“Really? I adore the ballet. My absolute favorite is Swan Lake. I’ve lost count of how many times I have seen it performed.”
“It is wonderful. I saw it performed in Boston last year. But I think my favorite is Coppelia. It was the first ballet I saw performed on stage.”
“My first ballet was Cinderella. My mom took me, and I kept waiting for the Fairy Godmother to turn a pumpkin into a carriage. At the time the Disney movie was my favorite, and I watched it all the time. When no actual pumpkin magically changed, I cried.”
His parents had said tonight’s dinner would be an intimate affair, and for his parents this meant four other couples, not counting themselves. He’d hoped for a few less guests. Lauren always came across as outgoing and confident, but still, he wanted her first encounter with his family to be smooth and comfortable. While Lauren may socialize with the Sherbrookes and Talbots, she really wasn’t a part of that society. For the most part, she existed within the middle class. While there was nothing wrong with that, what was considered acceptable there may or may not be proper with the likes of his parents.
Under the table Kevin rested his hand on Lauren’s thigh and gave a little squeeze. Next to him, she continued her debate with his sister as to which ballet was better, Giselle or Swan Lake, but her hand slipped under the table and rested on his. Her action spoke volumes. Sometimes he found it difficult to gauge Lauren’s feelings and just how invested she was in their relationship. Tonight though, her words and actions told him a lot. Inwardly he smiled, interlaced his fingers with hers, and turned his complete attention to the conversation he’d started with his father and Barry Clarkson. Any remaining reservations he’d entertained since her mother’s retirement party disappeared.
***
“So what else do you know about her?” Clinton Walsh asked.
With dinner over, Kevin and his father had retreated to his father’s office for a private conversation while the rest of the guests socialized over after-dinner drinks. Kevin rested his ankle on his knee and made himself comfortable in the armchair. On the other side of the wide desk, his father sat with a brandy in his hand.
“Her mother just retired, and her father teaches at Adams Hall. Lauren graduated from there.”
“What about the rest of her family? Brothers, sisters? What do you know about them?”
Kevin lifted his own brandy toward his mouth. “Don’t you think I would’ve checked into all this beforehand? There are no black sheep in her family.”
Clinton’s fingers drummed on the desk. “I’m still not convinced. She is only a schoolteacher.”
Don’t let him get to you. Kevin took a minute before answering. “Lauren is a well-educated woman, and I enjoy spending time with her. We share enough of the same interests and values to make a relationship work. I’m confident she’ll agree.” The one thing he knew better than business was women, and he could read Lauren like an open book. She missed her best friend, Callie Talbot. She went to visit Callie and her new world, but she didn’t really belong. He could help with that. While he may not be quite as wealthy as Callie’s husband, his wealth allowed him to travel in many of the same social circles. His wealth would also allow Lauren to pursue her dreams in earnest. She had told him how much she wanted to travel and how she wanted to open her own dance studio rather than simply teach part-time at a school owned by someone else. He could give her all those things and much more.
“When will you ask her?”
Kevin swallowed the last of his brandy. “I haven’t decided, but soon.” Since the retirement party and Lauren’s run-in with her former neighbor, he’d felt an urgency to keep their relationship moving forward. Even though she’d tried to play it cool, something about her mannerisms that night gave her away. She might want everyone to think she had no feelings for the guy, but Kevin suspected the two of them had a deep history. A history that remained unresolved, and it wasn’t only that night. Since the party, their phone conversations had changed, too.
“Good luck, then.” Clinton came to his feet. “Let me know how it goes.”
Once again, Lauren glanced over Olivia’s shoulder toward the doorway. Since Kevin’s sister continued speaking without so much as a pause, Lauren assumed she had not noticed. Although she found Olivia’s description of the fashions she’d seen at a recent Hollywood party interesting, Lauren wanted Kevin to walk through the doorway now. Being in a room full of strangers had never bothered her, yet tonight she wished she owned an invisibility cloak.
