The Total Package

by Stephanie Evanovich

  “I’m okay for right now,” Holly began to stop him from pouring.

  “That’s okay,” Dani interjected after downing hers and pointing to Holly’s glass. It tasted like a syrupy Red Hots candy. Good choice. “I’ll do them both. I’m not a lush or anything. My feet are just killing me.”

  “I get it.” Holly laughed. “Now I’m not quite so jealous. I can’t even count all the bones I would break in shoes like that. I tried a pair of high heels once and face-­planted right in the shoe department at Macy’s.”

  “I also wanted to get them out of the way before Tyson got back,” Dani said after the second shot of cinnamon burned its way down. “I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable.”

  Holly gave Dani a genuine smile. “I get that too. I’m so glad you take his lifestyle into consideration. But with shoes like that, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. You look gorgeous, let’s keep it going.”

  Amanda floated up behind them. She took a quick look around to make sure that Logan and Chase were still on the opposite side of the room. “Holly, I need you to do me a huge favor tonight.”

  “Amanda, this is Dani Carr. She’s here with Tyson.” Holly bobbed her head in Dani’s direction and cleared her throat, to remind her that they weren’t alone.

  “Hi again, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I don’t have much time,” Amanda said in a rush while picking up Dani’s empty glass and calling out to the bartender. “Give me three shots of whatever was in this glass.”

  The bartender quickly lined up three more glasses and poured more Fireball.

  “What in heaven’s name is wrong?” Holly asked.

  “I need you to drink yours. And then mine,” Amanda insisted while smiling brightly and holding her shot up in a salute, checking to make sure Chase was watching. She blew him a little kiss and pretended to put the glass to her lips.

  “Slow down,” Holly said. “What are you up to?”

  Amanda turned her back on her husband and put her still full glass back on the bar. Holly and Dani followed suit.

  “As soon as he finds out I’m not drinking anything, the whole night will be ruined!” Amanda said in desperation.

  “What are you talking about?” Holly said with a slight shake of her head.

  “I’m pregnant,” Amanda whispered. As soon as Holly’s face registered joy at the news, Amanda quickly grabbed hold of Holly’s hand to keep her from saying anything or moving away from the bar where now two shots remained untouched. Dani had tipped hers right after the fake toast. The pain in her foot had been reduced considerably. She felt warm and wonderful. She had just found out the juiciest bit of gossip, not that she was going to do anything about it. Fireball must really be what the cool kids were drinking, because she was feeling pretty cool.

  “Amanda, that’s wonderful! Congratulations!” Holly said, then her brow furrowed. “You shouldn’t be drinking.”

  “I know that.” Amanda gave an exasperated sigh, pointing at the drinks. “That’s why I need you to drink this. Chase doesn’t know yet.”

  “What?” Holly admonished her. “Why not?”

  Amanda’s forehead began to wrinkle with the face she made. “I’m going to tell him tomorrow. I have a wonderful New Year’s surprise all lined up for him. Do I really need to remind you about the false alarm last year? He practically followed me around with a pillow and built a shrine.”

  “Yeah,” Holly acquiesced. “He did go a little overboard with that.”

  “I didn’t want to ruin your wedding with his foolishness. And I really wanted one more night to get some action. Damn him, every time he puts on a tux, my libido soars off the scale. Once he finds out about this baby, he’ll be treating me like one of those Fabergé eggs! If he thinks I’ve been doing a few shots with you, he won’t keep asking me to do any with him.”

  Holly worried her lower lip. “What is going to happen when he thinks you’ve been doing shots while pregnant?”

  Amanda gave her a mischievous grin and placed her lips near Holly’s ear. “If I’m lucky, I’ll get one more trip over his knee before the drought.” Then Amanda stood back up and resumed her normal voice. “I’m going to come clean. Eventually. Now drink up.”

  “Amanda, you know what a lightweight I am. I hadn’t planned on spending my wedding night passed out,” Holly said slowly, wanting to help her friend but aware of the repercussions in doing so.

