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Or it would’ve been if she hadn’t accessorized with gold hoop earrings and layered gold necklaces that lined her sternum and glistened against her skin. She’d worn her hair natural with added extensions to boost the fullness and highlight her coil pattern. And she’d topped it all off with a coral-colored fascinator that nestled in her curls at a rakish angle over her forehead.
She felt amazing; she knew she looked it.
But traditional Anglo Saxon, she did not.
She’d been at the event for a while and she’d yet to see Jameson. He’d umpired the previous race and had texted her that he’d be along to the Royal Enclosure soon but that had been more than an hour ago. She’d wanted to see him, needed that connection after everything that had happened that morning. But he hadn’t been here, and she’d been left essentially on her own, surrounded by people who weren’t inclined to include her. She understood Jameson had duties to attend to, but she couldn’t help feeling a little abandoned.
A condition with which she was all too familiar.
In the meantime, she watched the races, chatted with the few brave souls who dared to speak to her, and tried not to react to some of the comments she overheard when liquid coverage outweighed decorum.
“This is a phase for him, yeah? He’ll get over it,” one of the men said as she passed near the bar.
“But until he does, I’m sure he’s having a hell of a time! Look at her. I know I would!” Raucous laughter followed that statement.
She tensed but kept moving, over to the four-foot-high fencing that bordered their area. Drinking the delicious champagne she’d been served, she ogled the half-naked rowers walking past with their boats held overhead—have mercy!—and did her best to ignore Bettina and her friends, the only other member of the royal family who’d been scheduled to appear today.
“Why would she wear that color?” Bettina asked, in a tone Dani knew was meant to carry.
“I think she looks spectacular,” another voice said.
“Spectacularly out of taste. Did she think she was coming to an Easter egg hunt?”
Dani placed her now empty flute on the flat wide railing cap, determined to give Bettina an answer to her question and tell her whereshecould go, when she heard a peppy, percussive tune. Spinning, she saw a brass band comprised of men dressed in white linen shirts and pants strolling down the grassy area parallel to the Thames and where the VIP tents had been situated.
She’d never been a person who could ignore music and her shoulders were already shimmying, the notes seducing her to leave the Royal Enclosure and head over to meet the troupe.
“What are you doing?” Bettina asked, her tone shrill.
Dani ignored her and grooved in a rhythmic walk, her wedge-heel sandals providing purchase on the grass. When she got closer, they started playing an instrumental version of her song “Sky High”! She was amazed at their talent and how they were able to pivot on a dime. That they obviously knew her music meant a lot to her.
If she did one last tour, she would seriously consider incorporating a section with this type of arrangement.
The music was so vibrant and welcoming, it thrummed her southern roots and took her back home. She could feel the stares, but she didn’t care. Everyone and everything else faded away. The expectations, the judgments, Genesis, Parcellum, Cash, the queen, even Jameson. In this moment it was her and the music and she submitted to it, moving her shoulders, shaking her hips, swaying her body in time with the drumbeat.
Remember when life was this simple? When you thought becoming a rapper would solve all your problems?
Instead, it had led her on a journey to ever bigger destinations where none of the pit stops provided the answers she’d originally sought.
The band finished with a flourish, bringing her back to her surroundings... and the sound of applause. She opened her eyes and gazed around to see mostly smiles.
And some frowns.
Standing tall, she adjusted her clothes, pulling on the lapels of her vest, dusting off the bottom of her jacket.
“You’re a peng ting,” the band leader, an older Black man, said.
“Thank you, I think.” Tears welled, and though Dani wanted to release them, this wasn’t the place. She forced them back andgave a watery smile. “For a minute there, y’all really made me feel at home.”
“Then we did our job. Good to see you, ma’am. Cheers!”
He started a new song and moved on, the members of the band following and nodding at her as they passed. She shivered in their wake, almost as if they took the warmth with them.
“I’ve never been so embarrassed,” Bettina hissed, when Dani returned to the enclosure.
“Really? There was the unveiling of your tit pics from the South of France and your brother knocks up a pop star, but it’s me and my dancing with an orchestral band that’s got your panties all twisted?” Dani rolled her eyes. “Get the fuck out of here with that.”
Bettina practically vibrated with her outrage. “You’re representing us. Look around. People are staring. You need to act like you’re dating a member of the royal family!”
