Having a Ball (18 page)

He came close and studied her list. "Is that all the stuff you've found fault
with?"

"Hardly that. It's just a list of things we might want to see to before
tomorrow."

He pulled his phone out of his back pocket. "You're not the only one with
a list." They compared her paper list to his digital one. Standing next to him, Stevie
felt her skin screaming to touch his. She sneaked a sideways glance at his
handsome profile.

The need to touch him suddenly got worse.

"That's a good idea," said Tom, pointing at her note that said 'paint
gazebo bench'. "Let me just make a note of that." He tapped it in. "Even if I don't
paint it, I can at least brush it down so that the peeling isn't obvious."

Stevie tried to subtly move away.

Tom put away his phone. "As you can see, I've got the garden
covered."

"True." She had to admit he'd thought of most things, including some that
had never occurred to her.

"So how about you leave the garden to me? That way, you can get on with
the millions of things you need to do inside the house." His eyes met hers, intense
and playful.

Stevie took a step back. "That's a very good idea." If she spent too much
time close to him, she was going to cave in and fall for his considerable charms.
This was no time to get distracted.

"You trust me then?"

Sensing the challenge in his voice, she raised her chin. "Of course."

"Good. Off you go."

She gave him her most sparkling smile. "Thanks."

"By the way," Tom called after her. "Lady Beryl phoned. She's coming
round this evening."

Stevie groaned.

* * * *

Priya turned up mid-morning with her nephew, a young man with short
black hair and golden brown skin. He took one look at Stevie and looked delighted.
His face was cheerful and handsome.

"Hi, I'm Dilan," He shook her hand and grinned.

"Stevie." She smiled back. "So, you're the DJ."

"I am indeed." His eyes sparkled.

"Let me show you where you'll be working." She led him into the front
room. "Thank you for agreeing to do this."

"It's a pleasure. My aunty can be very persuasive. Besides, it's for a good
cause."

They checked out the room and discussed what he needed. Stevie showed
him the disco lights and he laughed. "That's brilliant," he said. "I can do a whole
cheesy disco theme. That's very Sri Lankan." He glanced at her questioningly.
"Unless you have objections?"

Stevie returned his smile. "Not at all." She felt Dilan's interest in her.
Ordinarily, she would have flirted back, but right now her head was too full of Tom
to think about anyone else, no matter how attractive.

Dilan's gaze stayed with her for a moment, and then he nodded as though
he'd got the message. "I think you've got a great set up here. I'm looking forward to
this gig."

The day was spent sorting out myriad little things. Precious things had to
be moved. Bookcases had to be covered before the disco. Sponsors and suppliers
had to be telephoned and delivery or pick up times organised. The inventory for the
bar had to be double-checked.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, the last ticket was sold and Stevie
had to send several emails saying she was very sorry, but the event had sold out.
Each time she did this, she couldn't help grinning.

In the evening, everyone convened in the kitchen for last minute
discussions. Evelyn was still dressed in her trouser suit; Lady Beryl was talking
loudly to a glazed looking Priya; Alice was glowering at the soft drink she was
forced to have while everyone else had a glass of wine and Tom was slouching in
his chair and kept casting glances out of the window.

Stevie cleared her throat. "Okay, everyone." They all turned toward her,
apart from Lady Beryl who was still talking. Priya gestured to her that Stevie
wanted her attention. Lady Beryl finally turned to Stevie.

"Firstly," Stevie said, "I wanted to thank everyone for the hard work
you've been doing." She made a point of not looking at Lady Beryl. "You'll be
pleased to hear that all the tickets have now been sold."

There was a small cheer round the table.

"I thought you said we were behind on sales," said Beryl.

"We were, but Alice and I did some judicious advertising," Stevie
said.

"How, exactly?"

"Stevie got Pete from Triphoppers to come. He's this awesome pop-star,"
Alice said. "And I mentioned this on a forum and suddenly everyone wanted
tickets."

"What? You mean you sold tickets to any old riffraff?"

"Oh come on, Beryl," said Evelyn.

