You gave him back the ring!” Gemini exclaimed in amazement. “Why?”
“Because I didn’t say yes—therefore, there was no reason for me to accept it,” Dani explained.
They were standing in the wings, getting ready to go on. Two tall, spectacular young women, both blond, wearing matching skimpy costumes of sequins, feathers, and lace, with plenty of flesh on show, and extravagant headdresses. The two of them together with their long legs and large bosoms were every man’s fantasy.
“You’re crazy,” Gemini said, licking her highly glossed lips. “Surely you know that a girl never returns jewelry.”
“I couldn’t lead him on.”
“You poor baby—you have so much to learn.”
“And I’m sure you’re planning on teaching me.”
“I can see I’ll have to.”
Several other girls jostled for position as the music started. Gemini and Dani hung back. They made their entrance a few minutes after the dancers. Statuesque, dazzling. Total glamour.
“How did you leave it?” Gemini asked.
“He had to fly to Houston,” Dani said. “He’ll be back in a couple of weeks. I told him I’d try to give him an answer by then. In the meantime, he gave me the name of a lawyer to call.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” Gemini said, taking a quick peek in the backstage full-length mirror. “Call the man.”
“I will,” Dani promised.
She’d been struggling with her feelings all day. How simple it would be to say yes to Dean, pack up everything, take Vincent, and move to Houston.
Yet something held her back. She refused to get involved in another loveless marriage like the one to Sam. It wasn’t fair to Vincent to bring someone else into his life who might not be permanent. She wasn’t even sure she knew what love was. She’d murmured the words once in her life, and that was to Michael.
Ah . . . Michael. One magical night from her past, and she’d been no more than a child. Yet hard as she tried, she couldn’t forget him. How was it possible with Vincent there to remind her?
The next morning she and Gemini worked out in the gym. Hardly the gorgeous untouchable creatures of the previous evening, they now wore no makeup, hair in simple ponytails, and had on workout clothes. Staying in perfect shape was an essential part of their job, and they both toiled hard at it.
“Do you believe in love?” Dani asked as she lifted light weights.
Gemini nodded, finishing a series of punishing sit-ups. “Yes. Only, you must never mistake love for passion,” she said, grabbing a towel. “Unfortunately, passion never lasts. When I married Nando’s father, Moralis, he was the most passionate man I had ever met. I couldn’t breathe when I was with him. I found myself thinking about him day and night.”
“That’s how I felt with Michael,” Dani sighed, putting down the weights and moving over to the treadmill.
“I hardly think it’s the same,” Gemini replied. “After all, you were only with Michael for—what?—one day, one night?”
“I know, but I’ve never had feelings like that before or since,” Dani said dreamily. “And the way he made love . . .”
“It was your first time,” Gemini pointed out. “You were hardly in a position to know whether he was a great lover or a bad one.”
“He was great,” Dani said, remembering every detail.
“Here’s what you need to do,” Gemini said. “Date a few different men, get some perspective.”
Dani shook her head. “I’d feel I was being unfaithful to Dean.”
“Unfaithful!” Gemini exclaimed. “You didn’t even accept his ring.”
“That’s true, only I can’t see other men, it wouldn’t seem right.”
“Then you’d better marry Dean,” Gemini said, exasperated. “That’s my advice.”
A few days later Dani met with the lawyer Dean had recommended. Gemini accompanied her for moral support. The lawyer’s name was Morgan Spelling Jones, and he was a flamboyant character. In his mid-fifties, he had a florid complexion, a hearty laugh, and big, smooth, well-manicured hands. A Texan with an extremely loud voice, he wore a ten-gallon cowboy hat with an off-white business suit and tooled-leather boots. The look was eccentric, to say the least.
“This must be my lucky day,” he said, beaming at the two women as they came into his office. “The Lord surely smiled at me this morning to have two such beauties enter my domain.”
“Ms. Castle is here about her divorce,” Gemini said, settling into a chair opposite his desk and crossing her long legs.
“And Ms. Castle will get her divorce,” Morgan said, his eyes lingering on Gemini’s legs. “That’s if I have anything to do with it.”
“Dean King recommended that I see you,” Dani said, sitting down in the chair next to Gemini.
