Neal lingered next to the bar, making good use of the open bar if his flushed cheeks and unsteady movements were any sign. Throughout the guests, news crews and photographers blended unobtrusively into the crowd to share the event with the public.
Pippa Shelton was there, dressed in a striking red mermaid dress that did wonderful things for her coloring. A photographer stood next to her, snapping photos of the guests. Amber’s stomach tightened with nerves, but she was a performer, if nothing else.
She took a deep breath and stepped down to the first stair. As if they were connected with a wire, she found Theo watching her with appreciation and something darker in his eyes.
She breathed easier seeing him and took another step down. The feel of his eyes on her, so appreciative and warm, soothed the rest of her nerves and she smiled softly at him. Almost shyly. Other people were noticing the look on his face as she walked down the stairs, turning to watch them.
She made her way down, eyes locked on Theo’s, and when she reached the last stair, he met her and held her hand, bringing it to his lips. “You are stunning,” he murmured.
She saw the flashbulbs from the corner of her eye, but when Theo looked at her like that, it was hard to care about anything at all.
As if on cue, the music started, and Theo held out his arm. “Care to dance?”
"Yes," she breathed. His tuxedo was silky smooth under her hand, the arm under it taut with muscle when she placed it on top and followed him to the dance floor. She couldn’t have said what the song was or if they did more than sway side to side like a pair of teenagers in a high school gym dance.
His hand where he held it against his chest was warm and protective, and his arm around her back a solid wall. His eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, looked at her with all the emotion she couldn’t say. But she felt it.
"Have I told you how beautiful you are?"
She laughed. “I believe you did this morning. And then again after breakfast and before lunch.”
His white teeth flashed. “Not nearly enough then. Did you make this dress?”
“Yes. Do you like it?” she asked. “It’s not something I’d usually wear, butit felt right.”
“I love it. You’ve never looked more like yourself," he said.
A warmth began in her chest, spreading dangerously close to her heart and filling her with an emotion she almost didn’t dare name. She looked past his broad, silk-covered shoulder. “Everything is so magical tonight. I remember coming here as a little girl with my mom and imagining what kind of world the people who came here lived in. It always felt like I was stepping into an alternate universe.”
He spun her in a circle. “I think you’ve always been in your own world,” he murmured, “and everyone else is orbiting around you.”
“It's the dress,” she said, suddenly shy. She looked away. “It’s just another version of me.”
His arm tightened around her waist, and she looked up again. “Every version of you is my favorite version.”
If she was floating at the end of the dance, she didn't care because the night was a dream she didn’t want to end.
Johnny and Charlotte danced by them, in their own world, as much as Amber imagined she and Theo were. Theo crooked an eyebrow. "When were you going to tell me they were a couple?" he asked.
"You figured that out?”
He nodded ruefully. "I think I was the last one. I was too jealous to see it.”
"I know," Amber said. "I liked it.”
“I think after the election, we should go away for a long vacation together. Have you ever been to Paris?”
She laughed. “Paris? The farthest I've been to is Niagara Falls.”
“We're going to fix that."
Amber would've laughed, but suddenly it wasn't funny. Suddenly, she could see that future, traveling together, Theo being reelected, and her opening her own boutique, and maybe someday starting a family together. Shewantedthatfuture, and it didn't seem silly at all. It was exactly what she wanted.
She floated for the rest of the evening, talking to the different vendors Cheryl had arranged to represent the best of Northfield, trying a sampling of the delicious foods, and drinking too much champagne because it tasted good, and she felt even better.
They sat with Georgie for dinner, Theo’s tiny, adorable grandma. She had her nurse with her, and she was in a wheelchair, but when she saw Amber, her whole face lit up.
They chatted throughout dinner about all the wonderful memories she had of Theo as a little boy, and how proud she was of the man he had become. Before she left, she patted Amber’s hand. “I knew my Theodore would fall in love with a firecracker. Give him hell for me,” she said, winking.
