Twenty-Nine ◑ The Dance

"Oh, there you are!" Jamie practically squealed as Lucille walked briskly towards her. She immediately seized her arm and began to lead her inside the ballroom. "They've been waiting for you. Come on!"

Lucille had to jog to prevent herself from tripping because of Jamie's excited pace. Waiters and guests alike swerved past them, making it hard to keep her balance. Still, she managed, holding onto Jamie's arm for support. "Where's Cade?"

"Entertaining the guests." Jamie took two fresh glasses of pink champagne from a passing waiter and pressed one into Lucille's hand. "Where's Dimitri?"

"On his way home," Lucille answered after a moment's hesitation. "He has an early flight tomorrow morning."

Please don't press on, Lucille pleaded internally. If Jamie asked more questions about him, Lucille wouldn't know what to say next. She herself didn't completely understand Dimitri. All she knew was that her heart wouldn’t be able to take his presence, and that they broke off at a completely sour note. They might never, ever talk to each other again.

However, despite the things she'd seen in her visions, despite the clear theories running around her head, the thought of being forever apart from Dimitri left a searing pain in her chest.

God, she just wanted to know the truth.

Lucille cleared her throat to prepare an elaborate lie both to explain Dimitri's sudden disappearance and reassure herself, but Jamie didn't ask again. She just glugged her champagne and ushered Lucille towards one of the white tables near the stage, where a man in a white suit was playing a soft melody with a harp.

Around the table were four people, including Cade, who was talking to each other animatedly. The moment Lucille got close enough, his already radiant face glowed even brighter. He gestured for her to join them. The three others turned and broke into smiles. The only woman among them looked really familiar, and it made Lucille pause. Flaming red hair, brown eyes, a pretty, sharp face. . . .

Lucille stared at her, vaguely remembering a conversation she’d intentionally eavesdropped.

Then it clicked in her head. The woman in the table was the one Cade had been dining with in that Japanese café, the one Lucille suspected was a married woman having an affair with Cade. The day after that unfortunate dinner with Martin. . . .

Her stomach fluttered with nerves, but she gracefully settled beside Cade and smiled at the reviewers. "Sorry for the wait."

"It's okay." The red-haired woman raised her glass to Lucille. "It's nice to finally meet you. Your boss has been raving about you."

Cade laughed sheepishly, but he went on to introduce the reviewers anyway, and they began to talk.

Lucille was interacting quite gaily, but she was on autopilot. Her mind was somewhere else. She remembered how suspicious she'd been, how quickly she'd jumped to the conclusion that this woman and Cade were doing something completely immoral. Turned out that she was just another business contact in his little work-related world.

Wow. She really had gotten things wrong. She'd really almost messed up.

But she'd done one thing correctly, hadn't she? She'd broken that long list of sins and crimes. She'd saved someone, really saved someone from herself.

Maybe this was the start for her to do something more. To be something more than just a punisher, a puppet.

Cade turned to her and smiled. In an automatic, almost subconscious gesture, Lucille reached under the table and took his hand. His expression softened, and he intertwined his fingers with hers.

“That’s right,” he confirmed to the reviewers. “We’re partner, for pretty much anything from now on.”

◑≡◑≡◑≡◑

The ball went on for a few hours more, and all of the moments blended together in a blissful haze of champagne and laughter.

Lucille met a ton of people, danced with her friends from Paradigm, and listened to the speeches of the authors and the people who helped them. Some kind of lightness settled over the place, over her, pushing the terror of her flashback out of her mind until it was time to leave.

"Are you sure we can't sleep here?" Clifford asked Lucille as the Paradigm group began to disperse on the lawn, each heading towards the limousines the company rented out. "I'd like to see the bedrooms in there."

Lucille was about to psych him out with a made-up ghost story about the Manor, but Rosie pushed him out of the way.

"Psh, your husband's already in the limousine," Rosie dismissed. "Keep walking, Cliff."

Clifford rolled his eyes, and all of them continued making their way down the paved path as helpers began to tow the carpets and the columns.

It was almost two in the morning now, and the night was quiet. Or at least as quiet as New York nights could be. Lucille's eyelids were heavy. The only thing keeping her awake was the stab of pain in her feet with every step she took. Stilettos really weren't made for dancing and walking on uneven paths, no matter how long she'd been accustomed to wearing them. She couldn't help wincing as they reached the border of trees surrounding the estate.

"See you on Monday, guys," Shanry said, climbing into the limousine with her husband and Clifford. "Shame Cade couldn't give us a break."

Cade laughed. "Sorry, Shan. I'll take us out for lunch, how about that?"

