Page 13 of Night and Day

The three of them were grinning at me.

“Fine.” I smiled back at them. “I’m slightly annoyed with you bullies, but I still love you.”

Allie gave me a shove. I walked into the crowd and across the room. People looked at me. I saw one man give me a long, considering look.

My chin lifted. Damn, I liked it.

I nabbed a flute of champagne off a tray. It tasted like liquid gold.

Just for the next hour, I’d let myself forget about paying Emily’s mortgage, Josh’s college tuition, Langston Hotels, and everything.

Tonight, I wasn’t sensible, hard-working Tessa Ashford.

I was a dark fairy queen.

I circled the dancing people and a man caught my gaze. He was moving to the music and held out a hand to me.

I shook my head. He looked to be a foot shorter than me, a decade older, and lacked any rhythm. As I scanned around, I realized I was looking forhim. The man I’d spotted earlier.

It was silly. He was probably here with his wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend. I made it to the stairs leading up to the mezzanine and leaned against the railing, sipping my champagne. A velvet rope cordoned off the upper mezzanine to keep guests on the main floor.

Darn it, my glass was empty. I held up the flute. As I contemplated getting another glass, I spotted a man at the edge of the dancefloor, grabbing the arm of a woman in a blue dress. His black-and-gold mask was askew.

“Come on, baby. Dance with me.” His voice was slurred.

Darn it. I couldn’t hear what the woman said, but even though she was wearing a blue, feathery mask, I could tell she was annoyed. She tried to yank her arm free.

I set my glass down and swept toward them. Spotting a server nearby, I leaned in. “Grace, there’s a man who’s had a few too many drinks and making a nuisance of himself. Get one of the security guards here to handle it. Discreetly.”

The woman glanced at the man and nodded. “Sure thing, Tessa. By the way, I love your skirt.”

“Thanks.” Right, now to distract and defuse things.

I came up behind the woman. “There you are.” I gently tugged her away from the man and put my body between them. “Trish was looking for you. Over there.” I pointed deeper into the crowd.

Relief crossed the woman’s face. “Oh, right. Trish. I’d better go and find her.”

“Hey, but we were dancing,” Mr. Casanova complained, sloshing some drink over himself.

The woman mouthed “thank you” and disappeared into the crowd.

Casanova focused on me. “Hey, do you want to dance?”

“Not really.”

He stepped closer and I smelled the fumes coming off him.

“But I just want to have some fun.” He tilted precariously to the side.

I grabbed his arm, taking some of his weight, and scanned for that guard. “Don’t we all. Honestly, it’s more fun if you have fewer drinks.”

“You might be right.” His cheeks paled. “I don’t feel so great.”

“Buddy, I am not surprised.”Don’t vomit on me.

He suddenly wrapped an arm around me, and knocked us both off balance.Oh, crap. We were going to fall, and I was going to be on the bottom.

A strong arm slid around my back, saving me from a tumble. Casanova managed to step on my toe before I shoved him away. My rescuer tugged me back against a firm chest, while Casanova teetered, but managed to stay upright.