Casey
I yanked my shirt back on as Erik got up and padded to the door. He opened it with a friendly but cautious smile.
“Hey, Skye. What’s up?”
“Oh, thank goodness.” She brushed past him and into the room. “What is this?” she asked, waving an ivory-colored piece of paper around.
“I have no idea.” I looked at her in confusion.
“It’s an invitation. To a ball. At…” She stopped waving whatever was in her hand and read it. “The Charleston Hotel. Some sort of masquerade ball for charity. Mother said it was your idea.”
“I…” I frowned and took a second to figure out what she was talking about. “It was my idea to make the Charleston’s annual charity gala a masquerade ball this year, but I don’t actually have anything to do with it. The Kingsleys, my friend Nick’s parents, run it.”
“Why have they invited me?”
“I wouldn’t know. Why didn’t you ask your mom?”
“Because she said to ask you.”
I did my best not to look irritated. This was undoubtedly Kari’s attempt to get Skye and me to become friendly, but balls were not my forte. I’d only attended the Charleston’s charity gala twice because I was usually on tour in late September and I’d quite honestly forgotten all about it. Shit. Now I was going to have to figure out a costume because my gut told me there was no way to weasel out of it, especially with Skye now involved.
“I’m not sure what your mom was thinking,” I finally said. “I haven’t been to one since I was eighteen because I’ve always been on tour. They raise a lot of money for the children’s cancer center here in town and the belle of the ball is always a big deal.”
“The belle of the ball?”
“There’s always a beautiful, single woman, who’s at least a little bit of a celebrity, who’s asked to be the belle each year. I have no idea who it is this year though. I’ve been too busy to ask.”
“I thought it was Sheridan Lyons,” Erik interjected.
Skye and I both turned to stare at him in confusion.
“How do you know?” I finally asked.
“Because it was online somewhere?” He shrugged.
“Oh. Well, there you have it.”
“I have no idea who she is,” Skye said.
“She’s a television star. I think she started with the Disney Channel and now she’s twenty-one and doing feature films.”
“I don’t know what to do,” Skye said, looking from Erik to me.
“I don’t know what…you need?” I said slowly. “I mean, I think your parents always go so you won’t be alone.”
“Aren’t we going?” Erik asked me.
“Honestly, I’d forgotten all about it until just now.”
“You have to,” Skye said urgently. “I mean, Mother says it would be rude not to go but…” Her voice faded. “Wait a minute, did she send me to you so we would have something in common?”
I shrugged. “I really don’t know. I truly hadn’t given it a thought until just now. It’s going to be fun, though, and there are always lots of rich, eligible men in attendance. Wouldn’t you like to dress up in a fancy dress and dance with a bunch of nameless, faceless men? You don’t have to tell anyone who you are—that’s the whole point of the masquerade ball.”
Skye seemed thoughtful. “Oh. That does sound interesting.” She turned and headed for the door. “I have to find a dress!”
And then she was gone, without even a thank you.
“At some point,” Erik said, chuckling as he shut the door and locked it, “I might have to mention manners to her.”
“But right now you need to come back to bed.”
That afternoon, after Erik and I had more sex than two people who lived together probably should have, we were just discussing what to have for dinner when the phone rang. I answered it mindlessly, my mind on dinner.
“Hello?”
“Guess what?!” Jade’s voice was loud on the other end.
“What?” I asked.
“I’m coming back to Vegas this weekend.”
“You are?”
“Sheridan Lyons got married over the weekend and they asked me to be this year’s belle!”
I blinked. “Oh. Wow. That’s…crazy. We were just talking about the ball. I’d forgotten about it.”
“You’re going, right?”
“I’m guessing the answer to that is yes, since you’re going to be the belle now.”
“Tricia said she’s got a gown and everything for me, so I just have to show up. How cool is that?”
“I guess so.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Jade laughed. “Why don’t you sound excited?”
“My wedding is a month away, I’m pregnant and don’t want anyone to find out, and my future husband’s entire royal family is about to congregate in Las Vegas… I’m a little distracted, girlfriend.”
“Oh, phooey. What if I bring Alyssa and we just stay in Vegas until the wedding? Frankly, Kirk’s on my last nerve and I’d much rather be with you than in my big lonely house on Long Island.”
“You know I’d love to have you here.”
“I’ll be there Wednesday. Go find a dress!” Jade disconnected and I put the phone down with a fond smile. Jade was a tall, red-headed force of nature. She had a grand presence no matter where she was or what she was doing, between her height, her long, wild hair, and her amazing voice. Men wanted her, women either loved or hated her, and her fans worshipped her. I’d loved being in a band with her and having her as one of my closest friends, but she was sometimes over-the-top with her exuberance.
“I take it we’re going to this ball,” Erik said, leaning against the door.
“I guess we are. You’re going to need a cape.”
“Excuse me?”
“A cape to go with your tuxedo. I was thinking we could do a Phantom of the Opera theme.”
He grinned. “Whatever you want. Your wish is my command.”
“Are you always going to be this easygoing?”
“I plan to try.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
The one good thing about making plans to attend the ball was spending time with Jade and Nick. BJ didn’t come around much, but the three of us spent one day at my dad’s new studio, checking out the final stages of interior construction, and another day hanging out at the hotel with some of Nick’s family. Erik joined us that day, and for the first time everything that was happening felt real. Nick’s parents, Nicky and Tricia, treated him like he was already my husband and mentioned coming to dinner one night. We ran into Nicky’s brother, Matt, and he and Erik talked golf for nearly an hour while Jade and I chatted.
Though everything was casual, our social calendar got a little fuller every time we went somewhere that week, and by Saturday, we were having to tell people we’d get back to them because between our wedding, the honeymoon, and my pregnancy, we didn’t want to take on too much.
As we finished getting dressed for the ball, Erik wearing a tuxedo with tails and his Phantom of the Opera–style mask, I decided to wear the diamonds he’d bought me in Europe. I’d never been big on diamonds and such, but because they were from Erik they were special, and everyone would be dressed to the nines tonight. Only the richest of the rich attended the Charleston’s annual charity event with tickets priced at five thousand dollars per person and dances with the belle of the ball going for twenty-five thousand apiece. Ben and Kari always attended, along with the extended Kingsley family and people I had grown up with.
“Any jealous ex-boyfriends of yours I need to look out for?” Erik teased as I came out of the bathroom and stepped into my heels.
“Not a single one,” I said.
“Damn, you’re gorgeous.” The way he looked at me made my insides shiver with excitement and I moved towards him slowly, my royal blue floor-length gown fluttering around me. It had a full skirt, something I wasn’t used to at all, but Aunt Kari had said it was very princess-like and she thought Erik would love it. Based on how he was looking at me now, she’d been right, and I couldn’t help but reach for him.
“Thank you. You’re pretty damn gorgeous yourself.”
“I won’t kiss you and mess up your beautiful makeup,” he said, “but I’m doing it in my head.”
I laughed. “You’re very gentlemanly.”
“And you’re very royal tonight. I can picture doing a waltz with you in the palace ballroom and having every man in the room envious of me.”
“They can look all they want, but there will never be anyone for me but you.”
He took my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it slowly and quite thoroughly, for a hand kiss. “Later tonight, I’m going to kiss every square inch of you, but for now, we have to go.”