confused.
“Think about it,” Ronnie whispered in a voice so low no one could hear except him. She’d made her way to where he stood and placed a hand on his shoulder. “The Burkes are watching. If they see us dancing, they’ll tell Andie and Fulton, and that’ll only make our story more believable.”
Of course the kids watching had no idea what she was saying, they only saw her actions, and they responded in kind with whistles and catcalls.
Ronnie raised her voice when she spoke again. “Or maybe you’re lying. Yes, I bet that’s it. You’re lying and you really can’t dance at all.”
All the kids booed.
“Okay. Okay.” Terrence grinned. This was his element, putting on a show in front of a crowd. But was this an act? Hedidn’t want to address that question yet, so he pushed it aside for the moment. Clearly, Ronnie had a theatrical element to her as well, and that only made her more attractive. “I suppose I have no option other than to prove to everyone that I can dance.”
“I’ll get us some music going.” Ronnie pulled out her phone. “What dance should we do?”
He thought it was interesting she asked about the dance he wanted to do and not the music he wanted to dance to. She waited with the phone in her hands, fingers ready to type and search for his reply.
Instead of giving her one, he shot her a grin. “Ladies’ choice. You decide.”
“Ladies’ choice?” She raised an eyebrow. “If that’s the case, what if I told you that my choice was for you to decide?” He could almost hear her unspoken taunt.Check.
He almost laughed, but caught himself. She wanted to play? He’d play. “Then I would reply that I didn’t take you to be the type of woman unable to make up her mind about what she wanted.” He ended the sentence with his own raised eyebrow.Checkmate.
Just as he expected, she refused to end the game, but rather increased the stakes. He caught a mischievous gleam in her eye seconds before she dropped her gaze to her phone and, with fingers flying, selected something.
He glanced at her in confusion when the sound of classical music played by an orchestra filled the room. “A waltz?”
Several of the teenaged girls oohed.
“Do you not waltz, Mr. Knight?” she asked.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Ms. Fair.” He held out his hand to her. “I’m only surprised thatyouknow how.”
She took the offered hand and allowed herself to be led to the middle of the room. The kids settled themselves in a circle around the two of them. Terrence looked up and saw the Burkeswatching with unabashed interest. It appeared Ronnie had been correct. The only question remaining was how quickly news of their dance would make it back to the island where at least Andie waited impatiently to hear how the day went.
Ronnie scoffed at his remark. “You obviously weren’t in the room the day I told Andie how I was fortunate enough to have two debutante balls to attend.”
“Those are still a thing?”
She laughed. “That’s the same reply she had.”
They moved into position, and as soon as they took the first step, her laughter stopped. Terrence smiled at the look of astonishment in her eyes. “What’s the look for?”
“You really can waltz,” she said as if it was the most impossible thing in the world. “You know the steps. You aren’t just making stuff up.”
“You doubted me?” he asked in mocked outrage.
“Of course I did.”
“So you asking me to waltz was you calling my bluff?”
Her cheeks flushed. “Something like that.”
