Falling for the Ghost of You (19 page)

"No problem."  He winks at me.

"Um, come on.  The dance is in the dining room."

Excusing ourselves, I lead the way.  I bring him straight over to Helize's table and introduce him to the ladies seated there.

"So you are the young man that has our Violet all in a tizzy," Helize declares, studying Zane with sharp eyes.

Zane shoots an amused glance in my direction, while I die a little inside.

"I sure hope so, ma'am," he says, taking her hand.

"So handsome and tall!" Gretchen beams her chubby smile at us.  "What a lovely couple you two
make.  So, when is the wedding?"

At first, I think she's talking about my mom's wedding, so I say, "November thirtieth."

Helize's eyes widen dramatically.  "Violet, you're getting married?!"

"Yeah...
what?!
  Wait, no—
"

But the ladies choose to go deaf at that moment, and the gossip chain is activated.  Helize takes off, wheeling herself like the fast and the furious.

Great.  The woman can't roll herself three feet to the bathr
oom, and now she's a rocket.

Zane is laughing his butt off while I am crimson with mortification.

By the time I get around to introducing him to the other residents and my co-workers, everyone already knows him as my
fiancée
.  Zane takes it all in stride, but I am horribly embarrassed.

Of course, they all love him—h
is face and easy charm pretty much guarantee his acceptance.  He works the room like a pro.  My co-workers keep pulling me as
ide to gush about him, and Amy, one of the nurses,
is disturbingly graphic in singing his praises.

Later, Zane asks me to dance.  We join the few couples on the dance floor.  I am self conscious until he pulls me into his arms and moves me in a
rhythm
that can't be taught.

"I like your old people," he says in my ear, sending shivers down my spine, and in
to
the pit of my stomach.

"They like you, too," I say.

"Although," Zane leaves forward confidingly.  "Some of the women are forward as hell.  Thi
s one tiny lady—I swear she had octopus arms.  O
ne hand in my shirt, one on my ass, and six down my pants.  Kind of wanted to scream for help."

"Oh, no," I laugh.  "That must have been Mary.  She's kind of...grabby."

"Short little thing?  Crazy beehive wig, and a pincer-like grip?"

I can't hide my grin.  "That's her."

"Yeah, you might want to think about keeping an eye on her because,
damn
."

Zane has the most irresistible frown on his face right now. I pat his chest.  "Aw, poor baby!  Did she hurt you?"

He smiles and expertly spins me to the beat of the music.  "Kind of.  I might need therapy.    To get rid of those painful memories.  Know anyone who could help?"

I pretend to think.  "I could probably hook you up with my school counselor, Mr. Bob."

"So, it's gonna be like that, huh?"  Zane looks down at me with a sly expression on his too-handsome face.  "And I was going to give you something."

"What?" I say suspiciously.

"It's a surprise," he says.  "Check my pants pocket."

I snort.  "Yeah, right.  I've heard that one before."

"You have, huh?"

The song ends and Zane leads me off to the side in a little alcove by the fireplace.  The location offers a little bit of privacy from everyone else, and I wonder what Zane has up his sleeve.  Probably something dirty, knowing him.

"Come on, Violet," he taunts me.  "Check my pockets.  I'll give you a hint:  it's the left one."

I stare at him suspiciously.  He waits, holding his arms out at his sides, inviting me to search him.

Well, okay.  If Mary can do it, so can I.  I take a quick look around.  No one's looking in my direction, so I cautiously stick my hand into his left pants pocket.

"I swear to God, if you make one little peep, I'll get Mary and her iron grip over here," I threaten him.

He just smiles.  "I promise, I won't even enjoy it.  Much."

I don't get very far when my fingers encounter something hard.

No, not that!

Frowning, I pull the light blue box from Zane's pocket.

Um.  It says
Tiffany & Co
on the front.

I hold the box like it's a bomb.  It's flat and square shaped.  I look at him uncertainly.  "What is it?"

Zane grins teasingly.  "It's a box.  Open it."

I blink rapidly for way too long.  Then I thrust the box at his chest.  "Whatever it is, I can't accept it.  I'm sure it's way too expensive."

Zane sighs.  "Violet," he says patiently.  "You know I can afford it."

He tries to hand it to me, but I back away, my heart beating rapidly.  Because I really want to open that box.

Zane grabs my hand and places the box in it.  "You're starting to piss me off," he says.  If you don't accept it, I'll take it as an insult.  Come on, it's no big deal."

He's watching me expectantly.  Now I feel completely ungrateful.

Well, no harm in looking, right?

Feeling incredibly self-conscious, I carefully open the box.  Inside, I find a soft drawstring pouch, and...

Oh, wow!

Very, very carefully I pull out a glittering diamond bracelet.  Set in platinum, the diamonds are alternating sizes and shapes.  It's beautiful.

It's on the tip of my tongue to ask if it's real, but of course it is!

"This...wow, this is amazing, Zane," I say breathlessly.  "But
this is way too much!  I can't—y
ou know I can't..."

"Yes, you can."

He takes the bracelet from me and fastens it around my wrist.   My skin tingles at the delicate weight.  I am mesmerized by the way the diamonds catch the light and refract it into tiny little sparkles.

Zane's amused voice breaks my trance.  "Now I'm going to save us both a lot of trouble by telling you right now, I'm not taking it back, and if you try to refuse it,
you
really
are
going to piss me off.  So you have to love it."

"O
h, I do!  It's beautiful!  But—
"

"Then that's it.  You're welcome."

