Page 23 of I Wanna Dance

I stepped back, watching the scene unfold. It was clear that Davis and Presley were trying. Their warmth toward Leah was genuine, their regret palpable.

Kevin was pretending to accept that his children wanted their mother back in their lives—but he didn’t like it. I wondered what the backstory here was and how Leah’s children managed to get their heads out of their asses and away from their father’s clutches. Obviously, not far enough, considering he’d orchestrated his presence along with his floozy during this meet-up.

While her kids were generous and genuine in their affection, Davis’s fiancée Olivia was neither with Leah.

When I introduced myself, her smile widened.

“You’re the CEO of MedSoft.”

Kevin and Davis both looked at me, recognizing that I was one of Atlanta’s business elites. What the fuck ever! I was Leah’s date for the evening.

“Yes, I am.” I put a hand on Leah’s waist to keep her close to me. “Cariño, you want to hand over the wine you have in your bag?”

“Oh, yes.”

Leah had put the bottle of wine I picked out at Sherlock’s Wine Merchant, a wine store in Buckhead that we were both familiar with. I insisted on buying the wine, making sure it was in the two-hundred-dollar range to make Kevin uncomfortable as hell. When he saw the bottle of Montrachet Chassagne, he grimaced.

Yeah, asshole, I have more money than you.

It was petty as hell, but it made me feel better. I wasn’t the kind of man who flaunted wealth. I was a regular professional who’d worked my way up to become CEO, and between Camilleand me, we had averyhealthy income and savings. But I knew that Kevin seemed to care a lot about money and status, so I wanted to hit him where I knew it would affect him.

“Oh, Mom, this is a really nice wine.” Davis looked at it and handed it to his fiancée. “Lilly, it’s chilled. We can have it with the appetizer.”

Olivia was impressed despite herself. She took the wine from Davis and smiled uneasily. “Thank you, Marco.”

“Actually, it’s from Leah,” I smoothly said. “She’s the one who loves chardonnay from Burgundy. I don’t know much about wine. She’s teaching me.”

Leah caught on quickly. “And he’s teaching me about rum.”

“Amongst other things.” So, I was laying it on thick and brushed my lips against the side of her forehead.

We settled around the dining table with a view of Atlanta from the floor-to-ceiling windows. Compared to Leah’s apartment, this was about a hundred times better. How could this man let the mother of his children be without resources to at least buy a home after she kept theirs for years?

Olivia served the wine we brought with the first course, a poorly made shrimp bisque that everyone complimented her on. However, I noticed that she rarely spoke to Leah directly, and when she did, her tone was clipped, almost dismissive.

“Mom, you’re gaining quite a reputation as a divorce lawyer,” Davis gushed.

“Yeah,” Presley added. “It’s so cool how you built your practice in a year.”

Leah wasn’t expecting any of this, and I knew she was thrilled as hell but also emotional. I put a hand on her thigh to steady her.

“Thank you. It’s been a labor of love. I have a great paralegal who’s a Godsend.”

“In more ways than one,” I added.

When everyone looked at me, I grinned. “Alana bought Leah salsa dance classes, and my daughters got me the same. That’s how we met.”

It was a little over the top for the sake of performance for her family, but the truth was that I was enamored, and I knew it showed.

Leah looked up at me and smiled.

“You need to give Alana a raise.” I stroked a finger down her cheek.

Brittany cleared her throat. “I am an excellent salsa dancer if you need tips.”

“Oh, we’re doing fine stumbling around,” Leah replied good-naturedly.

“She kids, she’s a natural.” I picked up her hand and brushed my lips against her knuckles. Yeah,laying it on thick. But since I loved touching and kissing her, it was working to my advantage.

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