The Annual Tri-State Hospital Springtime Ball was held in the grand ballroom of the downtown William Penn Hotel. The guests danced to music provided by the Purcell Orchestra, and the buffet, featuring a wide assortment of Caribbean fare, was constantly replenished. The decor included strings of colored lanterns and tall papier-mâché palm trees that seemed to sway as if a tropical breeze was blowing.
“I guess this is supposed to be springtime on a Caribbean island because it looks nothing like a Pittsburgh spring,” Trey remarked to Callie as he led her onto the dance floor.
“They try to have different motifs every year,” said Callie. “Although the time they tried to have an arctic decor there were a lot of jokes.”
“I wonder why?” Trey murmured drolly. “Spring is supposed to be beautiful in the arctic circle. So different from the other seasons there.” He pulled her into his arms.
They moved to the music in perfect sync, their steps matching, as if they’d been dancing together for years.
“You dance as well as you do everything else, Dr. Weldon,” said Callie, laughing up into his eyes. “You might not have liked Miss Martha’s dancing lessons, but she taught you well. Of course, since you are so amazingly well coordinated, it would be impossible for you to have two left feet.”
He caught her reference to the conversation with the ingratiating med student and smiled. “I never liked dancing because I considered it a waste of my valuable time. But having you as my partner changes everything.” He bent his head and lightly kissed her forehead. “You look beautiful tonight, Callie.”
She felt beautiful. Her new silk dress was a vibrant rainbow of colors with a waist-cinching sash. It cost more than she’d ever spent on any dress but Callie didn’t regret spending a single penny. Sometimes impulse buying could be fun. Her hair swung thick and bouncy and full around her shoulders.
“I like your parents, Trey,” she told him, and they both glanced over at the table where Winston Weldon, Sr., was rising from his chair to lead his wife onto the dance floor.
Trey had his mother’s dark hair and blue eyes, but she was petite and small-boned. It seemed that Trey had inherited his height and his big, strong frame from his biological father. But that was all. In every way Trey was the antithesis of that man.
“My folks like you, too,” Trey assured her, following her gaze to see his parents dancing.
Callie smiled. She’d hit it off immediately with Win and Laura Weldon when she’d met them at the cocktail party that the Weldons’ friends had hosted before the ball. They were funny and pleasant and easy to talk to. Nothing at all like the stiff snobs she’d once feared.
“We’ve spent time with my parents and their friends tonight, we’ve hung with the OR crowd, can we spend a little time alone now?” Trey asked, sounding plaintive.
“Would you like to find a utility closet to duck into?”
“Don’t tempt me.” He shot her a smoldering look. “Come with me.”
She could almost feel the excitement emanating from him as he led her out onto the terrace. It was chilly outside but not unbearably cold, and at least it wasn’t raining. The music sounded muted but lent a romantic air.
Callie looked up into Trey’s glittering blue eyes.
“I wanted to do this inside, preferably your apartment, where it’s warm and there is a bed available, but my mother convinced me that I needed a unique romantic setting to make this memorable.” He reached inside the pocket of his tuxedo jacket and brought out a small velvet box.
The kind that a ring came in. Callie felt her heart lurch crazily. Whatever the setting, she had a feeling this was going to be one of the most memorable moments of her life.
“I love you, Callie,” Trey said, his eyes, his voice filled with emotion. “You’re everything I’ve always wanted in a woman. Until I met you, I didn’t know what was missing in my life.”
He removed a beautiful diamond ring. “I’d get down on one knee, but the ground is still damp from this morning’s rain,” he murmured wryly. Then he took her hand in his. “Callie, will you marry me?”
Tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t know it was possible to be this happy, that dreams really did come true. “I love you, Trey.” She threw her arms around him. “I love you so much.”
“Then let me put this ring on your finger and say yes.”
“Yes!”
He slipped the ring on her finger and they kissed. A slow, deep and tender kiss.
“I guess this is the beginning of a long engagement,” Callie said when they finally surfaced to breathe. “Seven years till you’re forty, hmm?”
“I should’ve expected you to throw that one at me.” Trey was grinning, looking as happy as she was. “I did this the traditional way and called your dad to ask for your hand in marriage. He was very glad to hear that I wasn’t gay. As of yesterday he’d already sent in his deposit to the place for our wedding reception. According to your mom, our wedding date is the week before Christmas. I guess I should ask if that’s all right with you?”
“It’s perfect, Trey.”