Dance With Me - By Hayden Braeburn Page 0,48

and power above all else, including her daughter. If Kat hadn't shown a talent in dance from an early age—a talent that her mother could exploit, and perhaps profit from—she was sure she would have been pushed to the wayside far earlier than she had been. When the music ended, so ended her musings and it was then she realized she was no longer alone.

“You awe me sometimes, babe,” Mason said, his smile wide.

She chugged half her bottle of water. “Training. It's all about training.”

He shook his head. “Nah. Talent. Raw, natural talent.” At her raised eyebrow, he chuckled and agreed, “Training, too. Of course.”

“I can't believe I'm this happy.” Her smile dimmed, turning into a frown. “Last time I was this happy it was right before...” she trailed off. He was well aware of what came next.

“This time we won't have that problem.” He captured her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. “This time will be better.”

“Better?”

He kissed her shoulder, her cheek, the corner of her mouth. “Would I lie?” He moved the fraction of an inch necessary to claim her mouth fully, losing himself in the kiss.

“Never.”

TWELVE

When Mason came home the following Friday evening, he found Kat staring into the walk-in closet, a determined look on her face. “What's wrong, babe?”

She turned, her arms outstretched in defeat. “I have no idea what to wear. I have gowns, dresses, costumes, but what should I wear to a black tie party at your parents'?” She heaved a sigh. “I am so out of my element here.”

He laughed at her predicament. There were dresses of every color in the closet, yet she had nothing to wear. He kept his smile to himself. She'd find out soon enough he had planned it that way. “I have a suggestion,” he said as he made his way across the room. Reaching into his side of the closet, he plucked a floor length cream silk dress off the rack. “You should wear this.”

She goggled at him. When had that incredible gown shown up in their closet? Almost completely backless, the dress hung from one lacy shoulder. “Wow.”

“It will be perfect for tonight,” he promised before pulling his tuxedo from its place and laying it on the bed. He grinned at the memory of the last time he'd worn it and what was to come. “Put it on, babe, I want to see it.”

She stared at the dress for long minutes before tearing herself away from it to curl her hair. When she was finally ready, she held her breath. What if it didn't fit?

Mason held back his grin as he pulled up the side zip of Kat's dress. He knew it would fit—he'd employed her costumer to make the gown, and now he just hoped everything else he'd planned for tonight went as well as the zipper.

They arrived at his parent's home a scant twenty minutes later, walking arm and arm up the circular drive. They were almost to the front door when Camryn intercepted them. “Kat!” she called. “Come back here with Cass and Mom and me.”

She flashed a smile at Mason. How things had changed in the last month. “What's going on?” she asked as she followed Mason's youngest sibling. She loved the celery color of Cam's dress, the cut similar to her own. “How is it we're both in one-shouldered dresses tonight?” she asked.

Cam stumbled over a crack in the walkway. “One-shouldered dresses are big this season,” she answered. “Cass's dress is one-shouldered, too, actually.”

“Really?” She followed to the backyard where a tent was set up. She stopped dead in her tracks. Mason had dressed her in a cream silk confection of a dress, his entire family was decked out in finery, and there was a tent in the back yard? She squeezed her eyes shut, opening them to find nothing unchanged. Mason wouldn't have... She broke off the thought, choosing instead to say, “If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a wedding.”

“Would ya now?” Cam replied through a giggle.

“Wait...” Kat held up a hand. “Just wait.”

Cassidy appeared at Kat's other side just then, her dress a perfect match to Cam's. “Nope, no time for waiting. You don't want to be late for your own wedding, do you?”

“I hate being late,” Kat automatically replied before what Cassidy had said registered. A second later, she whipped her head around to face the attorney, beautiful in her pale green dress. “What?”

“Oh, there's still a party tonight, but first there's a wedding!”