  As Holly and Amanda deliberated, Dani reached over and quickly did both the remaining shots. If her presence was going to force Amanda Walker to make her privy to a very private conversation, she might as well make herself useful.

  “There you go,” Dani said cheerfully. “Problem solved.”

  Both Holly and Amanda looked at Dani with wide eyes.

  “You’re my hero,” Amanda said, unaware of Dani’s previous consumption. “Bless you.”

  “Dani, are you going to be all right?” Holly asked with a touch of alarm. “You just pounded enough Fireball to take down a frat boy.”

  “Of course,” Dani reassured them as her heart suddenly began to swell with all the love she had for just about everyone in the world. “I feel fine. I’m Italian. I’ve been sipping wine since I was five.”

  “I really owe you one,” Amanda said and added, “can you keep this to yourself until tomorrow? Please? He’d be devastated to think he was the last to know.”

  If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s keeping baby secrets, Dani thought before nodding her head half a dozen times. “You can count on me.”

  Then she saw Tyson step back into the room, and all she could think of was the crisp white tailored shirt clinging to broad shoulders and bulging biceps. If he turned around and walked backward toward her, she was sure she would faint.

  Tyson could tell from one overanimated wave across the room upon his return that she was tipsy, if not on the fast track to inebriation. Keeping one eye on her, he met up with Logan and Chase on the dance floor.

  “Congrats again, my friend.” Tyson shook Logan’s hand a second time and they pulled each other close for a quick chest-­bumping bro hug. “You looked a little shaky there for a minute. Good job.”

  “I spent the night memorizing my vows.” Logan shook his head and tsked. “I think she made hers up on the spot. She really knows how to gut punch a guy.”

  The trio made their way over to their ladies at the bar.

  “Can you imagine what a wreck he’d have been if they had taken the time to really think about this thing?” Chase commented as he reached his wife and kissed her before wrapping a protective arm around her. “Hi, ladies.”

  “I’d been asking Holly once a month for the last three years. When she actually said yes, I knew I had to act quickly. I didn’t want to run the risk of her changing her mind, right, Mrs. Montgomery?” Logan smiled at Holly.

  “Worried I might turn fickle on you?” Holly remarked, slipping her hand into Logan’s.

  “Not anymore,” Logan stated proudly. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we have guests to mingle with before the DJ makes us do all the corny stuff and my mother cries all over your dress. It’s bad enough she thinks we’ve ruined it for her by not taking five thousand pictures and doing a receiving line.”

  Holly took one more apprehensive look at Dani and let her new husband lead her away. “Make sure you eat.”

  Chase took Amanda’s hand to lead her to the dance floor as soon as the music started playing. Amanda turned her head and mouthed “Thank you” to Dani over her shoulder.

  “Want to tell me what that was all about?” Tyson asked, then ordered a club soda, taking note of all the empty shot glasses as the bartender removed them from the bar.

  “I was telling them how beautiful they looked and what a wonderful wedding it was. We just did a shot in celebration,” Dani told him.

  “Dani, you don’t have to hide it fro
m me. In case you didn’t know, I’m the perfect designated driver.” Tyson stopped the server who was carrying trays of tiny quiches and took a plate, then loaded it up. He held one out to her and when she opened her mouth, he popped it in.

  “We’re staying here,” Dani said after taking a swig of his club soda to wash down the mouthful of delicious flaky crust filled with egg, cheese, and broccoli. The more delicate, not to mention sexy, move would’ve been to bite the quiche in half, but to hell with that, she was starving.

  “That lobby gets pretty congested,” he commented while ordering himself another club soda and one for her as well.

  The Montgomery wedding turned out to be both classy and casual. There were no place cards or a sit-­down dinner, just enough appetizer stations and tray-­carrying servers to end the hunger problem in the third world. All the tables had been elegantly set for whoever chose to sit at one, complete with glasses of expensive champagne. There were about fifty guests in attendance, due to the short notice and the holiday, most of whom were Logan’s family. Dani found it curious that nobody was there representing Holly’s side. She had already started to become bolder and pointedly asked.

