“No. Your grandmother loaned this to me.” And I gestured toward the full skirt, a contrast to the clinging gowns that other women were wearing tonight. I felt frumpy, not that I would ever wear a dress like that. No way could I afford it.
“Nonna gave that to you?” Gregorio’s smooth brow, so like his father’s, creased and his eyes clouded.
Dumping my champagne into the nearest planter, I straightened my spine. So, this is how it was. How naïve I’d been to think Ama felt concerned for me. “But Lexi…I think she…”
But Gregorio’s eyes had slid past me. “Lexi?” His mouth had fallen open.
Turning, I choked. Lexi was wearing green tights and a filmy top that encompassed her arms with mere wisps of fabric. Wings sprouted from her back and that’s what tipped me off. “Let me guess….”
“Tinkerbell!” Her arms flew out as if she really might fly. And oh, how I wanted to fly away with her at that moment.
“It’s that Peter Pan show,” she told Gregorio, who still wore a quizzical smile.
“But where did you get this costume?” I asked.
She gave me a sly look. “Amazon.”
“Oh, my word. Here?”
“Yep, Gregorio helped me.”
My student was trying to look innocent. In halting speech that flushed his cheeks, Gregorio quickly explained. His words were barely coherent and I held up a hand. “Not to worry. You look lovely.” Although I wasn’t sure about those tights, no way would I make her as uncomfortable as I felt. This night would be special for her, a party to tell her friends about at home.
“Gregorio was just telling me that they’d scrapped the movie idea.”
“How many days ago was the theme changed?” Lexi wasn’t taking this well.
“A few.” Gregorio stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I don’t know. Does it matter?”
He was right, of course. “No, it doesn’t.” Why ruin the evening? Ama wanted us to feel out of place but I would deal with her later.
While we talked, night had fallen, making the party even more magical. And providing more cover. It would be easy to slip away now, which was exactly what I planned to do.
“Christina.” Only one person said my name like that. Fighting a bad case of the shivers, I turned.
Marco was the epitome of privileged cool tonight. He must have decided to tame those curls with pomade. Brushed back, his hair glistened under the lights. In the crisp black and white tuxedo, he looked elegant, more handsome than a man had a right to be.
He studied my dress, eyes traveling over me as if they had GPS targeting. Were the crystals on the skirt a little much? I had no right to them, and my cheeks burned. I should explain. “I didn’t know.”
His brows rose in question. “Know what?”
“I thought we were still being movie characters.”
“Oh, I see.” His eyes twinkled. “And you are?”
“Cinderella.” Lexi came to my defense. “Doesn’t she look great?”
My hand went to my hair, which seemed to be the center of his attention. Why had I let Lexi do this to me?
“Cinderella.” He gave the name a knowing twist that sent a chill down my back.
The night air rustled my skirt and did crazy things with the curls Lexi had created. My hair was going to be a problem, but I didn’t plan to stay long.
As if she really were sassy Tinkerbell, Lexi set her hands on her hips. “We thought we...”
But I stopped Lexi right there. Marco had gone to a great deal of trouble. No way did I want him to know about Ama and whatever trick she had pulled on us. Or had she? Had a notice been slipped under the wrong door? That was probably it. When I got back to the room, I might find an envelope under the Oriental rug in front of the door.
Rubbing his hands together, Marco looked as if he had to move along. “You both look very nice. Now, Profesora, we must talk about tonight, no? Our plans.”
