“Thank you,” she whispered, her soft voice tickling his ear.
“For what?”
“For letting us come down here. For dancing.” She shrugged in his arms. “I mean, to be here. To meet your grandmother. I know you wanted to go, but—”
“Hush,” he said, unable to help his smile. Onemoment she was tough as nails, the next she was a starstruck fan. Damn, but she amused the hell out of him. “I’m not mad anymore. Just stay quiet, listen to the music, and maybe I’ll forget I ever was.”
She nodded, stiff at first, but then she relaxed, her body molding to his, her head resting on his shoulder. And as they glided over the dance floor Kyle let himself forget that he didn’t even know this woman, this thief. That his grandmother had ripped off his great-aunt. And that his business was about to crash and burn.
No, right then all he wanted was to hold her, to feel her soft curves move against him and hear her little sighs of pleasure. She was vibrant and alive, and Kyle felt as if he’d stolen a little piece of heaven.
And for as long as the song continued, he wasn’t about to give it back.
* * *
“YES, YES,” Emily said, whispering as she spoke into the phone. She was making the three-way call in the alcove just off the ballroom. She peered out toward the couple. “They’re here right now.”
“And you think the plan is working?” Frances asked. “Already?”
“They’redancing,” Emily said, unable to keep the excitement from her voice. “And they look quite cozy.”
“Of course it’s working,” Gregory said, his voice firm on the line. “I never doubted Emily for a second.”
“I almost called her Melissa,” Emily confessed.
“For Pete’s sake, Em,” Frances blurted. “Don’t screw this up for us.”
Emily bit back her retort. For the sake of the kids she could be civil to her sister. “I’ll be careful,” she promised. “And you should expect them later on.”
“In the middle of the night? Surely not. Kyle has better manners than to wake me.”
“Wake you?” That was Gregory, sounding more than a little miffed. “My Melissa can get into your house without even breaking a sweat.”
“We’re sure she can,” Emily said, playing peace-maker. “But since Frances will be retiring soon, it doesn’t matter. Frances, dear, check your jewelry box the minute you get up and let us know if they’ve returned the necklace.”
“Roger,” Frances said, and Emily pictured her saluting.
“Anything else to report?” Gregory asked.
Emily considered telling him about Melissa’s revelation about the song. She could even picture him, all dapper and refined, letting a little girl stand on his polished shoes so he could teach her to dance.But in the end, she kept the image to herself, tucked away in her heart.
“That’s it,” she said instead. “Here’s to success.”
They repeated the rallying cry and then clicked off.
And Emily went back into the ballroom to attend to her guests.
* * *
“NOW HOW DID YOU TWO MEET?”
“It’s so nice to know that Kyle has a young lady friend.”
“And what do you do, dear?”
Mel’s glance bobbed from woman to woman as their comments swirled around her, becoming little more than a static-filled buzz in her ear. She’d been in heaven in his arms, ecstatic when she’d become a guest at a real Emily Radley party.
Now, though, she saw the downside. The reason why Kyle had wanted to skip the party and head straight out the backdoor.
