Chapter 4: The Dance They Never Finished

Applause rises around the ballroom.

Rosalie looks at Adrian’s outstretched hand. After a brief pause, she places hers in it.

He leads her onto the dance floor as the lights dim, leaving them beneath a single spotlight.

The first notes begin.

Rosalie’s smile falters.

This is the song they chose for their engagement party five years ago.

Back then, they lived near campus and hired an instructor to teach them the dance. Rosalie stepped on Adrian’s feet so often at first that he threatened to make her practice barefoot. By the end, the slightest pressure from his hand was enough to tell her where to turn.

She managed to stay calm when she saw his ring.

The music is harder.

Memories rush back so quickly that, for one dangerous moment, she forgets why she came tonight.

Adrian’s right hand settles at her waist. His left closes around hers.

On the first measure, he guides her forward.

Rosalie steps back, turns, and lets the mist-blue skirt sweep around her ankles.

Five years apart have not erased the dance from either of them. She follows every quiet shift of his hand, and each turn brings her neatly back into his arms.

Soon, even their breathing falls into the same rhythm.

Adrian lowers his head, his breath warm against her ear. “So you finally decided to come back.”

Rosalie turns beneath his arm, and he catches her without effort.

“You don’t sound happy to see me.”

His hand firms at her waist as he takes her through the next step. “How long are you staying?”

“I haven’t decided.”

The answer is barely out before he pulls her against his chest.

Rosalie can feel his heartbeat through his shirt.

“Why not?”

She knows the answer.

Once she gets what she came for, she will leave.

How long that takes depends on when Adrian decides to cooperate.

If he takes too long, she will leave anyway.

She cannot tell him any of that.

Her fingertips drift over the shoulder of his suit. “That depends on how well you behave.”

The pressure at her waist eases, but Adrian’s gaze turns colder.

Does she honestly think a few pretty words will distract him?

The tie, the touch in his palm, and now this answer—every move she makes tonight feels deliberate. She is using every chance she gets to draw him in.

The maddening part is that she never needed to.

The ring on his hand has already given her his answer. If Rosalie is willing to stay, the place beside him is hers.

It always has been.

If she is still working this hard to seduce him, then she wants something else.

The music swells.

Rosalie leans into a dip, her dress falling along the curve of her body. Adrian’s hand holds firmly at her waist before pulling her upright and back against him.

She catches his tie between two fingers. Her touch slides down the mist-blue silk and stops over the silver half-rose.

His grip tightens at her lower back.

On the next beat, he sends her into a turn, putting space between them.

Rosalie smiles.

He is avoiding her.

So this may be easier than she thought.

She uses the next turn to come closer, winding an arm around his neck until her body is almost flush with his.

This time, Adrian does not retreat.

His hand closes hard around her waist, his fingers pressing into her through the thin fabric. Rosalie draws in a quiet breath.

“Are you trying to seduce me?” His voice has gone rough.

His eyes hold hers. “You want something, Rosalie.”

It is not a question.

Her smile nearly slips.

She recovers in time to follow his next step. “What could I possibly want?”

Adrian draws her back to him.

Rosalie lifts her face, letting her smile return. “I just missed you.”

She means it as another line to keep him close.

Instead, the words loosen something she has spent five years forcing down. Her eyes begin to burn.

She no longer knows how much of the answer is a lie.

Adrian sees the shine in her eyes.

As the music softens, he turns them until his body blocks most of the ballroom’s view. Then he lowers his head and brushes his lips against the corner of her eye.

He tastes salt.

Rosalie’s lashes tremble.

Adrian stays close, his nose nearly brushing hers. When he speaks, she feels each word against her lips.

“Promise me you won’t leave again.”

Rosalie says nothing.

The playful thoughts that carried her onto the dance floor are gone.

Now she understands why Adrian changed the program. The ring meant for their engagement, the tie matching her dress, and the dance they never finished—he has brought every unfinished piece of that night back and placed it in front of her.

He has been waiting for her to come home.

And she came because she needs something from him.

If she stays in his arms much longer, she may forget the plan entirely.

Rosalie stops teasing and follows his lead in silence, wishing for the song to end.

At last, Adrian takes her through the final turn and catches her against him.

Applause breaks out, but his arm remains locked around her waist. To everyone watching, it is only the final pose.

Rosalie knows better.

Adrian bends to her ear, his voice still rough. “Wait for me in the second-floor lounge after the auction.”

His hold tightens. “Did you hear me?”

The ache in Rosalie’s chest has not quite faded. Still, her mind catches on one detail.

Alone with him after the auction.

So the night is not over.

Of course Adrian isn’t going to let her walk away that easily.

Rosalie looks up, her eyes bright again. “All right. I’ll wait for you.”