“Who says dancing with strangers is my idea of fun?” Florence said defensively.
“Well, then, what is?” Vivian demanded, starting to feel exasperated. She didn’t think her sister was being deliberately obtuse, but she had worked so hard to change their lives for the better. Why couldn’t Florence see that things weren’t the same as they had always been?
Florence ran her fingers along the edge of the counter, a frown between her brows as she stared at their aimless path. “I don’t know. I’ve never had a chance to find out.”
“You’ve got two days off every week now,” Vivian pointed out, a hint of a challenge in her voice. She waited until Florence looked up and met her eyes. “You could do something with them, you know.”
“And you think I should come to your dance hall?” Florence asked, crossing her arms.
“Why not?” Vivian replied. “You like music. You’d figure out the dancing fast enough. Nothing I say is going to convince you that it’s not some hotbed of sin.”
“No, it’s not.”
Vivian ignored the comment and pressed on. “So why don’t you actually go there and see what it’s like for yourself?”
“I couldn’t.”
“Why not?” Somehow, now that she’d said it out loud, it felt important to Vivian that she convince Florence to go. Maybe she wanted to shake her sister out of her tired, lonely routine. Maybe she just wanted a chance to prove Florence wrong. Maybe both.
Florence was saved from having to answer by a knock on the door, a quick, syncopated series of raps, as if the visitor were playing a jazz rhythm on the wood. Both girls jumped.
“Are you expecting someone?” Florence asked, going to answer it. “Oh!”
Danny was standing in the doorway. He and Florence stared at each other in surprise, as if neither one knew what to make of the other’s presence there, before Danny scrambled to take off his hat and give her a friendly smile.
“Sorry to startle you,” he said, with more genuine politeness than Vivian had ever heard from him before. “I’m looking for Vivian.”
“Oh. Yes, of course.” Florence turned toward Vivian, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. Men didn’t often come to their home, and Vivian suspected she was worried about what the neighbors might think if any of them saw. “Vivi, there’s—”
“Yeah, I can see him,” Vivian said, unable to keep the amusement from her voice. “Mind if he comes in?”
“Oh,” Florence said for a third time, her blush growing as she turnedback to Danny. “Do you want to—I mean, you heard her. Come on in.”
“Thank you,” Danny said, stepping past her. For a moment, Vivian was worried that her sister’s obvious discomfort had made him uncomfortable. But a moment later her fears were put to rest as Danny gave Florence a big smile and a wink. “If I’d known Vivian had such a pretty sister, I’d have stopped by long ago.”
“Easy there, lover boy,” Vivian said dryly as Florence’s eyes went wide and Danny chuckled.
“Sorry, Miss… Florence, I think? Have I got that right?”
Florence nodded. Her back was still pressed up against the open door from when she had stepped aside to let him in, and she didn’t seem to be capable of moving.
“Danny Chin.” He held out his hand, and Florence, without seeming to know what she was doing, shook it. “I work with your sister, here.”
“I guessed as much,” Florence said, her voice sounding strangled. Her cheeks had gone past pink and were now bright red.
Vivian had to hold back her own laughter. She had never seen Florence flustered like this before. But she took pity on her sister. “Did you stop by just to flirt, Danny, or is there another reason?”
“Can’t a fella do both?” he teased, his eyes still on Florence. But when she didn’t seem to know what to say, his smile became a little softer. “I really am pleased to meet you, Miss Florence. From what I hear, Vivian’s lucky to have such a swell sister looking after her.”
“She needs a lot of looking after,” Florence managed at last, casting a not very subtle glare in Vivian’s direction. “If she’s hanging out with flirts like you.”
Vivian would have let herself be drawn into an argument, but Danny laughed. “No need to look so grumpy, kitten, I deserved that,” he said to her, still smiling. But his expression grew more serious. “I can’t stay long, I’m checking inventory soon. But Hux asked me to come by with a message.”
Vivian felt like her heart had just sped up to twice its normal rate. “Yeah?” She wasn’t supposed to work that night, so if Honor was sending her a message, she had a good idea why.
“There’s someone coming by tonight to see you. And she’s not the sort of person we should keep waiting.”
“No, I imagine not. Guess I’ll be there.” She shivered, remembering the note that she and Bea had found tucked in Pearlie’s things. “Did Honor tell you what it’s about?”
