Page 143 of Lovers' Dance

Mrs Vanderbilt chuckled. It was a husky sort of chuckle. A sexy, inviting sort of chuckle.What the?She was probably as old as Matt’s mom, and still resting her hand on Matt’s broad chest.

The woman turned her gaze on me. “Ah, this must be the one I read about. How exotic you are. And what a lovely shade of green that dress is.”

I decided right then Mrs Vanderbilt was not going to have another moment of my time.Exotic?

Matt smiled. “Mrs Vanderbilt, this is—”

“Excuse me,” I interrupted with a pleasant smile. “I need to find a washroom, if there’s one down here.”

I handed Matt my glass—well, not so much as handed, more like shoved it at him—before turning on my heels and slipping away, leaving a baffled Matt with his mouth parted in surprise and holding two flutes of barely drunk champagne.

Exotic. Humph. ‘How exotic you are,’ I mimicked her words soundlessly as I weaved through chattering people. I didn’t need to pee; it was an excuse to escape, but I was too slow, and less than two minutes later, a firm grip landed on my bare back. I jerked away, knowing who it was. I could track Matt’s delicious scent through the Garden of Eden and not get lost.

“What was that, Madison?” he murmured in a tight voice, while smiling at some people close by.

“What did you do with my drink?” I asked instead, noting his empty hands.

Matt pulled me to a stop, an unhappy frown on his lips. I avoided his gaze and studiously looked at our surroundings.

“We need to have a private word,” Matt ordered, taking my arm and marching me forward. I wanted to dig my heels in, grab onto the pretty brunette flirting with the tuxedo-clad woman, yell at the top of my voice I was being taken against my will.

The look on Matt’s face stopped me. I figured nothing I did would stop him from moving us through the crowd until we ended up in a semi-lit corner close to the stairs leading aboveground.

“That was rude of you.” He started first. Of course he did.

“Was it?” I shot back, avoiding his gaze.

“You know it was,” he said in a carefully controlled voice. “What I want to know is why?”

I fought the urge to say “Why what?” Matt was giving off the dangerous mafia-type vibes. The one when you know your death is seconds away, but you don’t know how it’s going to occur.

“She called me ‘exotic,’” I answered coldly.

“And,” Matt prompted, completely at a loss as to why I was annoyed. “What’s wrong with that? It’s a—”

“Compliment?” I interrupted sarcastically.

“Yes,” Matt replied, folding his arms and peering down at me with a serious face.

Intimidation. He was trying to intimidate me with his bulk.

“A backhanded compliment.” I snorted in derision.

Matt’s eyebrow shot up at my sneer. “What on earth is wrong with you? You are making no bloody sense. How is that a backhanded compliment?” His eyes narrowed. “If this is another one of your perceived race issues, I will be annoyed with you, Madison. You see insults where none exist.”

I laughed a bit, then stopped abruptly. He wouldn’t see it. Might as well explain it to him, even though I knew he would dismiss it anyway.

“Am I a giraffe, Matt?” I asked quietly. “Or a jaguar? A mandrill? Puffer fish? Tapir—”

“What the fuck are you on about?” Matt hissed in exasperation, rubbing a hand over his jaw.

“Am I an animal, Matt? An exotic creature that belongs in a zoo? Or in the wild? Do you know what racial micro aggressions are, Matt?” I let out a humourless chuckle.

“Yes,” he said slowly, a sudden change in his expression. “I do.”

“That was a prime example of it. She wasn’t complimenting me. It’s like saying I’m gorgeous, but not in the conventional sense. Like I’m a freak of nature, an anomaly. And let me tell you, the only people who call me exotic are white people. Read into it whatever you want. Sorry you think I was rude. Do you want me to go back over there and make small talk with her?” I wasn’t sorry and he knew it.

Matt didn’t answer. He stood there with folded arms staring at me. We had a serious stare-off for about four minutes. Then I had to look away. Darn it. I’d been out-stared.

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