"Sounds about good," Jamie replied, kissing Lucille on the cheek before following Rosie inside one of the cars. "Good night, guys!"

With that, she pulled the door closed. The sound jarred Lucille out of her sleepy stupor. She remembered that the limo Jamie had just boarded into was also the one assigned to her.

Lucille rapped on the window as the vehicle began to move. "Hey! This is also my ride home!"

No one opened the door. Not even the window. But Lucille could swear that she heard Jamie and Rosie giggling inside. Now she was alone in the driveway with Cade and a few trucks.

She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but this might have been planned.

"They left me." Lucille turned to Cade and found him with him staring in horror at the limo, which was slowly moving out of sight. "Wow. They really left us here."

"Sorry about that," he mumbled. "Don't know what they're thinking. I mention it once and they just—"

"Mention? Mention what?"

Cade stepped back like he'd been cornered. "I mentioned to Jamie that I needed to thank you for everything you did, and I suppose they thought I was trying to get you alone." He paused, then he started to speak at top speed. "Well, I do want to get you alone sometime but not so soon because I wouldn't know what to do and how to act and what to say and now look at me, I can't stop talking because I wanted to ask you to dance for about ten times tonight and I chickened out every single time so I'm sorry if this is really awkward, but I can call you a cab—"

"Hey." Lucille grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "It's okay." She let out a soft laugh when his ears went red. "I'll take a ride with you. I'll even dance with you if you like."

"Don't make fun of me," he mumbled sheepishly, turning away. "Let's just go."

Another laugh escaped Lucille's lips. It surprised her how light and girly it sounded, but she didn't care. She was already blocking Cade's way. "Come on. Let's dance."

Without waiting for his answer, she took his hand in hers and placed the other on his shoulder. He opened his mouth as though to protest, she raised an eyebrow in challenge. He dissolved into a soft smile just then, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"We're really doing this, huh?" he asked, adjusting his hand so that it was clasped around hers instead.

"We are," she confirmed, then she kicked off her shoes to move more comfortably. "Excuse me for that. My feet are killing me. You mind if I step on your shoes and have you carry me around?"

His chuckle tickled her ear. "I think I can handle that. Hold on tight, though."

Lucille did. She took his hand from his and wrapped her arms around him. He responded by pulling her close, his hands firm on her waist. It took a moment for her to adjust her feet against the top of his leather shoes, but his weight and his steady hands made it easy. His fingertips were skimming along her bare back, but it wasn't their warmth or their roughness that sent shivers up her spine.

It was him. Just him. Their proximity, the way he moved tantalizingly slow, the way he was holding her tightly yet so gently, like he was afraid that one notch more would break her. His heart was beating a little too fast, and she could hear every thrum as she rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"You look amazing tonight, by the way." His voice had a tiny quiver of nervousness as he whispered in her ear. "Not just tonight, but especially tonight."

"The same could be said to you," she whispered back playfully, hoping to ease him. "I was shocked someone hasn't taken you home yet."

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, the night isn't done."

"True. I might still change my mind."

Another chuckle from him. Another flutter in her heart. He wound one arm around her and spun around, making her feel momentarily weightless. She couldn't help giggling against the lapel of his jacket. When he spun her around again, she let out a full squeal.

"Shh," he said, laughing, "You're giving the trees the wrong impression."

She slapped his shoulder. "You're trying to make me give them the wrong impression."

"Okay, no more spinning, then." His grip around her loosened, but he pressed her against him to make up for it. "Let's just stay like this for a while."

"Yes, sir."

God, Cade felt so steady. And so, so warm. Lucille could stay like this forever, held and supported, and she wasn't just saying this because she was tired. There was something about him that called to the softer side of her, to the unapologetic femininity that was often shunned and ridiculed.

For some reason, thinking about this made her want to cry.

There was an ache in her chest. Whether it was caused by guilt or longing, she would never know. All she knew was that this moment was exactly what she needed. All she knew was that she didn't want this to end.

For a while, none of them spoke. They just swayed slowly in the spot even with no music, just the distant light from the house and the faint glow of the stars.

"Lucille?"

She didn't open her eyes. "Hmm?"

He hesitated, trailing a finger down her hair. "Dimitri's, like, just a friend, right?"

"Yeah." She ran her palm over the back of his collar. "He is. Why, are you planning to ask him out?"

"No." His laughter rang out in the driveway. "Don't jump to conclusions."

Lucille pulled back just a little, enough to see his face. "Then what?"

"It's you." Cade briefly pressed his forehead against hers. "I just . . . I want you."