  “She’s estranged from her family,” Tyson explained tersely. “And most of her friends live across the country or in Canada.”

  I guess when you get a Logan, you pretty much have all you need, Dani thought. She was starting to feel the effects of the shots. Before she could delve deeper into what was an interesting topic, the DJ announced the bride and groom’s official first dance. Logan led Holly to the dance floor and took her into his arms.

  When “All I Ask of You” from The Phantom of the Opera started to play, Dani began to choke up. Every emotion she had was intensified courtesy of her new still unacknowledged buzz. They had chosen the very song that Dani had used in every imaginary wedding she envisioned, the groom in her dreams always remaining the same. With that first arching crescendo about sharing one love and one lifetime, she began double fisting the quiches off Tyson’s plate to keep from bawling. She was starting to feel dizzy and was sure it had nothing to do with alcohol. She stopped another server, this time with mini salmon cakes and devoured six of them while they watched the happy ­couple sway and spin. Her feet had gone numb.

  It was so depressing. Tyson was attentive and charming, always considerate of just how deep her feelings for him had run at one time. How deep they still were. And they were here, together. To start their New Year off with his friends who welcomed her right into their lives, taking her into their confidences as if she were already one of them.

  By the time the song ended, Dani had made a decision. She was going to tell him. She was going to tell him tonight. He deserved to start his New Year off as happy as his friends. She would drive him right back to Philly, introduce him to Brendon, and they could live happily ever after.

  They sat down at a nearby table and Tyson left to get them more food. He came back with a vast array of choices, and they shared off the same plate. It was so romantic. Dani took a minute to get caught up and fully enjoy it, secure in the knowledge that it was only going to get better. At one point, she leaned over to give Tyson a kiss on his cheek. He didn’t protest, but it put him on alert that she was starting to act a little out of character.

  Chase made the toast, and during it, Tyson lifted his champagne flute, but when it came time to drink, he switched it out for his club soda. Dani caught Amanda putting hers to her lips but was sure Amanda didn’t swallow any of it. And that was a lead she should’ve followed. But instead, Dani drank hers in one gulp.

  And if she really knew anything about drinking, she would’ve known that once she added the champagne to the mix, things were going to go rapidly downhill.

  The music started up again and Tyson rose, holding out a hand to her. “Dani, would you like to dance?”

  She didn’t care if her feet were nothing more than bloody stumps when it was over, this was one dance she had no intention of missing. She placed her hand in his.

  Once she was on her feet, he moved his hand to the small of her back to guide her past other ­couples to an open spot on the dance floor. Fingertips that lightly aligned with her vertebrae sent jolt after electrifying jolt up her spine. He could’ve easily led her off a cliff. He really did have magic hands. And all she could think about was them roaming all over her.

  They got to the dance floor, and with the magic hand still on her back she turned to face him and placed her hand into his free one. The fingertips gently guided her closer to him and then they tightened ever so slightly as they began to dance, slowly.

  “Are you having a nice time?” Tyson asked, looking down at her.

  “A wonderful time.” She sighed giddily, and he pulled her even closer, his pinky a respectable inch away from what would be considered her backside.

  “Good. I’m glad. I think both Holly and Amanda have taken a real shine to you.”

  “I had no idea you were such good friends with Chase Walker,” Dani commented, her words starting to sound much more spirited. And why wouldn’t they? She was secure in the arms of the only man she would ever love and he was gushing all over her. She felt free and ecstatic.

  “We have a lot in common,” Tyson said.

  “You do?” Dani couldn’t hold back the laughter.

  Tyson caught on a few moments later and gave her a smile before clarifying. “We both rose above scandals that tested us.”

  Dani kept laughing, glancing over at the Walkers, who were also still on the dance floor. “That’s very interesting.”

  “Dani Carr, just how much have you been drinking?”

  “Just a bit,” she replied, leaning into him. “Why do you ask?”

