FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12
Friday morning a knock at her apartment door startled Jaime where she sat drinking a cup of coffee and scanning headlines on her phone.
Caroline glanced at her sheepishly as she collected her trench coat and briefcase. “Don’t hate me, okay?”
“Why would I hate you?”
“Because I might have set this in motion.” She nodded toward the door, then blew her a kiss and scurried away at a pace that would have left Jaime breaking an ankle had she tried it in those stilettos.
As Caroline went through the door, Jaime’s mother stepped inside. Her tunic sweater and skinny jeans paired with boots made her look like she was only a few years older than Jaime. “Hi, honey.”
“Was I expecting you today?” Jaime flipped over to her texts to make sure she hadn’t missed something.
“No, Caroline texted me. She said you needed a reason to get out of the apartment, and I have the perfect one.”
“I’m going to kill her.” This was how she repaid Jaime for taking her in when she didn’t have a place to stay?
“Your father and I have decided to take you to the military ball tonight. You and I are going to have a girls’ day shopping for a gown and then going to the ball.”
“You think I’ll find Prince Charming there?”
“Maybe not, but it will be fun all the same.” Her mother looked around the apartment, and her nose crinkled. “Aren’t you about to go crazy?”
Jaime wanted to argue, but she could tell by the set of her mother’s shoulders and determined look that was a no-win proposition. “What if Dane’s there?”
“There will be so many people it would be hard to see him if we wanted to. Besides I’ve rarely seen him at these sorts of events. I’ve always believed he deliberately scheduled exercises with his team to avoid them.”
Jaime sighed and knew she had to give in to her mother’s attempt to bridge the space between them. “All right.”
“Thatta girl.”
Seven hours later, as their nail polish dried under LED lights, Jaime felt more pampered than she had before prom. Still, a thread of uneasiness tugged tight around her middle. She wasn’t sure she had the courage to wade into a ballroom full of military uniforms. “You’re sure Dane won’t be there?”
“As sure as I can be. I wish I could promise he won’t, but . . .” She shrugged.
There was no way to know. Jaime would assume he’d be there and brace for what that could mean. Anything else would be foolhardy. And while the thought of seeing him made her want to avoid the ball, she also wanted to step fully into a place of freedom where the thought of him didn’t terrify her. Maybe going to the ball was a step.
“Remember, you won’t be alone. Your dad would like nothing more than an excuse to deck him.”
“If he’s there, I’ll try to avoid him.” The ball could be fun, and her mom had gone to a lot of effort to create a special day for her. She couldn’t let her fears of what might happen if Dane showed up hold her captive. Instead, she’d focus on the excitement of attending an event like this. “All those years you and Daddy have gone to the military balls, I never have.”
“I know. We always have such a good time.” Her mother’s light clicked off, and she slid her fingers free to examine her nails. Then she reached for Jaime’s arm. “I want tonight to be a special Cinderella moment for you. Who knows, maybe you will meet a prince! Now let’s get dressed and collect your father.”
Her parents had gotten a room at the Renaissance Washington, the location for the ball. It was a nice but expensive touch that matched everything else her mother had done today. In return Jaime determined to give her mom the gift of joining in and pretending to have a good time. Surely it wouldn’t be that hard in a ballroom surrounded by men and women in dress uniforms, their dates arrayed in a kaleidoscope of colors.
She’d chosen the gown, a royal-blue halter dress, because it reminded her of the one Diana wore at the ball in Wonder Woman. Tonight she needed that same fortitude, determination, and grit. A military ball might be safe terrain for her uncle, but for her it felt risky.
She lifted her chin and examined her image in the mirror. She’d spent twenty years trembling at the thought of him. This evening she would walk into the ballroom knowing it was possible he’d be there. In court she’d cowered in his presence; tonight would be different.
Her phone chimed with a text from its place on the bathroom counter. She glanced at the screen, then smiled as she read the message.
You sure you want to do this? I didn’t know this was what your mom had in mind!
Caroline, her worrywart friend.
It pinged again.
I’m here if you change your mind. Well, I’m here if you don’t. What I’m trying to say is you’re the bravest woman I know, regardless of how tonight goes.
I’m fine. Thanks for checking. See you on the other side.
She should type a smiley face. It was something Emilie would do, but Jaime couldn’t. Her life wasn’t the kind that had an abundance of emoticons.
But tonight would be one more step in taking back her life on her terms.
She set her phone back on the counter, then braced herself against the counter and studied her expression. Her hair was swept into a fancy updo, with loose strands curling in tendrils around her face. You can do this. If you don’t now, you never will.
Her self-talk did nothing to ease the tightness around her eyes. No amount of makeup could hide it even if her mom had spent a small fortune pampering her into beauty. You’ve got this.
She blew her bangs from her face, then fingered them back in place.
“You look beautiful, honey.” Her mother was standing in the bathroom doorway. She squeezed Jaime’s arm, a look of love and pride filling the curves of her smile. “Let’s go before your father wears a path in the carpet.”
Her father whistled as they glided toward him. “I am the luckiest man in this city tonight.” He offered each of them an arm and then escorted them out of the room, down the elevator, and to the ballroom level.
Dark military blue carpet lined the hallway, with chandeliers soaring two stories overhead. Her father had timed their arrival so there was precisely half an hour left in the cocktail reception. He was nothing if not punctual. They followed other elegantly dressed women and men from the elevator into the expansive space outside the ballroom. The service member attendees like her father were in their best Dress A uniforms. Many of the spouses and dates like her mother wore floor-length gowns. Some wore tea length, but she saw nothing above the knee. The non-military men wore suits with bow ties and the occasional tuxedo. Taken together it created the illusion they had stepped into a fairy tale world strung with miles of tulle and white lights.
