Pas de Deux

by M. J. Duncan

  Addison nodded, looking adorably resigned. “I know. I just…”

  “Believe me, I know,” Mallory assured her. She shook her head as she resisted the urge to lean in a steal one last kiss, knowing that it would make all of this even more difficult, and sighed as she forced herself to pull away. “Come on, darling,” she murmured, half-turning toward the mirror.

  Addison smiled as her eyes raked over Mallory’s body. “That really is a great dress.”

  The open adoration in Addison’s expression made Mallory’s stomach flip, and she swallowed back the lump in her throat as she replied softly, “As is yours.”

  They shared one last lingering look, and then sighed in tandem as they turned to check their appearances in the mirror. No matter how much they wished otherwise, the world wasn’t quite done with them for the day.

  “Shall I leave my things here?” Mallory asked as she smoothed a thumb over the edge of her mouth. Thankfully, their lipsticks were of complimentary shades that blended well together and didn’t need to be retouched.

  “Yeah. We’ll pop up and grab it all on our way out.” Addison blew out a loud breath and raked a hand through her hair. “You almost ready? I swear I can feel them gearing up to charge through the door…”

  Mallory nodded and offered Addison her hand. “Lead the way.”

  “I really wish we could just go home,” Addison muttered under her breath as she turned to the door.

  Mallory squeezed her hand in understanding. “Soon, darling.”

  Addison sighed and nodded. “Yeah.”

  “God, finally,” Matt declared in mock exasperation when they finally made their way to the lifts.

  “Wow, you two look incredible.” Gabs nodded as she gave them a thorough once-over, a slow, wholly mischievous smirk tugging at her lips. “I mean, this totally isn’t the best night to finally indulge your little dressing room fantasy, Addy, but I definitely understand why you’d be tempted because goddamn…”

  Mallory stared at the gleaming steel doors of the lift, knowing that any reaction on her part would only egg Gabs on, and filed the information away for a point in the future where she might be able to do something with it.

  Addison blushed and shook her head as she pressed her thumb to the lift’s call button. “We really need to find you two boyfriends.”

  Gabs laughed. “Like me getting any would stop me from teasing you.”

  “I hate you,” Addison muttered as she tucked herself into Mallory’s side.

  Mallory hid her smile by pressing a kiss to Addison’s forehead.

  “No, you don’t.” Matt stretched his arms over his head and smirked as they fell to his sides with a slap. “Because we’re going to keep you stocked with champagne while Nina drags you around to chat with reporters and donors and stuff, and when you’re done with that we’re going to run interference while you disappear out the back door.”

  “I thought this was a cast party?” Mallory asked as the doors began to slide open.

  “It is. Mostly.” Gabs shrugged as they filed into the car. “Honestly, I think there are only like five or six reporters down there—all old friends of Nina’s from when she was the star here—and maybe a few dozen of the company’s biggest donors.”

  “You know,” Matt chimed in with a knowing little nod, “to let them feel like they had a part in what happened tonight so they’ll keep writing the cheques.”

  “Isn’t the business side of all of this grand?” Mallory drawled.

  “Sure, we can go with that,” Matt muttered, winking at her as the lift glided to a stop and the doors opened.

  It only took a few minutes for them to make their way through the building and into Hamlyn Hall, the iconic steel and glass atrium adjacent to The Royal Opera House, and Matt and Gabs made vague noises that amounted to be back in a minute before they disappeared into the crowd.

  Mallory smiled as she and Addison hovered at the edge of the hall, taking a moment to absorb the sight that welcomed them. Gabs and Matt had made her think the whole thing would be pure drudgery, but there was upbeat instrumental music playing through the speakers throughout the hall, and the bar was bustling with beautiful people dressed to the nines. Waitstaff wove through the crowd with trays of champagne glasses and hors d’oeuvres, and though they would apparently be working for a bit, it was still very much a party ripe with the air of celebration.

  “Are you ready to go mingle?” Addison murmured in her ear, her tone apologetic as she pulled her hand away.

  Mallory missed the touch immediately, but she smiled as she nodded so that Addison would know she understood. “As I’ll ever be.”

