“I didn’t know Chanel made anything with Western fringe,” Amber says.
“They don’t. I had one of my new girls add it this morning.”
Just then, Belinda’s face falls. She fortifies herself with a quick slug of wine.
Amber follows the direction of Belinda’s gaze to…her mother? Really? What on earth does Belinda have against her mother? Is she still embarrassed by all that Desire Exchange silliness? It’s not possible. The two women have been in the same room several times since then and neither has said a word about it.
Is it Nora? She’s walking right next to her mom, wearing one of those thousand-watt smiles, and maybe, Amber wonders, trying to scope out any alien/human hybrid children who might be hiding among the attendees?
It’s Amanda Crawford!
The woman’s dressed in a flowy cocktail dress that screams, I’m too rich to be here! She’s also wearing a stony, furious expression that matches Belinda’s. The closer they get, the more Amanda raises her Louis Vuitton purse in front of her as if it were a shield meant to withstand both bullets, knives, and the furious glares of women like Belinda. So far, her mom and Nora are oblivious to the currents of icy tension passing between the two overdressed multimillionaires.
Nora gives Amber a huge hug. But her mother just gives her a perfunctory kiss on the cheek. The two of them spent most of the day together in lawyer’s offices finalizing the paperwork of her ex-husband’s departure from the business. And that’s good. Because Amber doesn’t want to be bothered with a lot of greetings right now. She wants to know why Belinda and Amanda are staring at each other like cornered rattlers.
“So I take it you two know each other?” Amber finally says.
“We do,” Belinda says.
“Indeed,” Amanda says. “We do.”
“It’s nice to see you standing up, Amanda,” Belinda says.
“Oh. Don’t be silly. You’re just enjoying one of those rare moments of seeing someone other than yourself.”
“Oh, dear,” Nora says under her breath.
“Uhm,” her mother says. “Should we, maybe, clear the air here? Is something going on that we don’t know about?”
“All the ceiling fans in the world couldn’t clear the air when this one’s in the room,” Belinda snarls, then she takes her wine glass and departs into the crowd.
“Whoa,” Amber says.
“I’m sorry,” Amanda says. “Was some creature just speaking or did one of you have Mexican for lunch?”
And then Amanda’s gone too.
“What on Earth was that?” her mother cries.
“I have no idea,” Amber says.
“Well, I think they’re upset with each other for some reason and they don’t want to say why,” Nora says.
“You think, Nora?” her mother answers. “Get yourself a beer. I’m driving.”
Amber’s mother takes Belinda’s suddenly empty barstool.
Nora heads off to get the attention of one of the overworked bartenders.
“If I never talk to another lawyer again, it’ll be too soon,” her mother says.
“I second that,” Amber says. “But we did it. That’s all that matters. We did it.”
“You can say that again,” her mother says.
“I will. A whole bunch.”
“Also, I’ve got a present for you, sweetie,” her mother says. But she’s scanning the crowd, not reaching into her purse or revealing some gift bag she might have been hiding behind her back.
“I’m ready,” she says.
“An old friend of mine from Baylor knows little Mary’s aunt.”
“Wait. Mary Mary?”
“Yes, Joel’s Mary. Well, it turns out she’s not Joel’s Mary anymore. She already jumped ship for the drummer in some band that can actually get a gig. Joel apparently did a whole night of singing sad karaoke at some bar in Irving before they kicked him out.”
“Well, God bless ’em,” Amber says, toasting the air in front of her with her beer bottle. “God bless ’em both.”
One of the bands they’ve hired for the evening has been tuning up on stage for the last several minutes. But it’s Caleb who now takes the microphone. He clears his throat a few times.
“Alright, everyone. If I could just have your attention.”
There’s some whoops and applause from the crowd, but he quiets them with a wave of his hand.
“Now, I’m not sure if all y’all heard but as of today, Watson’s is under new management.”
The reaction inside is touchdown-at-a-Cowboys-game loud. And it goes on for several minutes as people clap and scream and war whoop.
“Wow,” Amber cries to her mother. “They really hated Joel.”
“Or they just love Caleb as much as you do,” her mother shouts back.
When the applause and the screaming finally die down, Caleb’s got a big smile on his face, but all he does is nod his head and touch the brim of his hat as if someone complimented him on his jeans. “Thank you. I appreciate it. And I can guarantee you, we’re gonna keep this place on track so it lasts another twenty-five, or hell, let’s make it fifty years being just the kind of place Abel Watson intended it to be.”
More applause. And then people start shouting other intervals of time. One hundred years, three hundred. It’s like a badly organized auction before Caleb silences it with a winning grin and an outstretched arm.
“Now, some of you may know my history with the Watson family is a long one. And if it hadn’t been for them, I’m not quite sure where I would have ended up. Certainly not here with all you fine people, making my head swell with all your rowdiness and attention. But I did something else this week. Something important. And I need to tell y’all about it, regardless of what you’re gonna think or what your opinions may be.
