Page 28 of Tattle Tail
Oh. She wanted him to fasten it, not drool over her.
He closed the collapse on the gold chain, his fingers brushing over the nape of her neck. Leaning forward, his lips pressed close to her ears. They twitched, the fine hair brushing against his face. “The dress is stunning. I’m just wondering what’s keeping it up.”
Her ears twitched as she answered quietly, “Advanced engineering.”
“Hooray for science,” he purred.
He wanted to pull into some quiet nook and explore the gown’s advanced engineering. That sounded really, really good—
But this wasn’t a real date, they argued more than they got on, and the foyer of a hotel was not the place to make a pass at Peaceable.
He stepped back, clearing his throat. “I feel bad that my suit is just a boring black.” Not that he thought much of fashion or knew where to start if he had wanted to wear something more memorable.
She looked him over. He wore a fitted black suit that was nearly too tight for his liking, but the tailor insisted it worked. He slicked his hair back in an effort to tame it, but he doubted that styling would hold.
“Your appearance is very agreeable,” she said.
“Ah, thanks, sweet pea.” He held out an arm. “Shall we?”
The decorators went all out in the ballroom. Midwinter decorations of green boughs and gold ribbons adorned the entrance and hung in the windows on the ground floor. The room sparkled. People milled politely as servers carried trays of drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
An orchestral band played sedate music. A white piano waited off to one side, near the band. Zero sat at the bench, fiddling with sheet music and holding a whispered conversation with his girlfriend, Clarity. Dressed formally, they appeared more grown-up than Joseph was willing to allow. Zero had been a short, gangly-limbed teenager when they met. Somehow in the last two years, he got taller, broader, and very adult-looking.
“Is Zero going to play?” he asked.
Peaceable frowned. “That is not on the agenda. We hired a pianist to play.”
As if sensing they were speaking about him, Zero looked up. He smiled and waved, inviting them over. Fortunately, his face was still round and youthful and not too grown-up.
That eased some of Joseph’s pain at the passage of time. Zero was still a kit, even if he was the sort of kit that founded a music education charity that held galas, all before the age of eighteen. Just a kit.
“Let’s go say hello to Zero,” he said, waving back.
“I see Mr. Cayne.” Peaceable pulled her arm out of his. “He requires me.”
Right. This was a work event for her. All Joseph had to do was not be embarrassing.
“Sure. Save me a dance,” he said.
She flashed him a smile that was more fangs than teeth, and he melted a little at the display. He watched her walk away, admiring the advanced engineering that went into the dress because, not to be too repetitive, wow.
Peaceable glanced over her shoulder, her gaze seductive, knowing he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“What do you think you are doing?” Marigold appeared at his elbow.
“I was going to talk to my nephew because he’s kind of awesome and I like him.”
“No, I mean ogling Peaceable.”
“I wasn’t ogling,” he protested, even though he had been and not even a little of ogling. It had been full-on ogling.
Mari gave him a sour look.
“Fine. I ogled,” he admitted. “Go on and tell me I’m gross, treating her like an object.”
“You’re gross because I already told you that Peaceable is the kind of woman you have to be serious with. Don’t play your games with her.”
“I’m not.”