Jaime smoothed a hand down the silky fabric of her gown. Mother’s rose-colored, floor-length gown added blush to her cheeks, and she looked incredible with ringlets from her chignon falling around her face. It only took one look at her dad to note from his swelled chest to his cocky grin that he believed he escorted the most beautiful woman in the room.
At a roped off area, Dad handed their tickets to a young woman in dress blues.
“The cocktail hour ends in thirty minutes, Captain.”
“Thank you.” He guided her mother inside the roped cocktail space, then waited for Jaime to join them.
Jaime held her head high, trying to feel as confident as Wonder Woman had appeared as she entered the nest of Germans, then turned to her mom. “I never asked you, what is the ball for?”
“To raise awareness and support for the returning heroes and their families.”
“In many ways it will have the formality of a branch birthday ball.” Her father shrugged as he placed his hand over his wife’s. “Then when the brass leave, it’ll be time to let loose and dance till dawn.”
“You sound positively romantic.” Jaime smiled at her father. “I’m sure it will be fun.”
If nothing else, for a few hours she could pretend there was nothing more than this moment. Feeling like a princess, and no one knowing any different.
She followed her father and mother through the crush.
“What can I get you ladies?” Her father gave a gallant bow.
“A ginger ale for both of us, sir.” As her father headed toward the line snaking from the bar, Mom took Jaime’s hand and squeezed it. “How are you feeling?”
Jaime considered for a moment. “Good.”
“You sound surprised.”
“Uniforms can sometimes have a negative connotation.”
“Well, not tonight.” Mom smiled so brightly any clouds would be forced to part. “Tonight we’re going to enjoy each other’s company while supporting a good cause.”
Jaime nodded, but her gaze skimmed the room. It wasn’t just Dane on her mind. Would a certain other officer make his way to the ball? She shoved the thought aside.
The doors leading to the ballroom opened, and the sounds of a string quartet warming up filtered out. In the lobby, wait staff circulated bearing trays laden with tiny hors d’oeuvres. She wasn’t sure she’d know what she was eating if she tasted some of the delicacies. Her mom had been a mac and cheese and frozen pizza kind of cook.
Her gaze scanned the crowd as she followed her mother between groups. Then she froze.
Dane was here. The man’s military bearing remained unchanged, the image seared in her memory like a twisted brand that coiled too tightly. She might never understand what had made him the man he was. Why had he looked at her one day and decided she was his?
She tore her gaze from him, determined he wouldn’t ruin her evening, but when she looked away she still sensed his presence. The thought was eerie, uncomfortable, like a second skin that didn’t fit. She could still escape before he saw her, but she fought the instinct. Today she was done being the scared little girl who begged not to go to her uncle’s house. The girl who turned to stone at his touch. The teen who panicked when she thought of him. Those chapters of her life were finished.
She leaned into her mother’s shoulder. “I’m going to circulate.”
Her mother’s gaze zipped to hers, concern laced through it, as her father stepped near. “Want us to come?”
“No. This is something I need to do. Go say hi to all your friends. I’ll be fine.” She let the flow of people swirl her away from her parents and closer to Dane. She knew her parents were watching, and her father would come in an instant if she needed him. She wasn’t going to live in fear. Maybe Dane had sent someone to track her last night, maybe he hadn’t, but today she would do the tracking. She would be the one who controlled their encounter.
She was not a little girl anymore.
He turned as she neared, and the smile he graced her with was almost warm, close enough to fool anyone who might observe them. “Jaime. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
He was so precise. Controlled. Only the faintest tightening at the corner of his eyes gave an indication he felt . . . anything. Discomfort? Annoyance? The difference was one of degree.
“Dane.” She refused to grace him with the title uncle. He had forfeited it and any honor.
“I see you’re here to congratulate me.” He tipped his chin until he looked down at her.
“Congratulate you?”
“You’re looking at the next one-star.” He shrugged, the movement revealing the ripple of tight muscles that hadn’t sagged with time. “I’ve been told it’s done.”
“It won’t happen.”
“Your little game will fail, Jaime.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. The light will expose the truth.” She stared at him for another minute until he knew she wasn’t afraid, even if she felt a tremor inside. “Enjoy the ball,” she said. “It may be your last.” She eased away from him, in control.
Then his hand clamped on her arm, and he tugged her back until his mouth was almost on her ear. “You will not succeed, little girl.”
She shrugged from his grasp and returned her gaze to his. “You don’t scare me anymore. I’m not the child you took advantage of. I am strong enough to fight back, and I will.”
“Everything all right?” Her father was suddenly there at her elbow, and his words had a hard edge. She fought the desire to sag.
“We’re fine, aren’t we?” She reached for his arm as she shook free of Dane’s hold. “Dad, would you dance with me?”
“It would be my pleasure.” He walked her toward the floor. “Sure you’re fine?”
“I am.” She settled into her father’s arms and felt a comfort and security she’d longed for as a child. As the string quartet’s music swirled around her, she relaxed in the moment.
As Dad swirled her closer to the door, she noticed two men, one in uniform and one in a tux, leaning casually against the wall. Something about the military guy arrested her attention.
Chandler. He had the build of a warrior, confident, sure of himself. But there was more to him than that.
Did he see her?
She stayed firmly in the protective circle of her father’s arms. Would Chandler come to her?
Did she want him to?
Oh, yes. Yes, she did. In a way that she hadn’t let herself feel before.