  They hadn’t taken more than a handful of steps before Matt appeared in front of them with a tray full of champagne glasses, and he grinned at them as he broke into a graceful pirouette before dropping to one knee as he held up the tray in offering. “Champagne. As promised.”

  “Did you mug a poor waiter?” Addison took two glasses and handed one to Mallory.

  “Please. Gabs winked at her, and she handed it over. Probably would have given her more than that, too, if she’d asked,” he shared with a laugh as he got back to his feet.

  Addison shook her head as she scanned the crowd. “Where is she?”

  “Playing nice with Nina’s guests.” He downed a glass of champagne, set the empty on the tray, and picked up another. “So knock those back and grab a fresh one, ladies, because we’re up.”

  Mallory laughed, thinking that he was kidding, but when she saw Addison tilt her head back and empty her glass, she quickly followed suit before trading her empty glass for a fresh one.

  “Nicely done, you two.” Matt winked at them as he set the tray onto a nearby empty table. “Now, let’s go save poor Gabs. Leave no man behind, and all that—right?”

  “Exactly,” Addison agreed, and smiled when Mallory nodded.

  “Did you two invite anyone to this shindig?” Matt asked as they started toward the cluster of people hiding Nina and Gabs.

  Addison shook her head. “No point, really.” She bumped her shoulder against Mallory’s and smiled. “Everyone I want to celebrate with is already here.”

  “Yeah, yeah. You two are so cute it’s gross, really,” Matt teased, throwing a brotherly wink over his shoulder at them. “Mal? How about you? You had people at the show tonight, yeah?”

  Mallory nodded and looked around the room. “My parents and Will and Siobhan were at the show. Will and Siobhan said they might stop by, but I don’t see them, and my parents begged off. They’re getting older, and it’s just too late for them.” She shrugged. Honestly, it was easier this way. She knew they cared and were supportive, but whether it was because both her parents were particularly “British” or simply a result of her leaving home at nine to become a year-around boarder at the music academy, their relationship was closer to extended family than anything else. “My mother did text me after the show though. She said they both loved the performance and sent their congratulations.”

  “Of course they did,” Addison declared. “We kicked some serious ass out there tonight.”

  Matt rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever,” he grumbled as they stopped just outside the perimeter of people surrounding Nina. He cleared his throat to get the artistic director’s attention and tipped his head when she looked their way.

  “Ah, here they are,” Nina declared, her smile warm as the crowd parted to allow the three of them to join Nina and Gabs at the center of it. “You’ve all had the chance to meet Gabriella, but here are the rest of our stars from tonight. May I introduce Matt Magnusson, our wonderful male lead from the first act”—she motioned to Matt, who bent at the waist in a small bow, and then to Addison and Mallory—“and the two women who performed the, dare I say, most technical pas de deux to ever grace a ballet stage, Addison Leigh and Mallory Collingswood.”

  Mallory smiled politely as her eyes swept over the group that had turned to stare at them, and then froze when her gaze landed on the fam
iliar face to Nina’s right. She had known, of course, that Clara would be coming—they had discussed it earlier, after all—but seeing her standing beside Nina Devereaux, a glass of water in her right hand while her left rested lightly on the small of Nina’s back, looking far more comfortable and familiar than she had ever let on definitely threw Mallory for a loop. She covered it well, though, she thought, as she nodded to her conductor. “Hello, Clara.”

  Clara winced a little as she offered her a playful grin and lifted her glass in a toast. “Mallory.”

  “Clara is the conductor at the London Symphony Orchestra,” Nina explained to the group, “and she graciously allowed me to solicit Ms. Collingswood’s participation in Evolution.” She smiled at Clara. “It’s turned out to be quite the collaboration, I’d say.”

  “Okay…are they, like, a thing?” Addison whispered in her ear as Clara smiled warmly at Nina and expressed her agreement with the statement.

