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“How does he seem? Like an okay guy? Even though I spoke to him last night, I couldn’t get a sense of who he is. Has he been helping Juliet with the party plans?”
“The only time I see him is at his regular tennis court time on Tuesdays, here at the hotel.”
Nealy tapped her foot, a contemplative look in her eyes.
“What?”
Her gaze darted to him. She parted her luscious lips to say something, but then stopped.
“Nealy...” Dane coaxed.
“I’m getting a bad feeling.”
His mouth curved into a wry smile. “Since you’ve been in town all of three days?”
“Last night she broke into tears and I got the impression she was having second thoughts. I don’t want my sister doing something she’ll regret.”
She started to move away, but Dane blocked her escape. She looked at him, eyebrows raised.
“Are you sure you want to make waves?” he asked.
“I need to make sure my sister isn’t making a mistake.”
“She’s a smart woman. She can make her own choices.”
“She needs to be one hundred percent sure of what she’s getting into.”
He ground his molars together at the obvious dig. “Unlike us?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Nealy, I regret how things ended. You’ll never know how much.”
Nealy’s rigid posture softened and turmoil eclipsed her dark eyes. “This weekend is about Juliet, not you, not me, not what we had,” she said with a shaky voice, as if not believing for a second seeing each other again wasn’t an issue. Her obvious struggle to keep him at bay had him hoping the aloof veneer she’d adopted could be cracked.
In this instant he suddenly realized how much he wanted her forgiveness. Needed her to say the words out loud.
“Dane, I have to go.” She eased around him and with a determined stride continued across the foyer, disappearing into the fray of family and close friends.
* * *
BEFORE LONG THE GUESTS were mingling and wishing the engaged couple the best. Nealy tried everything to get her sister alone, but people interrupted or Juliet sent Nealy off on errands. Obviously Juliet didn’t want to talk to her. At one point, she’d spied Juliet by the pool, having what looked like a heated conversation with a man she’d seen working in the hotel’s garden the day she arrived. Strange. After that, her sister flit between family and friends, but Nealy kept an eye on her.
A light breeze picked up, carrying the briny scent of the gulf waters with it. The extreme heat of the day had passed, leaving the evening cool as the sun began its descent in the cloudless sky. As soon as Nealy could, she corralled her sister.
“Juliet, what’s going on?” Nealy whispered, hoping no one overheard.
“I’m fine,” she snapped. “Go have fun.”
Okay, this was the last straw. Worried about her normally docile sister’s sharp response, Nealy started to press Juliet when Brandon, standing in the middle of the outdoor dance floor, asked the group to quiet down while motioning for Juliet to join him. With a smile pasted on her lips, Juliet approached her future husband.
“Tonight we celebrate Juliet saying yes to my proposal. Not that I didn’t have my concerns, I might add.”
Some of the guests chuckled.
“This poised, beautiful, intelligent woman has agreed to be my wife, and I am so, so lucky.” He grinned sheepishly. “I know planning two parties is unusual and it has taken its toll, but I want to thank you with all my heart, Juliet.”
He took her hand in his, glanced over his shoulder and nodded. On cue, music blared from the speakers and two dozen strangers ran onto the dance floor, grooving to a popular dance song Nealy recognized from online wedding videos. Chaos ensued around the bride and groom as the dancers made multiple circuits to keep the crazy number going.
Nealy took in the entire spectacle, stunned. A flash mob? Right in the middle of her sister’s lovely party? Someone bumped into her and knocked her back to her senses. No, this was not happening. Not on her watch. All the hours of discussing and...
Oh, no! Juliet. Where was her sister?
Between the shaking bodies and thumping beat, Nealy sought her out. Through the frenzied crowd, she spotted Brandon trying to drag Juliet into the mob with him. Juliet fought him, her face stricken. The hours spent carefully planning this gathering had turned into a frat party. Music continued full blast while the dancers tried to encourage guests to get up and join them, including her grandmother, who danced right into the crowd with a big smile on her face, her hands up in the air swaying to the beat.
The elder Masons stood off to the side, disapproving expressions on their faces. This was more of a disaster than Nealy first feared.
Once the shock abated, Nealy stepped into the throng to aid her sister. A guy grabbed her arm and motioned for her to dance. She shook her head, but the guy didn’t release her, pulling her into the frenzy. When she tried to step away again, he squeezed her arm to keep her with him. To her great relief, Dane cut in, glaring at Nealy’s dance partner. The guy took the hint, releasing her arm, and moved on. Dane leaned close, lowering his mouth to her ear.
“You okay?” he yelled over the blaring music.
“Yes.” She scanned the area. “Where’s Juliet?”
“I don’t know.”
“How could this happen?”
“I’d take a wild guess and say Brandon made prior arrangements.” Dane slipped his hand into hers and she followed as he led her out of the chaos. The jolt of pleasure at holding Dane’s hand went beyond being grateful for his rescue. She held on as he maneuvered toward the sidelines. He was only being protective, right? So why did the connection feel so good? As soon as they cleared the crowd, Dane tugged her closer and, much to her surprise, she let him. He spoke to the man tending to the music and after a few terse words, the rowdy song abruptly ended with as much shock value as when it started.
He turned to her. “This is a disaster.”
She couldn’t argue. Juliet’s party had been reduced to a manic free-for-all.
He tightened his grip on her hand and a memory flashed of the day they’d gone to the courthouse to get married. He’d held her hand just as tightly then. The promise of a future together had made her giddy and she stuttered when it came time to say “I do.”
