Page 7 of Revealing Mark
Toward the end of the evening, my Uncle Dennis, my father’s brother, pulled me onto the dance floor.
“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” I muttered, looking around at everyone dancing like they didn’t have a care in the world.
“Come on, darling,” he prompted as he began to dance, shifting from one foot to the other.
I giggled, mimicking his movements. It was the first time in probably a couple of weeks that I felt light-hearted. I probably looked ridiculous, but I didn’t care. The more outrageous his moves got, the more I laughed…until I was holding my stomach I was laughing so hard.
The music changed to a slow, romantic song and I was still smiling when my uncle took my hand and put it on my waist.
“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” he asked with a knowing smile. I giggled.
“No.” It was exactly what I had needed, some light-hearted fun.
Someone cleared their throat beside us.
“May I interrupt?” Mark directed the question to my uncle. I frowned.
What was he playing at now? My uncle kissed my forehead affectionately before he released me. “Sure.”
I stiffened when Mark pulled me closer and I was hyperaware of how near I was to him. His hand held mine and his other hand settled on my lower back. Every inch of me was heightened to his touch and I tried not to show my attraction to him.
“What do you want?” I asked, knowing there had to be an ulterior motive to this dance.
In all the years I had known him, not once had we ever danced together. But in all fairness, I rarely danced.
“Just a dance,” he spoke softly.
I frowned, unable to relax even when it felt like I was living out one of my teenage fantasies of him.
“Relax.” He drew me closer and I laid my head against his chest. For a brief moment I breathed him in and let myself live in the moment, which brought back all my teenage daydreams of him.
CHAPTER THREE
Mark held me and we swayed slowly under the darkened dance floor. The dress I had chosen to wear was soft and felt flimsy against the warmth of his closeness. I wanted to stay in that moment, with the steady beating of his heart against my ear, but the song ended and he relaxed his hold on me. I didn’t want to move but I managed to somehow.
“Thanks,” I murmured, feeling like my senses were still wrapped up in his hold and I was still trying to untangle them. His expression was unreadable.
“It was my pleasure.” The sound of his voice made a shiver race up my spine. His eyes stared into mine and I was lost. His eyes caught the glitter of the lights and they had never looked more striking.
“Um, yes.” I swallowed. My tongue felt tied. It didn’t help that none of my thoughts were coherent and if I kept talking I would make less sense. It was best to get away before I made a fool of myself. He remained on the dance floor as I backed away before hurrying to my table.
I had an excuse of getting my camera and made a concerted effort to concentrate on taking more photos of my family asthey danced, ate and drank. I loved to watch people and take photos. There was something magical about catching someone in the midst of an emotion when they had no idea it would be photographed. A snapshot of a moment in time.
I got a few more of my brother and Sarah. At first I had been more than skeptical of their budding relationship, but despite all those misgivings I had never seen him so happy and content. The way Sarah looked at my brother showed she was in love with him. I sighed, wistfully studying the photo I had taken of them. Would I ever find someone I could love openly like that and have someone look at me that way as well?
After going through some of the photos, I realized I hadn’t gotten many of Sophie. I got my camera ready and scanned the dining area but she wasn’t on the dance floor or at the table. Where could she be? Then I spotted her in the corner by the entrance, speaking to Mark. My hands shook with the camera while I watched them talk. Not everything was about me, but I still felt uneasy while I kept my attention on them.
They didn’t talk for too much longer before Sophie walked away. When her eyes met mine, I knew their conversation had something to do with me. I knew her well enough to be able to read what she didn’t say out loud.
When she reached me, we sat down and I pretended to show her some of the pictures while we talked.
“Mark knows there’s something going on,” Sophie murmured, pointing at the picture on the screen.
Any hope I’d had that he was going to buy any of my lame lies went up in smoke.
“What did he say?” I asked, feeling irritated he wouldn’t leave it alone.
“He said he’s worried about you and wanted to know from me what was going on.” I was annoyed that he was resorting to trying to pump my sister for information.
