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“It’s because of me,” I admit with a note of apology.
“Oh my god, what did you do? He’s coming over here. He isn’t going to try to fight me, is he?”
Another laugh bursts out of me. “I sincerely hope not.”
“You don’t sound convinced, and this is a rented tux. I can’t mess it up or I’ll lose my deposit.”
I take pity on him. I barely know this man; there’s no reason to drag him into the crossfire.
“I’ll sacrifice myself,” I tell him with a wink and then turn to face Emmett all on my own, walking away from the safety of the group.
Just as promised, he looks murderous.
“It’s not at all what you think,” I tell him when we meet halfway. I even press my hand to his chest just in case he gets some wild idea to blow past me. “You can stop staring at that man like that. He’s a friend of Victoria’s.”
Emmett looks down at me with raised brows as if to say, And your point?
“And he’s currently trying to win over that male dancer standing in their group, so there’s no need to lay claim or anything.”
“Lay claim?”
It’s like the idea suddenly intrigues him.
He looks up and surveys the room briefly before refocusing his dark eyes on me.
“So, he’s not a bother…” he continues, “but there are other men here no doubt vying for an opportunity to talk to you. Maybe I should lay claim.”
“Worried I’ll slip away?”
“You’ve proved elusive enough these last few weeks.”
I know he’s only teasing now. He can’t truly be worried that I care for someone else. There is no world beyond him.
“What else was I supposed to do?” I ask, trying to keep up the charade.
He drops his hand over mine. “Relent, eventually. Will you?”
I don’t know how to answer him. The question means too much. So, I sidestep it.
“Did you show up here tonight by pure coincidence?”
“Your grandmother called me.”
My jaw drops. “That saboteur.”
He smiles. “She took pity on me.”
I barely resist the urge to stamp my foot. “She was playing it so cool and everything. I thought she was giving me the freedom to make my own choice in the matter.”
“She is, I assure you. She made that clear to me. But…she saw me come over to the house a few times. She knows my feelings.” He squeezes my hand. “It was kind of her, and now that I’ve told you my secret, you can’t run off…”
He takes my hand, gently lacing our fingers together, and then he starts to pull me toward the dance floor.
The members of the orchestra set up in the corner play a pared-down, slower version of the Swan Lake suite. The delicate harp and violin provide such a gentle melody.
With only a few couples on the dance floor, I feel like the whole room watches us as Emmett sweeps me up into his arms.
“You never asked me if I wanted to dance.”
“Would you like to?” he asks, putting the full force of his charm behind his question. I’m surprised my knees don’t give out.
“Well, it’d be a shame to stop now,” I tease, sounding like I’m doing him a huge favor by enduring his touch when in reality, I’m abuzz with nervous excitement.
We’re approaching the end of the road, the moment when I’ll have to dig my heels in once and for all over a situation that feels muddy and complex and now…suddenly, so silly.
But I don’t have to.
I could deviate from the plan I’ve been carrying out over the last few weeks.
Not with a huge deal of forethought but on instinct alone, this feeling in my stomach, this rapid beating of my heart tells me to do it. Just…let it happen.
“Since you told me a secret, I’ll share one as well.”
He peels back to look at me.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I admit quietly.
It’s only a tiny truth, I know that, but we’ve been playing at war for so long that it feels like a white flag.
And he accepts it, easily turning the conversation into more while he leads me on the dance floor.
“I am too. I enjoyed the ballet. The last time I saw it, I was in Paris. The dancers were wonderful, the principal ballerina most of all.”
I want to scowl. “What if I told you that makes me ridiculously jealous to hear, to think of you admiring a ballerina on stage?”
He looks pleased. “Good.”
I nearly groan. “We’re both doomed.”
“Are we?” He spreads his hand across my lower back. “I mostly watched you tonight. I’m surprised I don’t have a crick in my neck from staring over at your box.”
“I knew.”
“You didn’t look over.”
I smile down at my feet.
“Even if I hadn’t seen you here tonight, I would still have continued to come to your grandmother’s house, to try to get to you no matter what. It’s the least I can do. You understand, don’t you? You’ve proved to me that love endures.” His gaze holds steady. “How long have you loved me, Lainey?”
