Page 49 of Four Steps to the Perfect Fake Date

Daphne forced her lips into a curve, then darted a glance at the man still stroking the bare skin at her side. The softness had fled from his features, and he stared at his mother through narrowed eyes. Was hemad because she’d interrupted them? Daphne watched him take a deep breath and relax his shoulders. It didn’t look like he was upset about their little moment being stopped. It looked like he was fighting against something much deeper.

“Ready?” he asked in a quiet, rough voice.

Maybe being wrapped in his arms had addled her brain, because Daphne found herself softening toward him. She wanted to ask him what had put those shadows in his eyes. She wanted to make him laugh again. “Yeah,” she finally responded. “Lead the way.”

“Five, six, seven, eight! And step right. And step left. Shimmy, shimmy, touch, tap! Turn, dip, turn, RAWR! Good, Ceecee. Mom, you’re slow. You gotta keep up. Again! Five, six ...”

Daphne blew out a breath and pushed a strand of hair off her sweat-slicked forehead. She glanced to her left, where Flint was scowling at his feet like he could intimidate them into doing what they were supposed to. They were in a vast living room that had been cleared of furniture, along with ten other amateur dancers. At the front of the room, near the French doors that led to a big backyard, was Eileen’s sister-in-law, Kathy Yarrow.

Kathy was large and in charge. In her sparkly blue kitten heels, she topped six feet in height. Her shirt was a flowy blue-and-white number with swirls of sequins, paired with tight white jeans. Her hair was bleached to within an inch of its life, and her fingers were long and tipped in daggerlike nails. Her eyes were rimmed in thick black liner, with lashes clumped together with an unknown number of coats of mascara.

Archie Sr.’s sister was terrifying.

When Kathy clapped her hands, her multitude of rings let out ominous clanks. “Turn, dip, turn, RAWR—no. Stop! Cut the music!”

Archie Jr., the current mayor of Fernley Island, pressed a button on the sound system from his perch on a chair at the side of the room.Daphne couldn’t help the sideways glance she gave him. Why did he get to sit this torture out? He reclined in the chair next to the speaker, a bored expression on his face. He had beady eyes and thin, wet lips. Daphne disliked him immensely, mostly because he’d been nearly as annoying as Flint in high school, but he’d gotten away with it because his last name was Yarrow. From what she could tell, the arrogance and entitlement had endured to adulthood.

Kathy glared at the assembled dancers. She walked the length of the living area, turned on her kitten heels, and walked back. Ceecee peeked over her shoulder from her spot in the front-middle position of the dance troupe, giving Daphne big eyes.

Daphne stuck out her tongue, and Ceecee copied her. Daphne snickered.

“Is this funny to you, Ms. Davis?” Kathy asked in a quiet, dark voice.

Daphne’s attention snapped back to the older woman. A few of the dancers turned to look at her, and suddenly she felt like a child who’d been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. She resisted the urge to squirm. “No,” she answered. “I think the dance is great.”

It was a complete lie. Flint must have been able to tell, because he shot her a glance with a single raised eyebrow that saidYou’re still a suck-up, Davis.Daphne resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him too. In fact, it seemed important to keep her tongue far, far away from him right now.

“Of course the dance is great,” Kathy snapped. “I choreographed it, didn’t I? Those bruises of yours going to be healed up by the time we have to perform?”

Daphne touched the sides of her nose. It no longer hurt, so she nodded. “Probably.”

“Good,” Kathy answered. “Now—”

“Honey,” Kathy’s elderly mother, Dorothea, cut in, “do you think you could modify this? My legs ...”

“Your legs are fine, Mom.”

“I’m eighty-nine years old.”

“Age is just a number,” Kathy replied, squaring her shoulders. “Okay, people! We’re going to go through this one more time. I want all of you tofocus.”

Flint sidled up to Daphne, the heat of his body soaking into her side. Daphne kept her eyes forward and her tongue firmly enclosed behind her teeth. “There’s still time to back out, you know,” he told her, voice warm.

“I said I’d do it, so I will.” She could handle a little inconvenient lust. Maybe if they spent more time together, it would fade. She’d remember all the reasons he infuriated her, and she wouldn’t wonder whether or not he was a good kisser.

This was about her family heirloom. About proving to everyone, including herself, that she wasn’t boring and predictable. It wasn’t about the man whose gaze made her burn up.

Flint huffed a laugh, the back of his hand brushing hers as he moved into position. Daphne ignored the thrill of it, ignored the way she seemed to sense every movement he made. She focused on Kathy’s direction, using every ounce of brainpower to make sure she didn’t step on anyone’s toes. They made it through the bulk of the choreography, and Daphne’s heart raced. They’d never made it this far without having to stop and reset. She grabbed one of the gigantic pink feathers from where they’d been placed at the sides of the room. Along with the rest of the dancers, she tented her feather over the middle of the circle, shaking it slightly as Kathy called out directions.

The intent was to have Eileen and Archie Sr. sneak in to the center of the group, then pop up through the feathers like a couple of cabaret singers exploding out of a giant cake. Daphne shook her feather as she held it in position. Kathy called out, “Hold! Hold! Hold!” Ceecee stared at the feathers with grim determination on the other side of the circle, little arms working hard to make that feather dance.

It was happening. They were going to make it through the entire choreography. Nearly four hours after they’d begun, they’d finally get a clean run-through.

“Reveal!” Kathy screamed.

The feathers came up as their troupe fanned out to show the lovebirds in the center. The dancers were supposed to spin out as they stepped aside, so the feathers would float away from Eileen and Archie just in time for them to start their first dance.

And that’s where things went wrong.

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