“Of course I do. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” I let go of Theo and took his father’s hand.
“I’ll be at the bar,” Theo said, and Arthur laughed at that for some reason.
“Don’t worry, son. I’ll return her in one piece.”
“It’s you I’m worried about.” He winked at me before leaving us.
“You? Well, you look harmless,” Arthur said, drawing my attention back to him. I had to say for a man in his sixties, he was attractive. It kind of made me wonder about Theo….
No, Felicity.
“I’m harmless. I have no idea what your son is talking about.” I smiled, making sure to keep up with him as we danced.
“I’ve never seen Theodore laugh like that. Lorelai almost had a heart attack over there in the corner. Don’t look; she’s watching now.”
“You can’t say that. Now I really want to look.” Why was she watching me? “I’m sure Theo laughed long before meeting me.”
“True.” He nodded, a small frown on his face. “However, it’s always either forced or insincere. Like he’s laughing because he has to, not because he wants to—”
“Before you go on, you should know we aren’t serious. We’re just having fun.” I didn’t think I wanted to have this conversation with the man who was basically his father. Luckily the music came to end. “Thank you for the dance.”
“It was my pleasure.”
I went into the house in search of a bathroom. I asked one of the servers, who pointed me back behind the stairs. I didn’t make it that far, though. I’d only got past the stairs before coming face-to-face with someone who did not looked pleased to see me, despite the smile on her face.
“Hi. It’s Felicity, right?”
“Yes, and you are?”
She brushed black hair back behind her ear. “Theo didn’t say anything about me? I’m his fiancée. Well, ex-fiancée, Violet Montgomery. We met at the dance hall.”
“I remember now. You were the one who couldn’t get her footwork right. Nice to meet you. Sorry I left so soon.” I smiled politely as she scowled, like she couldn’t believe I’d called her out on it. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to use the little girls’ room.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“You just said your name was Violet Montgomery, so….”
She stepped closer to me. “I’ve danced in The Mariinsky Theatre, the Paris Opera House, and with the New York City Ballet and The Royal Ballet….”
“That’s nice and all, but your footwork was still off. Can I go to the bathroom now, or are you going to tell me the Queen of England flew you out to dance next?”
“You have no class. But what did I expect? You’re just a waitress,” she snapped at me.
“Says the women who introduced herself as Theodore Darcy’s former fiancée. What were you trying to do, intimidate me? Scare me off? Sweetheart, if you want me to walk away from him and the amazingly hot, downright sinful sex we’re having all over his penthouse, you’re going to have do better than that. Like a lot better.” I skirted her but stopped. “I really like your hair, by the way. My mother used to say I should find one thing to like about a person.”
“It won’t last. You’ll be out of his face in a week.”
“Seven more days of sex! Yay!” I did a little cheer as I left. Tori was around the corner with her hand clasped over her mouth, trying to stop herself from laughing out loud.
She took my arm and pulled me into the bathroom, where she let it out. “You are my hero!”
“Thank you, I guess,” I said, closing the door to the toilet.
“I wish I could have seen her face. Man, she must have been steaming, and you blew her off like it was nothing.”
“It was nothing,” I replied as I flushed and came out to a large powder room, checking my dress before moving to the sink. She sat on the counter, shaking her head.
“You don’t get it. Violet Montgomery is like a modern day princess—”