“Maybe you shouldn’t work so hard. I hear it gives you wrinkles.” Patrick turned her to see if Anita and Mikhail were in the office or had gone upstairs. He couldn’t tell from this vantage point. He needed to move her closer to the office.
“Oh, Patrick.” She broke her frame yet again to trace her fingers up his arm. “You are so funny. We could be such good friends.”
“You’re married.” He couldn’t see Anita. Had she really taken Mikhail upstairs, left the guests at her own party? What was she thinking?
He felt Melanie move closer to him, pressing her body closer to his.Shit. I really should be paying more attention.
“Patrick.” Melanie’s expression was deadly.
“Dance frame.” Patrick tried to reposition her, but she would not follow his directions and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“My husband, he’s terrible to me. He doesn’t understand me. And let’s be honest, he’s not all that great in bed.” She moved the hand on his shoulder closer to his neck, trailing a finger along his hairline. He tried not to recoil. “I think we could be so good for each other.”
How long was this fucking song? “Keep your frame.” He finally managed to readjust her hands. Oh, thank Heavens and all that was good and holy, the song finally ended. Perfect. He clipped a bow toward her. “Thank you. Enjoy your evening.”
She haughtily put her hands on her hips. “Really? This is how you’re going to treat me? What about that key?”
“Mrs. Templeton, I am not interested in your proposition. Thank you for the dance, and goodbye.”
He could feel the anger smoking from her, but he was done. He had done his duty, danced with the clients. Anita was gone. She had left with Mikhail.
Patrick felt his heart plummet through the floor. This was it. He couldn’t keep doing this to himself. He had to go while he still had a modicum of self-respect, even if it meant breaking a promise. She was never going to choose him. Enough was enough.
****
Anita crossed her arms over her chest. If he could just get it through his thick skull.
“Anita, please.” Mikhail’s hair barely moved, and he was typically expressionless. How the hell had she ever found him attractive? He reminded her a bit of an oily penguin in his black outfit. “Patrick? You will never win.”
“I never really won with you.” She never should have listened to him, never should have taken him to her office so they could “chat.” “I can’t do this, Mikhail. I have party guests.” She moved toward the door, but he put a hand on her arm to stop her. She ripped it away from his grasp.
“I miss you.” He contorted his face into what he clearly deemed an acceptable expression of contrition.
Fuck him.
“Really? Do you? After you completely ditched me for Tatiana Lurshenko? Where is she, by the way? How does she feel about your little decision?”
Mikhail stiffened and removed his hand from her arm. Ah. There it was. “She’s ditched you, huh?”
“Her ex is planning on going to Stuttgart and invited her along,” he replied haltingly. “After Keystone.”
Anita crossed her arms over her chest and straightened to her full height. “Sounds like kind of a familiar ploy.”
He scoffed, tossing his hair which of course did not move. How had she missed all the red flags? “You are a mess. I don’t know why I am here.”
“Me neither.” She gestured grandly. “There’s the door.”
He stalked out. Anita rolled her eyes. Had he always been such a cocky, preposterous asshole? How had she spent three years of her life with him? She had to stop making the same mistake. Dance partners did not make good romantic relationships.
Like Patrick.
She could not find him in the crowd. At least tonight there was no surprise milonga with an Argentine tango group from New Jersey. But he wasn’t there.
She could not still the disquiet in her chest. Had Patrick forgiven her for what she had said? When they were waltzing,she had not even found breath to speak. It had been simultaneously the longest and shortest dance of her life.
She just wanted the chance to apologize.
She forced a smile at some of the attendees but then focused on the clock. Only thirty minutes left. Very little good ever happened after ten p.m., so everything needed to shut down.