Standing next to Dane now, so close that she could feel his heat, made her heart race. She couldn’t let Dane get to her. They’d had their moment and blew it. She would not let these jumbled feelings for him ruin years of healing the wound he’d inflicted on her heart.
She removed her hand from his. “Let’s find my sister,” she told him. They were no longer in the crowd; she didn’t need his protection. Or the disturbingly warm, reassuring sensation of Dane’s hand pressed to hers.
He looked worried and dropped his hand to his side. “I’ve got to do damage control. Now,” he said.
She cringed. With one last fleeting look at Dane, she hurried inside. Sure enough, she found Juliet, surrounded by their family as they assured her they knew nothing about the flash mob. Nealy put an arm around her sister’s shoulders as she wiped her wet eyes.
“What was that all about?”
Juliet’s voice hitched as she looked at Nealy. “I don’t know. Brandon loves to make every occasion memorable, but this? He knew I wanted tonight to be low-key.”
“This is unacceptable,” their mother announced.
Brandon rushed toward them. “Juliet, I’ve been looking all over for you.” He stood before her. “We were... Are you crying? You’re upset?”
He only noticed now? Nealy wanted to strangle him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“How can you ask me after that, after that mess you created out there?”
Brandon shrugged. “I wanted to surprise you. Kick it up a little tonight. I can’t do it tomorrow night with my parents’ guests here.”
Juliet’s mouth flapped open.
“What?” Brandon asked.
Juliet’s face turned red. “So it’s okay to embarrass my family?”
“No, sweetie. We were having fun.”
Juliet’s eyes went wide. She reached for Nealy, and grabbed hold of her arm, manicured nails pressing into Nealy’s flesh.
“Brandon,” Nealy said. “Why don’t you go tell everyone we’ll be right out.”
“Sure.” Uncertain, as if noticing the tension in the room for the first time, he kissed his fiancée on the cheek and hurried off.
Juliet sniffed. “I can’t believe he would do this tonight.”
“Apparently he wanted to have fun,” Nealy repeated.
“I can be fun. Hmm, maybe not like that kind of fun.”
Nealy understood. She’d dealt with enough self-indulgent clients to recognize somebody who wanted things their own way and would have them, even though they’d been told no. What she really didn’t like was the resulting pain she’d glimpsed in her sister’s eyes when she reached the same conclusion.
“Let’s get back to the party,” Nealy suggested, expertly herding everyone into the banquet room. “Let’s hope Brandon doesn’t have any more surprises for us.”
Juliet’s eyes went dark. “He’d better not.”
At her sister’s furious expression, Nealy’s concern eased.
After Brandon’s impromptu flash mob, the remainder of the evening continued without a hitch. Once the party wound down, Nealy located her grandmother to drive her home. Before they could leave, Dane cornered her.
He ran a hand through his short hair. “I’m sorry this happened. I spoke to the DJ. He was sworn to secrecy and only carried out his client’s wishes.”
Dorinda reached up to pat Dane’s shoulder. “It’s over, Dane. Don’t dwell on it.”
His gaze tangled with Nealy’s. “I don’t run a slipshod hotel.”
Nealy blinked, surprised at his vehemence. “I’m sure you don’t.”
“I didn’t think there’d be any problems this evening,” Dane said in a distracted tone.
“Welcome to the world of event planning. No matter how much preparation, there’s always the possibility that something will go wrong. The secret is taking care of the incident as efficiently as possible and moving on. By tomorrow, Juliet will be worried about the next party.”
He watched her, his expression wary. “You don’t believe that, do you?”
She snorted. “No, I don’t. Does Brandon even know my sister?”
A brief flash of uneasiness passed over Dane’s face.
“Never mind. Let’s hope there are no other surprises tomorrow.”
His eyes narrowed. “The next party will run like clockwork.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“And I’m going to hold you to a dance with me.”
She should have come back with a witty retort, but instead she remained silent. Dealing with the memories of Dane was nothing like the reality of this strong, handsome man requesting a dance. Here she stood, enjoying the view of her ex-husband, not wanting to look away, even though she should. What happened to her emotional armor? Her hard-earned self-control? “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
“You’re in Cypress Pointe. You think I’m not going to take advantage of the close proximity?”
Just like him to think she would agree so readily. “There will be no closeness.”
His wide grin elicited a shiver across her skin. Darn.
“It’s a date.”
“No dates. There will be no dating. No closeness and absolutely no dating.”
Dorinda chuckled. “What’s one dance?”
She gaped at her grandmother.
Dorinda smiled at Dane. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Nealy, let’s get a move on.”
Dane caught Nealy’s eye one last time. She didn’t like the conviction in his gaze, or the self-satisfied smile on his noble face.
Minutes later she got her grandmother settled in the convertible. Stars twinkled in the sky. A perfect night for romance, if one were inclined to think in romantic terms. Which she wasn’t. Under any circumstances. Especially around Dane.
She’d driven a few miles when Dorinda said, “Dane looks quite well. Very fit. Tanned.”
“Grandmother, are you checking him out? You’re not planning on turning into a cougar, are you?”
“Believe me, since he’s been back in Cypress Pointe, the single ladies have been vying for his attention. He’s kind, quite good-looking and successful. Any woman would be lucky to have him.”
Nealy was instantly jealous. She tapped her thumb on the steering wheel, bothered by her grandmother’s comment. She was right. Any woman would be fortunate to have this particular man in her life.
“Besides, he only has eyes for you,” Dorinda added.
Nealy’s face grew warm. Because Dane still had eyes for her? Or the fact she liked the idea of him still carrying a torch for her?
