Page 81 of The Heiress
It wasn’t a desert, but my mouth was so dry that it may have been. Elisha was already in the plunge pool and I had to parade in front of her, drop my towel and jump in. Well, it wasn’t parading, but I was still self-conscious about my too-skinny legs that were still in the process of bulking up.
But Elisha’s eyes weren’t on my legs. Her eyelashes fluttered as a slow, lazy smile crossed her face. It was a record time from dumping the towel and sliding into the pool, the warm water immediately soothing after another coaching session with Clay.
I groaned in delight. “Ahhh, feels good.”
“You must have worked hard,” Elisha said, paddling over to me. “You will have some energy for dancing tonight, won’t you?”
Beth’s party was scheduled for a 7:00 pm start, with everyone meeting at La Maison. Elisha had been vague on details, even Mom had little to say, so I could only imagine a dinner in one of the private dining rooms at the hotel, with a theme of some sort. Elisha had mentioned Beth was a fan of The Hobbit and Game of Thrones and poetry and the moon, so it was anyone’s guess whether we’d be dressing up as orks or astronauts.
“Dancing? I wasn’t told anything about dancing.” I grimaced, not in the least bit confident in my ability to move on a dance floor. In fact, fearful of it. I may have ditched the crutches, could move freely on a tennis court, but to dance was another level.
“It’s one of your goals, isn’t it? To dance again?” she goaded, showing me no mercy.
“Who told you?”
“It’s written on your board in your gym,” she said matter-of-factly, lightly splashing water at me.
Sighing, I wiped my eyes and conceded that it was a goal, but I had till Prom night to achieve that one.
“How was your coaching session?” She took my hand and pulled herself alongside me, allowing me to float my legs out in front of me.
“Good. Really good,” I said, extending my arm around her shoulder. “How about you? Got everything sorted for tonight?”
Elisha nodded, her smile a ray of light. “Your Mom’s been awesome.”
“Beth’s ready to party?”
“Yep,” she said, practically cutting herself off, before uttering a long drawl of my name, “Phoeeeee—nix?” She leaned her head against me.
“Hmmm?” She could keep it there forever if she wanted.
“There’s going to be some surprises tonight,” she whispered, placing her hand on my chest.
“Surprises? For Beth?” Her fingers traced a path around my upper body, making me light headed
“Yeah. For everyone.”
“Everyone?”
“Yeah. Do you know T&J?”
“T&J? Yeah, I know their music.” T&J were the latest pop sensation, a brother and sister duo from Chicago who were rocking the charts.
“They’re Beth’s favorite band. They’re playing tonight at her party.”
She said it in such a deadpan tone that I assumed she was joking. Not taking the bait, I laughed and said, “Sure.”
“They are!” She laughed back, gently punching my arm.
“Whatever,” I said, knowing she was teasing me. As good as Mom was at her job in coordinating events, she hardly had the clout to book chart-topping musical acts. And T&J were past the stage of performing in small towns like River Valley, now able to fill big city arenas and stadiums. “Mom wouldn’t even know who T&J are.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. She does know them. She loves their music! So there!” Elisha splashed me again, making me blink repeatedly to clear the water out of my eyes.
“Well, she wouldn’t have the contacts to book them. Are you sure she didn’t book a band called J&T!”
“Gah, you’re impossible,” Elisha said. “And you’re right, she didn’t book them.” A finger poked sharply at my chest. “My Dad did.”
I took a moment to consider before opening my mouth. “Your Dad’s a booking agent?” With all the time we’d spent together, it was probably bizarre that I’d never asked what her parents did for work, knowing only that they were abroad. Presumably an agent could work from anywhere in the world.