“See, a long time ago my parents died, and Abel Watson decided the best way he could take care of me was if he welcomed me into his family. So he adopted me. And that adoption probably saved my life. Today, though, things are a little bit different. You see, years ago… Well, let me put it this way. You ever know the minute you lay eyes on someone that they’re the one for you? I mean, you ever hear someone’s voice and think, that’s the voice I want to wake up to for the rest of my life even if she’s yelling at my lazy ass to get out of bed and get to work.”
Peals of laughter and a few whoops of agreement come up from the crowd. But Amber’s heart is in her throat as he continues. This is the moment she’s feared almost as much as losing him—the moment when they stop ducking questions about whether or not their relationship has changed.
She expected him to make some sort of speech, and they’d agreed that tonight they’d stop hiding. But she’s not sure if she’s ready for him to be this specific and detailed. At least not in front of this many people. People who might already be judging them silently; people who will now have the chance to judge them out loud.
“Well, that’s how I felt the first time I laid eyes on Amber Watson,” he says.
The roar that comes up from the crowd is almost as loud as the one that greeted his announcement Watson’s was under new management. And just like that, all her feelings of anxiety lift, carried away by the full-voiced joy and support of people who’ve only wanted the best for her.
He waits for it to die down again, then he says, “So, when I tell you that I went and had my adoption nullified, it’s not because Abel Watson wasn’t a good man and it’s not because the Watsons aren’t the most important people in my life and always will be. It’s because years ago, before my parents died and before Abel took me in, Amber and I realized we were fated to be something else for each other. And every day since then, we’ve just been delaying the inevitable. And that’s why I’d like to remind her that I love her. That’s why I’d like me and her to be the first official dance of the new Watson’s.”
“Wipe your face, honey,” her mother says.
“What?” Amber says. “I didn’t wear any makeup ’cause I knew he’d do this.”
/>
Her mother reaches into her purse and hands her a tissue. Amber walks through the crowd, cheering faces on all sides of her, and then, once she’s a few feet away, Caleb jumps off the edge of the stage and lands on the dance floor, arm out, ready to take her for a spin.
“Toldja I’d give you this dance, Amber Watson,” he says once she’s close enough to hear him.
“You sure did, Caleb Eckhart. You sure did.”
“You ready, baby.”
“So ready,” she says.
He takes her outstretched hand and grips her waist. She panics for a moment when she realizes she doesn’t know if they’re about to waltz or two-step or what. But once the music starts none of that matters. The only dance that matters is one she does with him.
* * * *
Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Christopher Rice, discover The Flame, The Surrender Gate, Kiss the Flame, and Desire & Ice.
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Desire & Ice
A MacKenzie Family Novella
By Christopher Rice
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I'm so thrilled and grateful New York Times bestseller Liliana Hart allowed me to reference characters from her MacKenzie Family stories here in DANCE OF DESIRE. If you'd like to find out how Caleb's buddy Danny Patterson got together with his new fiancée, buy DESIRE & ICE: A MacKenzie Family Novella, now available from all retailers. Here's a taste!
* * * *
She'd just give him one little kiss. Something to warm them, distract them and tide them over until they could be alone with all these explosive new feelings.
The next thing she knew she was on her back, their mouths locked, tongues finding their mutual rhythm. The thoughts flying through her head told her this was stupid, wrong. So what if he wasn't her student anymore, hadn't been for years.
They were still trapped. They should be watching the door, the window. They should be doing anything other than discovering they kissed like they were born to kiss each other. He broke suddenly, gazing into her eyes, shaking his head slowly as if he as if he were as dazed by this sudden burst of passion as she was.
"I think…" he tried, but lost his words.
"What do you think, Danny?"
"I think if we just keep our eyes on the door, we'll be fine."
"Okay."
Was he putting the brakes on? She wasn't sure. It was the most sensible thing to do, that was for sure. He slid off her and sat up, back against the wall, eyes on the door. She did the same. But he curved an arm around her back and brought her body sideways against his. It was awkward at first, but then he positioned her so that she was lying halfway across his lap.
"Now that I'm watching the door," he said, unbuttoning the top few buttons of her blouse, "I think we'll be fine."
"Oh, yeah?"
He brought his fingers to his mouth, moistened them with his tongue, then dipped them between the folds of her shirt. Slowly, he wedged them under the cup of her bra. When he found her nipple underneath, he said, "Yeah. Just fine."
In an instant, her body was flush with goose bumps.
Eyes on the door, his gun within reach, he circled her nipple with his moistened fingers. His precision and restraint combined to make her wet in other places as well. She'd seen the passion in his eyes, a youthful crush that had matured into a man's desire. But now, he was willing to delay his own gratification so that he could protect her and pleasure her at the same time.
"Let me give you a little help there," she whispered.”
On behalf of 1001 Dark Nights,
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Table of Contents
Book Description
Prologue
Epilogue
Book Description
About Christopher Rice
Also by Christopher Rice
Author Acknowledgments
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection One
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Two
Foreword
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection Three
Discover the World of 1001 Dark Nights
An excerpt from DESIRE & ICE: A MacKenzie Family Novella, featuring Danny Patterson
Special Thanks
Christopher Rice, Dance of Desire (1001 Dark Nights)
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