Page 56 of Arse Over Irish Teacup
There Aidan was, alone again, with Beth. He didn’t know if it was the booze or the jubilant atmosphere but that didn’t bother him now. Aidan slapped his hands on his lap. “How about it? Why don’t you take a whirl around the dance floor with me, Spinner? You know, in the spirit of our truce?”
All Aidan’s mixed signals were making Beth’s eyes cross, but she put her purse on the table and stood up. Confused or not dancing would be better than sitting around drinking. Before she could actually say any of that to him, he had her hand, pulling her along to the dance floor.
“You know, Turner, you’re very bossy.”
“Spinner and Turner. That’s funny. I hadn’t thought of that before. If I were writing a story, I might think the similarity is too cutesy.”
“We aren’t a couple so how can it be cutesy?”
Beth was cutesy. Everything about her was cutesy. Except that sexy dress she was wearing. “You clean up pretty good, Spinner.”
Aidan was impossibly handsome and charming when he wanted to be and right now, he wanted to be. She didn’t even notice that he already had her inside his arms, swaying.
As the music played her shoulders dropped and she settled into his arms. Without noticing she rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. As Aidan swayed her on the dance floor everything melted away and all that was left was music, warm shimmering lights, the scent of roses, and his comfortable embrace.
“See that older man at the bar in the hat?” he asked.
Her eyes blinked open as if coming out of a trance. She looked towards the bar and spotted him. “Yes.”
“Watch out for him. He likes to pinch women.”
“Pinch them?”
“Right on the arse, as they say here.” A woman passed by the man and shrieked. “See, I told you.”
Beth giggled. It was music to his ears.
“Your head is okay, right? You didn’t have a concussion?”
“My peripheral vision came back yesterday,” he teased.
“And how’s Ernie?”
Aidan chuckled. “Ernie, well, he’s enjoying himself right now.”
Beth giggled some more and they fell into relaxed silence.
Then Aidan spotted a guest on the floor that reminded him of the helmet-haired stewardess and speaking only loud enough for Beth to hear, pointed her out to Beth. “What is that she’s doing?”
“I think she would call it dancing. But it’s supposed to be waltzing, not pole dancing.”
Aidan laughed. “That’s my girl.” She rested her cheek against him again, enjoying the music. “You’re surprisingly light on your feet, Spinner.”
“I am?” Beth looked down and sure enough, she was standing on her own two feet and not his. That had never happened. Her memory flashed back to the senior prom when she caused a multiple person pile-up with her two left feet. Her classmates had gone down like dominoes.
Beth was brought back to reality when again she heard a woman’s shriek ring out. That dirty old man! And speaking of men doing things they shouldn’t: “Will your girlfriend be upset that you’re dancing with me?” she asked.
“What girlfriend?”
“The woman who met you at the airport.”
“That wasn’t my girlfriend. That was my sister, Heather.”
“Do I hear my name being taken in vain? Who’s this, Aidan?”
Aidan stopped dancing but didn’t let go of Beth’s hand. Whether or not that was intentional was a different matter for standing beside them was the bride waving a half empty champagne flute, plastered in makeup and nearly plastered with booze. It was also the same woman Beth had seen throwing herself into Aidan’s arms at the airport. Beth wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not but she definitely felt foolish for jumping to conclusions. Especially since Heather’s breasts didn’t look nearly as big as they did at the airport. She was a beautiful, elegant bride—on the outside.
“Bethany Spinner, let me introduce the face of Kate Connolly and also my sister, Heather. Heather … what’s your last name now?”