I grab his shirt and pull him down to my height.  "Thank you," I whisper.

Then I kiss him.  Long and hot and hard.  We break apart, smiling.

"So," I say, running my fingers over his well-defined jaw.  "Does this mean I have to put out?"

Zane tilts his head to the side, pretending to consider.  "Yeah, I think so."

I grin up at him.  "I was going to, anyway."

"I know."

Okay, no
w's the perfect time to ask him about us
.  I take a deep breath.

"Sorry to interrupt."

Grr!  It's Marissa and her slutty dress.

"What?!" I snap.  "I mean—w
hat?"

She twirls a lock of her long blonde hair.  "So, Gil keeps pestering me for a dance, and you know what a pervert, he is, right, Violet?  Well, I said that I told Zane I would dance with him.  So can I borrow you for a little bit
, Zane
?"  She blinks vacantly up at him.  "So is that okay?"

Seriously?!

Zane looks at me questioningly, one eyebrow raised.

I say nothing.  In fact, my mouth is clamped shut.  But Marissa
takes my silence as a yes and squeals like a piggy.  She
grabs Za
ne's arm, tugging him away.  H
e looks back at me with a shrug.

It's okay, Violet.  Be calm.  Look at the sparkly diamonds.

It's not working.  I hide behind a pillar and glare at my date and the receptionist, dancing like they're a couple in televised competition.

No, people, don't applaud them!

If it weren't for Marissa, it would be pure pleasure to watch Zane.  His moves are professional and effortless, and I realize he must've
received
training. 

"He's just full of surprises,"  I tell my bracelet.

I don't know why I'm talking to my bracelet.

By the way, the sparkle of a diamond will catch the eye of any woman, regardless of age.  Heck, Adele spots it from across the room, and she's legally blind.

My old ladies ooh and ah over the
sparklies
on my wrist.  Meanwhile, I'm watching Zane twirl the slutty Marissa around in the longest song ever.

Ugh!  I hate always being the jealous one.  How would he like it if I danced with some hot guy?  In fact...

I scout the area, but the closest I can find to a hot guy is the short-haired Raquel, who works the night shift.  She
is
wearing pants tonight. Maybe from behind...?

Okay, no.  I try to talk myself into being rational, and enjoying the evening.  I know I'm being stupid.  I can stop.

I dance with wheelchair bound residents, holding their hands and trying not to flinch when their foot rests bang into my ankles yet again.  Zane gives quite a few old ladies the thrill of their lives, twirling them on the dance floor.   They respond so enthusiastically, I know there's going to be a lot of aching bones in the morning.

It's almost eight.  Helize wants me to take her upstairs, so I tell Zane I'll just be a few minutes. 

"Well, Helize, you were the belle of the ball," I say as I wheel her into the elevator.  "Did you have a good time?"

She chuckles tiredly, clutching a colorful bouquet of paper flowers in her lap. "I don't know about the 'belle of the ball,' but I did enjoy myself.  I was very pleased to meet your young man.  You know, he reminds me of an old boyfriend of mine.  Charlie was his name, though he wasn't quite so handsome as your Zane.  He was a charmer, though.  Everyone just loved him.  He
could light up a room like nobody's business."

"Oh, yeah?  So, why didn't you marry him?"

I have to wait for Helize to unlock her door before she answers me.  I turn on the light and wheel her in.

"Because everybody loved him," she replies simply.  "And he loved them all back.  Biggest womanizer I ever knew!"

"Oh," I mutter sourly.

Helize shoots me a crafty old look.  "You gotta watch 'em like a hawk when they're that handsome and charming, Violet.  You remember that."

"I definitely will."

"Good girl."  She pats my hand.  "You're a very beautiful, very wonderful young woman.  You two make a stunning couple.  Just you make sure to guard your heart, you hear?"

I bend down and give her a loud smacking kiss on the cheek. "I hear, Grandma."

Sh
e cackles and starts to head for the bathroom.  "Send Liz up to help me, would you, dear?  I'm ready for bed now."

"Good night, Helize," I say, closing the door for her. 

Her
warning echoes in my head as I take the stairs back down.  I run into Liz in the lobby on my way to find Zane, and I let her know about Helize.  She thanks me, and also congratulates me on my engagement to a super hottie.

Where is Zane?  I look everywhere, including the kitchen and the three unoccupied rooms downstairs.  With a sinking heart, I notice Marissa is missing as well.  Then Gina, the activities director, mentions that she saw them going outside.

Oh, really.

Pulse thumping, I make my way to the parking lot, where the employees' cars are.

Guess what I find?  Zane, leaning agains
t Marissa's sporty little car—a
nd the ho is standing very close in front of him.

As I watch, she goes up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.  They share an intimate laugh and then Marissa gets in her car.  Zane steps away as she backs out, and watches her drive off.

So.  Angry.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I move into h
is line of view.  I'm shaking.  I
hope he doesn't notice.

"There you are," he says, walking over to me.  "I was looking for you."

"Really?  You were looking for me out in the parking lot when I told you I'd be upstairs with Helize?"

Zane goes to grab my hand, but I yank away.  He frowns slightly.  "What's with you?"

"Nothing," I snap.  "Did you have a good time with Marissa?"

"Not really.  I just walked her to her car because she was afraid to go out by herself."

I look around the well-lit parking lot, to the door to the building, literally five feet away.  "Uh-huh," I say, my words dripping in sarcasm.  "That's totally believable."

Zane sighs almost imperceptibly, running a hand through his hair.  "Not really.  She just wanted to hit on me."