here in this ballroom aglow with crystal chandeliers and champagne punch, where more than a hundred gloriously dressed guests swayed to the beat of a small orchestra, Lola decided to shine on. In the past hour she’d gone from feeling utterly exhausted and peeved to feeling like the High Exalted Ruler of the Universe. Way beyond a mere Priestess.
Not a sensation to be wasted. No matter whom she’d planned to be dancing with.
So as Aric led her to the parquet dance floor, she didn’t balk at being shown off. Didn’t protest when he extended his arm like a dancer in a competition, gripping only her fingertips as he held her in his dramatic gaze. And then they walked—no, they were gliding—to the center of the floor. On cue, the trumpets announced them with a fanfare, and the orchestra seguéd into the high style of a Viennese waltz.
It was no time to tell him she was a little rusty; that she’d forgotten all but the ONE-two-three of the beat she’d learned in a college ballroom dance class.
Not a problem, his silvery eyes said, and he cut the theatrics to lead her in a very basic waltz pattern. Soon they were surrounded by other couples, some who’d spent many hours on the dance floor, and Lola relaxed. Simply enjoyed feeling like she was in one of those scenes from a grand old movie, where the entire roomful of dancers turned and dipped gracefully.
“Thank you for this, Aric.”
He blinked. Either thinking of something else, or totally immersed in Strauss.
“For this wonderful evening,” she explained. “For the way you made my hair and face look like some swanky model’s, and the way you’ve escorted me here at the last minute, and—”
“Not a problem.”
Lola stifled her sigh. Any fantasy this Cabana Boy costarred in would have its limitations, right?
But it’s still a pretty wonderful feeling, isn’t it? To be dancing like I know what I’m doing—like I deserve to be the belle of the ball just this once?
Her lithe partner stepped back to raise her arm, leading her into a showy spin. With a grin she obliged him—until the squeeze of his hand at the top of the turn made her grimace. Her diamond had turned, and was now being driven into the flesh between her fingers.
Aric’s pouty lips parted in confusion. “Did I step on—”
“No, this thing’s rubbing me the wrong way!”
Stepping out of the other dancers’ path, Lola yanked the ring from her finger and stuffed it into his tux pocket, behind his lime-striped kerchief.
“Fletch will not ruin the rest of this day!” Lola whispered with a triumphant grin. Her finger looked naked without the rock she’d sported these past several weeks, yet the sense of freedom she now felt made her grin giddily at Cabana Boy.
“Dance on, sir! I think I’m getting the hang of this Priestess thing!”
With a sly smile her warden complied, easing them gracefully into the flow of the waltz. He really was a treat, all tricked out and squiring her around this way—not that she’d swell his head any more by telling him so. It was enough to float from one downbeat to the next with his hand on her back, telling herself he’d left duty behind to join her in this grand fantasy. Wondering if Aric had any inclination to take it farther….
It was then Lola spotted him: a figure in dazzling dress whites that set off his olive face and raven hair. He was whirling and gliding with an innate grace no mere Arthur Murray graduate could attain, because his supreme confidence carried him across the floor with a silver-haired lady who dripped in diamonds. Tall and slender, she, too, wore a sophisticated white—
Sophisticated, maybe, but she looks like a cigarette with tits.
Lola nearly choked when Captain Skandalis caught her eye. Winked at her, no less!
“By God, if he thinks he can—”
Aric twirled her expertly under his raised arm, so she had to shut up and concentrate. Good for him, sensing she was about to make an ugly scene.
But damned if, the next time she spotted him, Skorpio Skandalis wasn’t dancing with a different partner! This gal’s hair was bottle-black and her strapless, red sequined gown gaped open above wrinkly boobs that didn’t do it justice.
He must’ve felt her temper flaring, because this time Aric guided her to the edge of the dance floor and then twirled her into the crook of his arm. So she couldn’t run up and claw out the captain’s laughing eyes, obviously.
“It’s Skorpio’s obligation,” her escort spoke soothingly into her ear. Still holding her in that clinch, he lifted a flute of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray. “Those ladies have paid extra for the privilege of the captain’s company tonight. Most of them are longtime friends. Rich widows who cruise just for something to do.”
“Which he knew about before he stood me up, right?”
Lola tossed back half her champagne, nearly choking on its intense fizz. She didn’t ask if any of those bejeweled beauties were once the captain’s love slaves. Didn’t such a harem speak for itself—and for Skorpio’s priorities?
And here he came now, sauntering up to the dessert buffet—but of course taking time to squeeze and kiss the ladies who fawned over him along the way. Served him right to have three different colors of lip prints on his cheek.
Taking champagne from the table, Skandalis bowed elegantly. “To the most beautiful woman in this room,” he crooned as he clinked his glass to hers. “Miss Wright, you astound me, the way you’ve appeared here like a goddess in—”
“This is quite the emergency you’re tending to!” she rasped.
Captain Scandalous chuckled seductively. “I got called to a fire, my dear. You see how it is with me? So many flames—so little time to fan them all!”
And before she could reply, the arrogant Greek quaffed his bubbly, grinned devilishly—and strode to the end of the table with his arms open wide, to where the next flame was wagging her finger at him.
“Fire, my ass!” she muttered at his retreating backside. “Those old broads could start a weenie roast with their hot flashes! And I hope yours gets torched!”
Aric let out a loud laugh, but squelched it when some of the people around him turned to stare. “I can see now why the captain requested a companion for you, Miss Wright. He really wanted a bodyguard for himself.”
“Yeah, well, if he’d behave like a gentleman—follow through on his promise—I’d mind my manners, too.”
Lola realized then that her fist was planted in her hip and she was tapping her foot: Skandalis had taken his new partner in a clinch and was cheek-to-cheek in a tango position so close they were making love through their clothes. He was obviously going to bait her all evening; had no intention of dancing the night—or even part of a song—away with her, by the looks of the glittering, silver-haired entourage that cheered him on from the punch fountain.
She snagged another glass of champagne and downed half of it in a gulp. It was getting easier to do that.
“I appreciate your being such an understanding escort, Aric,” she said. Her voice was getting as slurred as her thoughts, but what did that matter? “I’m gonna sit the rest of them out. I don’t exactly feel like dancing anymore.”
“But Miss Wright, you’re the—”
“And knock it off with the ‘Miss Wright’ thing, OK?” she muttered. “Bad enough that Captain Scandalous is making me feel like such a wall flower, without feeling old enough to be your mother, as well.”
“You think I’d dress this way for my mother?” he countered, turning her chin with his finger. “We might as well enjoy—”
“You talk a good line, Aric, but you’re being paid to be my keeper, right?” Lola sighed, gently smoothing