  “Because you’re getting very cheeky,” he whispered into her ear.

  “Cheeky.” This time her laugh had a snort-­like quality to it. “That’s so appropriate, considering what Chase is known for.”

  Tyson rolled his eyes but his grin got wider. She never ceased to amaze him. “I had no idea you were so fascinated by Chase Walker’s extracurricular activities.”

  “And what if I was?”

  “Then I would know you were drunk,” Tyson replied with his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.

  “Maybe I am. And I think such a serious infraction deserves a good spanking,” she retorted, and his hand on her back went lower to rest perfectly on the center of her bottom. Not so respectable anymore, but all the more electrifying.

  “I sometimes hit ­people for a living, darlin’,” he drawled. His lips brushed against her temple and his hand steadied her when he felt her knees wobble. “I’m not into doing it for pleasure. You’d pretty much have to throw yourself over my lap and demand it.”

  Dani took her hand out of his and wrapped both her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers. She kissed him right in the middle of the dance floor. Her lips were soft and sweet, just as he knew they would be. His arms crept around her waist, and he lifted her to her tiptoes. He opened his mouth to steal the air right out of her lungs. But he could taste it. The alcohol was heavy on her breath. Whatever was happening between them was going to have to be put on hold. He pulled away and set her back on her feet, looking at her with a mixture of disappointment and longing.

  “Let’s get out of here. I have something very important to tell you,” she proclaimed a little too loudly. And her words were beginning to run together, another sure sign that her sobriety clock was now ticking.

  “More important than your sudden spanking fetish?” he teased while taking her hand to help her off the dance floor.

  “Much.” She nodded at him, already forgetting what they were talking about as she watched his face come in and out of focus.

  With his hand securely at her elbow to steady her, he made their good-­byes to the wedding party, taking special interest in the way Holly was studying Dani. The look
on her face was clearly one of concern as Dani gave everyone a firm handshake followed by an overly affectionate hug. She thanked each one of them for inviting her.

  “No matter how it looks right now, I think she’s a keeper,” Holly told him as she hugged Tyson good night. She averted her eyes after being met with Tyson’s narrow-­eyed stare. Amanda didn’t seem too shocked by Dani’s behavior either. That gave him a small sense of relief. Whatever his date was up to, the girls appeared to have been in it together, although he never would’ve pegged Dani Carr as someone who succumbed to peer pressure. Chase merely smiled and shook his head.

  “Why don’t you come back down, after you put her to bed,” Logan said knowingly.

  Tyson walked Dani slowly to the elevator, with her snickering quietly at every stumble she took. Not only did he not want to let her go, he knew if he did, there was a good chance she might fall flat on her face. She hadn’t actually made a scene, but he wondered if that was only the luck of the draw. He watched her in the elevator as she held on to the rail for dear life once it started ascending.

  Even drunk she was enchanting. They got off on their floor and started down the long hall.

  After wobbling on her stilettos and nearly falling for the second time, Tyson forced her to give up on the walking. He crouched down, wrapping his arm around her thighs, just above her hemline. He lifted, than tossed her over his shoulder.

  Dani didn’t protest, giggling instead at the view presented to her. Her gaze drifted down to settle on his tight round buttocks that flexed as he strode with her down the hall.

  “Lower me farther down your back. I want to bite your butt,” she gurgled, then giggled again. Her arms flailed trying to grab it.

  Little did she know, he was appreciating a similar view. Only his was much better, eye level to be exact. But he was sober and too much of a gentleman to take advantage of her suggestion, at least in public.

  But oh, how tempted he was.

  Tyson set her down in front of her door and waited patiently while she continued to twitter and fumble in her tiny handbag for her room key. After a failed attempt on her part to get the key to swipe in the lock, he took it from her and opened the door. She stepped in and kicked off her shoes. One flew through the air, knocking over the desk lamp on the other side of the room. Dani went over and painstakingly stood the lamp back up before retrieving the shoe from the desk where it had landed and reprimanded it.