“No, I’m pretty sure he’s horrible to everybody,” Becca said with a grin.
“Be nice,” Eliana said, patting Daniel’s face again. She looked so happy to have him home. “Or Becca won’t come again.”
“Maybe that’s what he’s aiming for,” Becca said. She’d given up struggling, letting him take the weight of her leg in his palm. He rubbed the pad of his thumb on the sole of her foot. Her lips parted at the touch, and he remembered how they tasted.
“Not at all,” he said softly.
Eliana gave him a sideways glance, then smiled at Becca. “I’ll see you both later.”
“Yes, you will.” Daniel watched as she gracefully walked to the door, giving them both a warm smile before she left the room.
“One more hand?” he asked Becca, releasing her foot.
“Go for it. It’s your funeral.”
Yes it was. But what a good way to go.
Chapter Nineteen
Becca took a deep breath and stared at her reflection. She looked like a fairytale version of herself. Her hair fell in perfect waves past her shoulders, the tips barely touching the decolletage of the gown Mia had loaned her.
It was beautiful. The bodice was made of mesh, the transparent fabric covered with thousands of tiny pearls that caught the light as she moved around the room. It was tight on the chest, giving her the kind of cleavage she’d always dreamed of, then nipped in at the waist. The skirt was draped with layered champagne tulle, flowing to the ground in a cascade of fabric. And around her neck were her mother’s pearls. She touched them carefully, hoping they gave her strength.
A gentle knock at the door alerted her to Daniel’s presence. She walked across the carpeted floor in her bare feet – the shoes Mia had given her were perilously high. She’d only put them on when she had to.
Her heart did a flip as soon as she opened the door. She’d always found tuxedos a little comical before. Grown men wearing little bow ties that made them look like the mouse from Tom and Jerry, tied up and presented like a Christmas gift. But now she understood the hype. Because Daniel Carter was as far from a cartoon as it was possible to be.
He was breathtaking.
Becca reached out and touched his sleeve. The fabric was thickly expensive. “Tailor made?” she asked.
It took her a moment to realize he was silent. She looked up to see him staring at her, his neck undulating as he swallowed hard.
“You’re beautiful.”
Becca blinked, hoping her cheeks weren’t too red. “Thank you. I just need to put those on,” she said, pointing at the shoes. “Then I’ll be beautiful and dangerous, because I’ll probably be falling all over the place.”
“I’ll catch you.”
“Why are you being so sweet?” A little thrill rushed through her at his words.
“Because my mother brought me up to treat my dates well.” He bent down and picked up her shoes. “Not glass,” he murmured, before standing. “Did you want to bring a spare set? In case these ones really do kill you?” The ankle straps dangled from his fingers.
“It’s fine, I’ll get used to them. Plus, I have you as a human walking stick.” She looked at him through her mascaraed lashes. “I’ll have to ask your mother why she didn’t teach you to be sweet at work, too.”
“That’s all my father’s doing,” he said lightly. “The car’s waiting outside if you’re ready.”
“I’ll just grab my purse.” She picked up the matching champagne clutch, sliding her phone and a lipstick inside. Daniel held his arm out, and she curled her hand around his bicep, enjoying the steel-hard feel of him against her palm.
The Jackson-Carter house was on the outskirts of Charleston, the white stuccoed building towering high against the backdrop of the Allegheny Mountains, its expanse framed by verdant sycamore maples.
At the front was a huge portico, held up proudly by tall Grecian columns. They joined the row of cars lined along the drive, waiting for each to pull up to the sweeping stairs where their passengers would alight. Becca shifted in her seat and glanced at Daniel.
“Are you okay?” he asked. He was sitting completely upright.
She smiled softly at him. “I’m fine.”
When they reached the front of what felt like the world’s longest kiss-and-ride line, Daniel opened the door and climbed out, turning to offer Becca his hand. Behind him, she could see elegant couples lingering on the steps as they waited to walk inside. The sound of a band playing echoed in the air.