“And to say the designs by Marcella Horton were beautiful is an understatement. Photos just don’t do them justice,” Olivia said, referring to the newest designer to hit it big with the A-list celebrities in Hollywood.
Lauren nodded because it seemed like the thing to do. “I saw a picture of the gown she designed for Mia Troy. It was amazing.”
At the mention of the popular film actress, Olivia launched into details of the conversation she’d had with the woman during her last trip to California. Lauren once again fell silent, allowing Olivia to dominate the conversation, which in this instance she was okay with. Shifting in her chair, Lauren readjusted the hem of her dress once again, thankful Callie had given her such a present. While a layer of guilt remained because she could never give Callie a gift even half as expensive, she loved the way it looked on her, and it was perfect for this evening’s dinner party. Both Kevin’s mom and sister had complimented her on it. It also helped her fit in much better tonight. All the women at the dinner party wore gowns by some of the top designers. Granted, when she saw Callie or any of Callie’s family she never thought about the labels on her clothes, yet around Kevin’s family they stayed in the forefront of her mind, even though the Walshes didn’t possess the power and wealth the Sherbrookes and Talbots did.
“Kevin mentioned that you and Callie Talbot are close friends.” Olivia’s new topic grabbed Lauren’s full attention.
“We’ve known each other a long time. We even taught together before she married.” How she missed those days. Michelle, the teacher in Callie’s old classroom, was nice, but this was her first year with her own classroom. Often, rather than working as a team like they were supposed to, Lauren acted as more of a mentor, which she didn’t mind except that wasn’t her job. Tonya, the teacher across the hall who planned to teach for only another year, was supposed to be Michelle’s mentor.
“Have you met her brother Jake?” Olivia looked over toward her husband and then leaned a little closer. “Is he as hot in person as he is in pictures? I don’t care if I am married, if he ever asked me to sleep with him, I would in a heartbeat.”
Lauren cleared her throat in an attempt to cover her surprise. “I’ve met him several times.” Okay, so several was putting it mildly. She’d seen him at many Sherbrooke events Callie had invited her to, as well as at Callie and Dylan’s place in New York countless times when she’d gone to visit.
“I keep waiting to read he’s getting a divorce. It’s got to be just a matter of time. A man like him can’t be faithful forever. At some point he’ll be on the prowl for someone else, if he isn’t already.” Olivia spoke as if she was an authority on the matter.
Even though Jake Sherbrooke, Callie’s half-brother, was happily married, it appeared his reputation still followed him. Too bad Olivia, like most people, had it all wrong about him. “I don’t see that happening.”
“Don’t see what happening?” Kevin asked from behind her.
At the sound of his voice, Lauren turned around. Warmth crept up her cheeks. She didn’t want Kevin to know they had been discussing another man. “I didn’t see you come in,” Lauren said, ignoring his question.
“I came in the other door.” Kevin sat down next to her. “What don’t you see happening?” he asked again.
Across from them Olivia waved a hand toward her brother. “Just talking about how successful a celebrity marriage will be. Nothing that would interest you.”
Lauren gave Olivia what she hoped was a smile, and for the first time all night, she thought maybe she could somehow become friends with this woman. Like Kevin’s parents and the other guests there, Olivia had been polite but not friendly. At least not until now.
“You and my sister seemed to get along well.” Kevin gave her hand a squeeze as he drove. “She doesn’t usually take to new people the way she did to you.”
“Really? Maybe it was because we found something in common, the ballet.”
“Olivia does love the ballet. She trained at The School of American Ballet in New York for years. Before my mother convinced her otherwise, she hoped to join the New York City Ballet.”
Why would any parent convince their child not to strive for what she wanted? Especially if she had the talent to achieve that goal. If she ever had children, she would never stop them from pursuing what they truly wanted. “She must have been very good if that school admitted her. Why didn’t your mom want her to continue?”