"You have, haven't you? I knew it was a bad idea to enlist an amateur who
had no idea of the sort of--"

"Lady Beryl," Stevie said, "when I was told about the remit of this ball, I
was told it was to raise money for a charity. You told me about the budget and the
cause." She gave Lady Beryl her sternest glare. "At no point did you mention of how
'exclusive' you wanted this event to be, nor did you give me any criteria on which
you wished the attendees to be vetted."

"Well, I'd have thought it was obvious to anyone with half a brain--"

"Actually," said Evelyn. "It isn't obvious to anyone. Just because
you're--"

"Ladies. Ladies," Tom said, "I'm sure this is merely a case of crossed
wires." He turned to Lady Beryl and gave her a charming smile. "Lady Beryl, you
have, as we all know, taste and style that is superior to most people's."

"Well..." Lady Beryl seemed less affronted than charmed.

"Now, we're not all as gifted as you are," Tom continued, with his gaze
never leaving her. "So you must make allowances."

"I suppose--"

"And it is true that we never stipulated what social standing the guests
should have. So I don't think it's fair to criticize Stevie for that. It isn't her fault if
she was given incomplete information."

"I'm just saying this wouldn't have happened if we had Sally helping us,"
Lady Beryl said.

Evelyn made an explosive noise.

Stevie remembered that the reason Sally left was a disagreement with
Lady Beryl.

"Actually," said Priya, quickly, "considering the position we were in a few
weeks ago and where we are now, I think Stevie has done a great job. She's
managed to sort out the menu, the entertainment, the ticket sales and all sorts of
bits of sponsorship, which we'd never have thought of. She's managed to sell all the
tickets, and I couldn't help noticing that she was happy to get down to it and do
whatever odd jobs that needed doing, no matter how hot or dusty. I, for one, am
glad we enlisted her help and I don't think we could have done half as much
without her." She stopped speaking and took a gulp of wine.

There was a moment of silence as everyone absorbed this long speech
from the normally quiet Priya.

"Hear, hear. She's certainly worked as hard as any of us." Evelyn looked
pointedly at Lady Beryl, who ignored her.

Stevie smiled, slightly embarrassed. "Thank you." She checked the notes
in front of her. "Now that's cleared up, there are a few things we need to go over."
She glanced round the table for any dissent. Sensing none, she carried on. "First of
all, there are tasks for the event itself. Lady Beryl, I'd like you to do the meet and
greet."

"What? Like some sort of butler?"

Stevie gave her the sweetest smile she could muster. "Not at all. More like
the hostess. After all, you will know all the important people who will be coming. It
would be best if you were there at the entrance, greeting people and setting the
tone."

"Ah." Lady Beryl appeared mollified. "I see what you mean. Of
course."

"We will need you to be here an hour or so before the ball starts, so that
you can go through the list of attendees and to catch any early birds."

"Of course."

"I'm sure Tom will be on hand to help you out if anything goes wrong."
Stevie glanced at Tom, whom she hadn't got round to asking.

He gave her a nod. "I doubt there'll be much that Lady Beryl can't
handle."

Lady Beryl preened.

"Priya, can you be in charge of the food leaving the kitchen? We'll all help
put out the cold stuff, but the warm stuff will need someone supervising. Also, once
you're done, you could do some PR work for the charity, you know, mingle and talk
to people."

"Gladly," said Priya.

"Tom, can you man the bar?"

"Sure."

"Alice, Evelyn and I will do things like circulate the food, help people flow
through the different rooms, introduce people to each other, that sort of thing. Of
course, Lady Beryl will be able to do a lot of that too, once most of the guests have
arrived."

There were nods all round.

"Have you arranged serving staff?" said Lady Beryl.

"No," Evelyn snapped. "Unless you've got a fleet of volunteers hidden up
your sleeve."

"I could ask a couple of my nieces. They might not do it for free
though."

"We have to rely on volunteers," said Stevie. "It won't hurt to ask."

She ran through a few other points of her list, answered questions, made
notes on last minute things to be done. After a while, Alice excused herself and left
the room, already on the phone.

Tom took another glance out of the window. "Stevie. Can I have a word?"
He nodded towards the door leading to the main house.

