Page 46 of Finding a Melody
A few minutes went by, and I could feel the tension coming off him. He kept his focus to the passing scenery as I kept mine on him, my worry growing.
He was too tense and solemn. The only thought that came to mind was the approach my therapist had used to get me to talk more about things I didn’t want to. He had been a big advocate for me to talk about all my fears, and once he asked a particular question, he realized it wasn’t so simple. My fears needed more than a bucket to hold them all.
“What is your biggest fear tonight?” I asked. I was sure he had enough fears to keep us talking for days, but at least focusing on the ones tonight would hopefully narrow them down?
His brows furrowed as he tried to understand what I was asking.
I repeated myself. “Come on, something has you tense. What is it? What is your biggest fear tonight?”
He seemed to think about it for a long moment before replying. “The girls. They’re ruthless and I have to be a proper gentleman or news will get back to my parents and I’ll get into trouble.”
“Is that it?” I cocked an eyebrow. “I didn’t think you’d let girls take advantage of you.”
He glared back. “I can’t exactly tell them to fuck off. And they get handsy. It’s that stupid double standard bullshit. If I went up to some girl and groped her, they’d scream sexual assault. But if one of them comes up to me and grabs at me, I can’t do anything. It’s frowned upon. I just have to take it like a fucking man. Maybe even feel flattered that I had their attention.” He shuddered, and I had a feeling that this exact scenario happened to him in the past.
I reached over and grabbed his clenched hand sitting in his lap.
“That’s okay. As your date, it gives me permission to call a girl a slut if they hang themselves all over you while I’m standing there. And I assure you, I can have a loud voice when I need to. And as a part-time singer, I have the lung capacity to be loud. I’ll keep them off you, so relax. I won’t make a fool out of you and I won’t let you do that to yourself. Let me be your shield tonight.”
“Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Aren’t I supposed to be the shield?” His voice was full of disbelief.
“Not tonight, no. Tonight is about you. They’ll want to focus on you and so you’re the one in danger. That makes it my job. Any other time, sure, I’ll let you be my bodyguard.”
He let out a surprised laugh and shifted his hand so he could hold mine.
“Cadence, thank you.”
I smiled big. “That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”
He chuckled and shook his head. This time the silence in the limo was a bit more relaxed. So hard I was doing a good job. But it was about to get a lot harder once we stepped out of the limo.
Chapter Fourteen
The limo pulled up to a huge museum-type building with white columns, wide steps up to the double doors propped open and massive windows. The driver opened the door for us and Bryan slipped out before turning around to help me.
I smiled at the driver while Bryan looped his arm through mine. Then he escorted me up the steps like we were walking down the red carpet. Others were making their way up, an energy of excitement and expectations filling the air. People went all out for this party, wearing full suits for the men, and varying degrees of expensive dresses for the women, some flashy, some subtle, all just as expensive.
Places like these should have made me feel self-conscious, but I had been past not caring for a while now about my image. That had always been important to Lindie. She’d drag me to these places when she had no choice. She’d make me put on a little show of a kind, dutiful daughter, and it had long since made it hard for me to shy away. Tonight, I needed to be a confident woman, not afraid to speak up when someone tried to slip past me to get to Bryan.
I no longer needed to be the dutiful daughter. My role was different this time. Somehow, that made this feel easier. Lindie’s judgments had always been harder to deal with than any of these people.
“Relax.” I grinned at Bryan as he walked stiffly through the doors, his biceps hard under my touch. “I won’t let them get their claws into you tonight.”
When we entered the ballroom, I glanced around, instantly noting all the different escape routes. The room was massive enough to house a few hundred people without feeling crowded. There was still space to walk around, and even a dance floor near the live band.
It was weird being here. The last time I’d been at this venue was for a performance for a wedding. Not much had changed and the setup was pretty similar. That helped keep me calm as I steered Bryan toward the tables lined up off to the side with different foods. There was even a wine bar. Servants weaved through the crowd in smooth, trained movements with trays of hors d’oeuvres for the minglers to enjoy.
“So, how do you want to do this?” I asked, eyeing everyone as I grabbed a small plate and put a couple pieces of something on it. There was cheese on top of it and you couldn’t go wrong with cheese, so I decided to try the mysterious little finger food.
“I have to make rounds, introduce myself to people, be polite,” Bryan said. I glanced over and wanted to laugh at his expression. He was barely containing his scowl.
“Come on then, honeybuns, time to introduce your date to everyone.”
“H-honeybuns?” he spluttered but the name did its job as his lips twitched with humor.
“Yes, now let’s go. I’d rather we got the upper hand by approaching them first. Give them the chance and they’ll just overwhelm you. Be aggressive.”
Bryan seemed to mull that over before giving me a tight smile. “Fine. I see someone who’s at least a decent human being.” He pulled me over to two middle-aged people talking with each other. I was sure the suits they wore cost more than my entire wardrobe. I had money, but not like that.