Chapter Thirty-Eight

She stood quietly by his side, as she had for the last hour, a smile pasted on her face.  He had introduced her to John Shanks, Rich Supa, Don Was and a myriad of others whom she would probably never remember.

Richie and Jon were talking to yet another record company so and so.  The conversation had long since lost her interest.  She understood a little, demos, new albums, drop dates, tours, but the more technical bits were beyond her.  She felt her eyes start to glaze and she would have totally zoned out if not for the continual flutter of Richie’s fingers along her spine.  He hadn’t stopped touching her since they walked in the room.  She needed some air.  His fingers slid lower on her back.

Now.

Sparing a glance across the room, she spied the doors to the garden just the other side of the bar.  Turning her head she quietly whispered “excuse me” in Richie’s ear and made her escape.

Stepping through the doors the evening air was blessedly cool on her heated skin, banking the arousal Richie’s constant touch had sparked.  Setting her purse on a small table she turned and leaned on the rail, gazing out over the now-dormant winter gardens.  It would be beautiful in full bloom, but in the middle of January, everything lay in wait for the warmer days that were to come.

Her gaze shifted to the sky.  There were no stars, too much light from the big city to be able to see any sparkle in the sky tonight.  She sighed and a thought of Mark popped into her head.  He would have given his right arm to be inside at that party right now.  He had played drums since he was old enough to hold the sticks.  Their basement had been turned into a studio of sorts and a couple times a week his brothers came over for jam sessions.  They made it out of the basement and into a few local clubs, but this, she looked over her shoulder and through the glass doors, this had been a secret dream of his.  He had always wanted to play in front of a stadium full of people.

“You would love this” Stephanie whispered into the night.  “But me?  I feel totally out of place in there.”  She stared out into the inky night for a moment longer.  Sighing, she straightened and rubbed her hands lightly up and down her arms.  She should go back, Richie was probably wondering where she had run off to.

Richie watched her from the doorway.  He couldn’t blame her for wanting to duck out of there.  He’d like nothing better himself, but his job dictated that he stay and make the required rounds before disappearing.

He once again traced the line of her dress with his eyes.  It had been a long time since a woman had rendered him breathless.  But she had done it in spades tonight with a simple cocktail dress and a smile. She was a glimmer of color, a bit of sparkle in an otherwise boring sea of black in the other room.  In his opinion, she put every other woman in that room to shame tonight.

His eyes were drawn to the long line of her back.  The lightly tanned skin was smooth and unblemished.  His fingers flexed with the need to touch her.  He moved quietly, setting down the glass of wine he had brought her and sliding in behind her.  He pressed his lips to the curve of her shoulder.

“Cold, sweetheart?”

Turning her head she gave him a shy smile.  “Not anymore.”  Somehow she had known he was there.  She hadn’t heard him come up behind her, but she had known it was him just the same.  

His fingers slid up and down her spine.  “Are you okay?”

She closed her eyes and nodded.  “I just needed some air.”

“You sure that’s all?”  He was sure there was something else going on with her.  He just wanted her to be honest with him.

She opened her eyes to look at him.  “Honestly, I was starting to feel a little like ‘one of these things is not like the other’ in there.”  She stepped away from him and his way too talented fingers.  She couldn’t think straight when he touched her like that.  Spying the wine glass on the table she picked up the glass.  “Did you bring this for me?”

He nodded.  “Yeah.”

She sipped the full-bodied red wine.  The flavors of plum and blackberry with a slightly earthy undertone blossomed on her tongue.  “Mmmm.  A very nice Malbec, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”  He really wanted to drag her off to a shadowy corner and find out exactly what she wasn’t wearing under that dress.  “Can you handle about another hour?  Jon made dinner reservations after we’re done here.”

She sipped and nodded.  She could do this--would do this, for him.  “However long you need.  I’m fine.”

He picked up her purse and took her hand.  “Come on, let’s get this over with.  The faster I can get Jon to talk, the faster we can get the hell out of here.”

True to his word, an hour later they were slipping back into the limousine.  This time, Stephanie was sitting across from Dorothea, and Jon and Richie were still talking about the resumption of the tour.

“So” Dorothea started, “what did you think?  You seemed to handle yourself just fine in there tonight.”

Stephanie nearly snorted, feeling infinitely more comfortable with the couple on the opposite seat. “I handled myself, right.  Richie had to practically drag me out of the car and then I pulled a disappearing act about an hour ago.”  She smiled when she felt Richie’s fingers tighten around hers.  “I guess it wasn’t so bad, though.”

Dorothea smiled.  “Now you can understand why I go to as few of these as possible.  They are boring to the nth degree and the paprats are incorrigible.”

Stephanie nodded her head in agreement.  “It was kind of fun to get dressed up though.  I don’t get to do that very often.”

Dorothea agreed.  “Since I’m in jeans ninety-nine percent of the time it is nice to put on girl clothes once in a while.  And I love your dress by the way.”

Stephanie adjusted the hem where it rested on her thigh.  “Thanks.  I must have looked in a dozen stores before finding it in the last one.  Always in the last place you look, you know?”

“Just remember the name of the store.  You may end up going back there again and again.  The better the rapport you have with the owner, the more likely you are to keep finding little gems like that dress.”

The car slowed to a stop in front of the hotel.  “Thanks for the advice.  I’ll keep that in mind.”

They filed out of the car, and Stephanie took the offered helping hand as she stepped out. Suddenly she was nearly nose-to-nose with Jon.  Her mind went blank for a split second as he sized her up once again.  “What?”  This was really starting to bother her.

He looked over to Richie and Dorothea who had started for the door.  “I watched you tonight. You’re good for him.”

He turned from and started for the door.  That was the first, and most likely only, compliment she'd get from him.  She pulled her phone from her purse.  The girls were going to have a field day when she told them about this.