“He did indeed, and he spoke very highly of you, little lady. Now,” he said, picking up an expensive gold pen from his massive leather-topped desk and holding it over a yellow legal pad. “I suggest you give me all the nasty details.”
“What did you think of him?” Gemini asked the moment they left his office.
“He seems quite interesting,” Dani replied.
“Interesting, or capable?”
“Both.”
“Hmm . . .” Gemini said. “Don’t you think that the combination of the cowboy hat and the boots lent him a certain . . . sensuality?”
Dani giggled. “You’re kidding?”
“No,” Gemini said, with a half smile. “I like a man who has . . . quirks.”
Gemini liked him so much that they began dating, and within six weeks they were married. It was quite a rapid courtship—and one that Dani felt very much part of, since she was responsible for them meeting.
Dean flew in for the wedding, which took place at Morgan’s large ranch a few miles outside of town.
It turned out that Morgan Spelling Jones was rich, very rich indeed. A successful lawyer, he’d also inherited an old-money fortune from his late parents. Gemini had not known this. She’d fallen in love with his style and couldn’t care less that he was almost thirty years her senior. She did care about Nando, and fortunately he and Morgan hit it off, which was great for Dani, because it meant that Vincent got to spend time at the ranch too—riding horses, swimming, and playing lots of outdoor games. He and Nando were inseparable.
The only downside was that being out of town at Morgan’s ranch reminded Dani of her childhood and Dashell. How lucky she was to have escaped. What would her future have held if she hadn’t?
Sometimes she wondered. There were many nights she still experienced frighteningly vivid nightmares. And often she thought about going back and searching for her mother’s grave.
She always decided that, no, it would not be a healthy thing to do. The past was just that. Letting go was the true freedom.
“It’s your turn next,” Gemini whispered to Dani at the wedding. “If I can take this step, so can you.”
Dean was pushing. She was still hesitant.
“Sleep with him, at least,” Gemini urged. “See if you are compatible in bed.”
Was that what she was supposed to do?
Yes. Because that’s what everyone else did.
Sex was the big topic of conversation backstage—one girl had even slept with Frank Sinatra, making her the heroine of the week.
The truth was that sex didn’t interest Dani; she’d shut off that part of her life. Sex only led to trouble—she knew that only too well.
Morgan had spoken to Sam’s lawyer several times. “The man’s a shyster,” he informed Dani. “Sam has made no requests to see the boy. All he wants is money, moola, big bucks.”
“How much?” she asked, disappointed that Sam had sunk so low.
“They’re requesting alimony—and if not that, then a one-time payment of fifty thousand dollars.”
“Fifty thousand!” she said in amazement. “Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?”
“It’s not necessary to pay anything, Dani,” Morgan explained. “However, my dear, it is the only guaranteed way of permanently removing him from our list of annoyances.” A beat. “That, or we hire a hit man.”
“What?” she gasped, horrified.
“I jest, my dear, I jest.”
Dean came to the rescue. Without consulting her, he conferred with Morgan and paid the fifty thousand.
A week later she slept with him.
Sleeping with Dean wasn’t the worst thing in the world. He was kind and attentive, and took things slowly. But Dani could not get over the feeling that she was only doing this because he’d paid the money to make Sam go away.
She felt like a whore. A very highly paid whore, but a whore all the same.
Dean was ecstatic. “This definitely means we’re getting married,” he crowed, producing the ring again.
“It means we’re . . . we’re engaged,” she said, as he slipped the magnificent diamond on her finger.
“You will never regret this, my darling, never,” he assured her, beaming. “Whenever you can take a few days off, I’ll fly you and Vincent to Houston to see my house. It’ll be all yours to do whatever you like.”
“That’ll be great,” she said, already feeling pressured.
“Maybe you should quit your job,” he said. “After all, there’s no reason for you to work now that we’re together.”
“Yes, there is,” she said quickly. “I need my independence, Dean. One of these days I intend to pay back the money you gave Sam.”
“Think of it this way, Dani. When we’re married, my money is your money. So what difference does it make?”
“It makes a difference to me,” she said quietly. “This is a debt I should be responsible for.”
“We’ll see,” he said, completely unconcerned about the money. “I’m planning our engagement party. Start making a list.”
She nodded, and decided that since this was obviously her future, she’d better start being happy about it.