Stevie saw that the others were chatting amongst themselves. There was
nothing more she needed to say. "Of course." What on earth did Tom need to talk to
her about?

"Follow me." He led the way up the stairs.

"Actually, Tom. I need to talk to you about manning the bar."

He said over his shoulder, "I've been a barman before."

"It's not that." Stevie lowered her voice. "A lot of these tickets were
bought by fans from the Triphoppers forum. They're likely to be quite young."

Tom frowned. "Okay. I'll bear that in mind. I suppose we'll have to have
some non-alcoholic punch or something to hand out then."

"It's on my list of things to do tomorrow."

"You seem to have thought of everything." He sounded impressed.

Stevie felt a surge of pride. She had done a good job so far. "It's my job.
Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"It's more something I want to show you." He lifted a finger. "Just a sec."
He pulled out his phone and made a call. "Alice? Two minutes." He put the phone
away and grinned. "Follow me."

She started to follow.

He stopped. "Actually, better still, close your eyes."

"What?"

"Close your eyes. I'll guide you."

She stared at him, perplexed for a moment, her common sense warning
against this. But the red wine was starting to have its effect. "Okay." She was still
suspicious, but she closed her eyes.

He took her arm. The touch of his palm against her elbow was a like a jolt
of fire. It was all she could do not to gasp. His fingers curled gently round her arm,
he guided her through the house.

With her eyes closed, the warmth of his skin was all the more intense. A
tingle of arousal spread through her body. She had to concentrate hard on walking
without stumbling. A slight breeze told her they'd gone outside.

"Stairs," he said. "Keep your eyes shut."

He helped her down the metal stairs, one hand still on her arm, the other
near the small of her back. A careful touch, Stevie thought. Low enough to be
suggestive, but too high to be accused of being sexual. At the bottom of the stairs he
led her across the gravelled path.

"Okay." When he released her arm, she felt bereft. "Open your eyes."

The moon, though no longer full, was bright enough for her to see that
she was in the rose garden. The gazebo loomed up, an ethereal monument in the
rose scented air.

Suddenly fairy lights twinkled from the within the plants and along the
gazebo walls. Millions of points of light, shining and dimming, turning the rose
garden into a magical fairyland.

"Oh!" Stevie took a step forward. She had known the garden would look
lovely in the daytime, but had assumed it would have to remain dark at night. She
clasped her hands together. "It's...amazing!"

She spun round, taking in the beauty of it.

Tom was standing there, his hands on his hips, a smile on his face. "D'you
like it then?" His smile widened.

"It's beautiful."

He took a step closer and it suddenly occurred to her that the garden was
also incredibly romantic. Was he trying to lower her defences by creating this
fantastic spectacle? If he was, she decided, he was succeeding. In the soft glow of
the lights, his face was gentle and gorgeous and so, so kissable.

"I told you I'd take care of the garden," he said.

"Where did you find so many lights?"

"Alice and I did a frantic ring round for outdoor Christmas lights."

"Wow."

"Impressed?" He seemed closer than ever now, even though neither of
them had moved noticeably.

Stevie realised she was leaning towards him. Her gaze moved from his
lips to his eyes and back again. "Very." Her voice was barely a whisper. She could
feel the warmth of his breath and smell his shampoo. Her lips tingled with
anticipation. She closed her eyes.

Evelyn's voice cut through the night air, making them jump apart.
"Tom!"

Stevie's eyes flew open. Tom's face, wearing a slightly horrified
expression, was moving away from hers.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Before she could ask him what he meant, Evelyn arrived. "My word, is
this your handiwork, Tom? It looks wonderful."

"Thanks." Tom had retreated to a safe distance and shoved his hands in
his pockets.

"Is this why you were looking for Christmas lights?" Evelyn looked inside
the gazebo. "Very nice indeed."

"Did you want me for something in particular?" Tom's voice held a trace
of impatience.

"Oh yes," said Evelyn, from inside the gazebo. "That girlfriend of yours.
What's her name? Austria? Anyway, she's here. Seems to have brought a garment
bag with her. Said you were expecting her."