Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
V incent
Sarah is standing in front of the full-length dressing mirror, fidgeting with her hair, when I enter.
Holy mother of God.
She is stunning. I was expecting the dress, courtesy of Marie of course. What I wasn’t expecting was the way the soft, ice blue satin clings to her trim body, hugging the soft swell of her breasts and hips. Her long, platinum hair is loose, arranged in a waterfall of curls cascading over her shoulder, a series of small diamonds sprinkled throughout. Her blue-grey eyes meet mine in the mirror.
“Oh, hey.” She turns around, and I see her rake her eyes up and down my tux. “You clean up nice.”
“You’re doing pretty good yourself, kitten.”
She blushes.
I hold up the white gift bag I brought in, and she quirks an eyebrow. I pull out a soft, white fur cape and drape it around her shoulders. “Can’t have you freezing to death, can I?”
Sarah smiles. “Thank you.”
I watch her features twist into confusion while I unwrap the final accessory, a white half mask decorated with silver and crystals.
“It is a masquerade, is it not?”
Her face lights up. “The ballet? We’re going?”
I nod and practically get knocked off my feet when she throws her arms around my shoulders and kisses me.
“Thank you!”
The navigator is idling out front. Aldo moves to open the doors, but I wave him off, helping Sarah into the back.
“I can’t believe you made all of this happen.” She’s holding my hand but gives it a squeeze. It occurs to me, with her pale coloring and icy attire, she could pass as some sort of mythical ice queen if it weren’t for the thousand-watt smile that hasn’t faltered once.
When we arrive, rather than pull up to the main entrance like everyone else does, Aldo ducks down an alleyway. I can see two more of my men standing by. Sarah gives me a quizzical look.
“Just keeping a bit of a lower profile,” I explain.
She nods and I help her slip down from the SUV, her dress and heels making it a bit difficult for her. I tie the soft satin ribbons of her mask on her before donning my own.
Inside, I realize Marie got us the best box seats, center stage, as well as the seats on either side, just for a little buffer and more privacy. I’m not actually anticipating a problem tonight, but a little extra paranoia isn’t a bad thing in my world.
A bottle of chilled champagne is waiting for us, nestled in an ice bucket, as well as two flutes. The orchestra’s tone changes, and Sarah tells me that the opening act is about to begin.
“Have you seen it before?” she whispers to me.
I pour the champagne. “Yes, it’s been some time, though. I’d love it if you shared your thoughts on it.” Sarah may be here to watch the ballet, but I’m here to watch her. She flashes me another megawatt smile.
The curtains part, and Bella is on stage. “Not every ballet will do this part, but this is where it all starts. The princess is strolling alone, and she meets our bad guy right about now.”
A man appears, but he quickly transitions to hostile and threatening, and the music takes a dramatic, almost sinister tone.
“She tells him to kick rocks,” I surmise.
I get a chuckle. “More or less, so naturally poof, she’s a swan. At least during the day. She gets to be a woman again at night, which is just handy.”
“Why doesn’t everyone cover this part?” I ask.
Sarah sips her champagne and gives me a noncommittal shrug. “ Swan Lake is a bit bizarre because every director kinda takes their own spin on it. I read an article once where the critic said it was butchered, because so many pieces get chopped off and added and moved around. Some directors don’t think that the first scene is important because it’s not heavy on the dancing and they can make the point later on.”
“What do you think?”
“I think if you’re going to tell someone’s story, might as well tell the whole damned thing.”
That gets a smile out of me.
“Oooh okay, Robert is about to come on.” Sarah gives an excited little clap of her hands.
“Okay,” I say a few minutes later. “Five stars for Robert because that whole scene looks exhausting, but who thought it was a good idea to give that boy a weapon as a birthday present?”
I caught Sarah mid sip, and she turns bright red while she tries to laugh and swallow at the same time. “That would be the queen. A little door prize to soften the blow of being told he has to get married now.”
“Ahh, the arranged marriage.” I refill her glass.
“Not just for the mafia. In his case, more of a ‘we don’t care who, but make it snappy’. So, naturally to soothe his sadness over the whole thing, they decide to go swan hunting tonight.”
“And he becomes the luckiest bastard on the planet because he doesn’t shoot the love of his life right there?” I take another sip of my own drink.
She gives a little cheers with her glass. “So it would seem, and then because of magic, they fall in love with each other, and the deal is if he stays true to her, their love breaks the spell. Presto! Everyone’s happy.”
“Where’s our villain? We haven’t heard from him for a bit.”
“Ask and you shall receive. At this point, I think he’s just bitter and vindictive. He does some voodoo magic and makes his daughter look just like the princess.”
“This is the part Bella usually does?” I ask.
“Yep. But since I’m “at a funeral” she’s able to fill in for me, which is why our company prefers to have two dancers instead of just using the same girl.”
We sit, watching the dancers’ colorful costumes swirl on stage. Sarah sits mesmerized, her eyes tracking their every move. I can tell when a particularly difficult sequence is coming up because of her look of anticipation and little silent cheer when they succeed.
Looking at her now, it’s easy to see she will be a fantastic teacher.
“There’s going to be a little break, I’m going to run to the bathroom.”
I start to stand, and she just laughs.
“Sit, I can take myself.” She kisses my cheek. When she steps out of the box, I make eye contact with the man in the hall, expecting him to keep an eye on her.
Fifteen minutes later, I know something has gone terribly wrong when I find him knocking on the door to the women’s restroom and calling her name.