saw it.
His eye twitched. The easy smile never left his face, but for an instant the tension got the better of him. It was the smallest flicker of his eyelid and vanished almost before I realized it’d happened, and though I was probably the only one who’d seen it – I had seen it. He was in trouble and he knew it.
I glanced over to Alva to see her reaction, as of course I assumed she would also be feeling the heat, but oddly, she could not have seemed more at ease. More than at ease… she was beaming. Did she seriously think I wasn’t going to figure it out? I mean, she had been the one to bring him over, was she that confident in his acting abilities, or did she just think I was that dumb?
Or… did she not know?
Before I could surmise further, Bastian took a step forward, bowing gracefully. “The honor,” he said, finally gathering the nerve to meet my eyes, “would be entirely mine.”
I heard Jocelyn quietly clear his throat, but again I ignored him.
“The second set is beginning,” Bastian continued, coolly offering me his hand. “May I have the pleasure?”
I paused only slightly and took a moment to listen carefully to the song wafting through the air, praying it was a meter I recognized and would be able to dance to. Silently I began to count. There were three beats per bar which meant three/four time. It was a waltz. A quick glance at the couples who were already dancing confirmed my assessment and the slight tension in my shoulders broke. I had this.
Jocelyn, however, was clearly not as confident in my dancing abilities as I was. “I’m sure Becca would be delighted,” he said suddenly, obviously feeling this situation demanded he step in, “but I’m not sure she realizes–”
“I would love to,” I interrupted, taking Bastian’s hand with a smile.
As he led me away from the group and onto the dance floor, I knew Jocelyn wasn’t happy with me, but I wasn’t worried. If he was afraid that I was about to embarrass myself by stumbling all over the dance floor, then he was going to be pleasantly surprised. If his fear was that I would probe Bastian about spying on me back in Pennsylvania, well… he was right. But just because I planned to dig, didn’t mean I couldn’t handle the situation tactfully.
Though, given my history, I couldn’t pretend that his fears were entirely unfounded…
Trying to ignore the fact that every single eye in the room was fixed on us as we crossed the it and took to the floor, I kept my head high, my smile easy, and my mind on the mission. I wasn’t going to let their whispers and pointed stares get to me this time, not now that I fully understood the sort of shady frauds I was dealing with. These people were as underhanded as they came and had been playing us for fools. And by the end of this dance I planned to be able to prove it.
When we reached an open space in the center of the dance floor, we stopped and turned to face one another. My heart began to kick my ribs a bit as we assumed the dance position and I saw all the other couples twirling around us like extras from a Rodgers and Hammerstein show. Reminding myself that it was just a waltz and that I was more than capable, I held my breath and waited for his lead, trying my best to look as calm and collected as he did. He glanced down at me to confirm I was ready, and a moment later we were gliding around the room like pros.
Or he was anyway.
I was doing my best to keep up, while also making sure not to let anyone realize I was having trouble. I had been prepared to waltz, and we were waltzing all right, but it wasn’t the traditional box step that I was used to. Apparently Bastian preferred open footwork, which involved larger steps and a lot more spinning, consequently making it much grander than its box cousin – and more difficult. Maybe this was how he always waltzed, or maybe he assumed that I wouldn’t be able to handle the more difficult style and would have to bow out, but either way
His eye twitched. The easy smile never left his face, but for an instant the tension got the better of him. It was the smallest flicker of his eyelid and vanished almost before I realized it’d happened, and though I was probably the only one who’d seen it – I had seen it. He was in trouble and he knew it.
I glanced over to Alva to see her reaction, as of course I assumed she would also be feeling the heat, but oddly, she could not have seemed more at ease. More than at ease… she was beaming. Did she seriously think I wasn’t going to figure it out? I mean, she had been the one to bring him over, was she that confident in his acting abilities, or did she just think I was that dumb?
Or… did she not know?
Before I could surmise further, Bastian took a step forward, bowing gracefully. “The honor,” he said, finally gathering the nerve to meet my eyes, “would be entirely mine.”
I heard Jocelyn quietly clear his throat, but again I ignored him.
“The second set is beginning,” Bastian continued, coolly offering me his hand. “May I have the pleasure?”
I paused only slightly and took a moment to listen carefully to the song wafting through the air, praying it was a meter I recognized and would be able to dance to. Silently I began to count. There were three beats per bar which meant three/four time. It was a waltz. A quick glance at the couples who were already dancing confirmed my assessment and the slight tension in my shoulders broke. I had this.
Jocelyn, however, was clearly not as confident in my dancing abilities as I was. “I’m sure Becca would be delighted,” he said suddenly, obviously feeling this situation demanded he step in, “but I’m not sure she realizes–”
“I would love to,” I interrupted, taking Bastian’s hand with a smile.
As he led me away from the group and onto the dance floor, I knew Jocelyn wasn’t happy with me, but I wasn’t worried. If he was afraid that I was about to embarrass myself by stumbling all over the dance floor, then he was going to be pleasantly surprised. If his fear was that I would probe Bastian about spying on me back in Pennsylvania, well… he was right. But just because I planned to dig, didn’t mean I couldn’t handle the situation tactfully.
Though, given my history, I couldn’t pretend that his fears were entirely unfounded…
Trying to ignore the fact that every single eye in the room was fixed on us as we crossed the it and took to the floor, I kept my head high, my smile easy, and my mind on the mission. I wasn’t going to let their whispers and pointed stares get to me this time, not now that I fully understood the sort of shady frauds I was dealing with. These people were as underhanded as they came and had been playing us for fools. And by the end of this dance I planned to be able to prove it.
When we reached an open space in the center of the dance floor, we stopped and turned to face one another. My heart began to kick my ribs a bit as we assumed the dance position and I saw all the other couples twirling around us like extras from a Rodgers and Hammerstein show. Reminding myself that it was just a waltz and that I was more than capable, I held my breath and waited for his lead, trying my best to look as calm and collected as he did. He glanced down at me to confirm I was ready, and a moment later we were gliding around the room like pros.
Or he was anyway.
I was doing my best to keep up, while also making sure not to let anyone realize I was having trouble. I had been prepared to waltz, and we were waltzing all right, but it wasn’t the traditional box step that I was used to. Apparently Bastian preferred open footwork, which involved larger steps and a lot more spinning, consequently making it much grander than its box cousin – and more difficult. Maybe this was how he always waltzed, or maybe he assumed that I wouldn’t be able to handle the more difficult style and would have to bow out, but either way
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