  Mallory shrugged. They certainly looked like they could be, and there was no denying that they cut quite the pair with Nina in her elegant black gown and Clara in a waistcoat and tails. The extent of Clara’s injury was masked by artfully applied makeup that covered the worst of the bruising on her face, and Mallory was willing to bet that the strikingly absent neck brace was against her doctor’s orders. Though, she couldn’t blame her for it. A neck brace was not the type of accessory one chose to wore to an event like this if they could avoid it.

  “No idea,” Mallory murmured out of the side of her mouth. But, before she could wonder too much about it, they were surrounded by smiling faces wishing to offer their congratulations.

  Word must have spread about their arrival, because soon everyone who wasn’t a member of the ballet company seemed to be jockeying for position to speak to them. The surge of well-wishers flowed around the four of them like they were boulders in a stream, surrounding and isolating them from each other in their haste to be seen.

  Mallory plastered on her most polite smile as she shook hands and allowed the people seeking her attention to guide their brief exchanges of conversation. It was easiest that way, because she forgot whatever it was they were talking about every time her eyes landed on Addison, who always seemed to be looking her way at that same moment with soft eyes and a wistful smile.

  It was torture to be so close, yet so far from the only person she wanted to be spending this evening with, and every lingering look, every small smile exchanged made her heart ache. And every time it happened she became more and more tempted to break off whatever conversation she wasn’t paying much attention to, push her way through the crowd separating them, and take Addison into her arms.

  “Ms. Collingswood,” a new voice spoke up, drawing Mallory’s attention from Addison.

  Mallory swallowed back a sigh and forced a smile as she turned to the woman. Her accent was distinctly American, she wore a designer gown, and her ears and neck were adorned with a collection of tasteful yet undoubtedly expensive diamond jewelry.

  “Elizabeth Sloan,” the woman introduced herself, extending her hand. “You were wonderful out there tonight.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.” Mallory dipped her head in a small bow, unable to keep her gaze from drifting to Addison who was, of course, looking right at her. Her stomach fluttered and dipped at the open longing in Addison’s expression, and she cleared her throat as she forced herself to look away. “I’m glad you enjoyed the performance.”

  “I’m a big Halonen fan. I knew the moment my office got the announcement about this special performance that I had to get tickets,” Sloan explained.

  “So you work here in London, then?” Mallory asked politely as she had to will herself to not look at the warm brown eyes she could feel watching her.

  Sloan puffed up a little as she nodded. “I’m the American Ambassador to Britain.”

  It was clear that Ambassador Sloan was expecting some kind of reaction at the title, but Mallory could only manage an arched brow as she murmured, “Well, I’m glad you were able to take time out of your schedule to come see our show, then.”

  “Ambassador Sloan!” a booming voice called out cheerfully from the left, and Mallory almost sighed with relief when the woman’s attention shifted to see who was calling her.

  “Eldon!” Sloan beamed at him. “I’m sorry,” she apologized as she turned back to Mallory. “But I need to speak with Lord Batham about something. Again, thank you so much for such a wonderful performance this evening.”

  “Of course, ma’am,” Mallory murmured, shaking the Ambassador’s hand one last time.

  With the Ambassador gone and no new well-wishers waiting for her attention, Mallory let that sigh of relief she had been holding back slip free as she looked for Addison. It didn’t take long for her to spot her not far from where she’d seen her last—lips quirked in a small smile around the rim of a champagne flute and dark eyes smoldering with desire—and she sucked in a sharp breath as that one look sent a delicious shiver down her spine. Her feet began carrying her toward Addison without any conscious effort on her part, and it took every ounce of self-control she possessed to not lean in and capture her lips in a searing kiss when she finally reached her side.

  “Champagne?” Matt offered.

  Mallory shook her head as she stepped that little bit closer to Addison. It would have served as a decent enough distraction for her hands and mouth, something to occupy both until they were alone, but she knew that the alcohol would make it that much harder for her to not surrender to the ardor coiling low in her belly that she was already barely resisting. Her pulse stumbled over itself at the sound of Addison’s breath catching as she ran a finger along the back of her hand, and she swallowed thickly when Addison’s hand slipped into her own. She couldn’t look away as Addison angled toward her, moving close enough that their linked hands were hidden between them, and the air that was already thick with longing became even more difficult to breathe.

  “Jesus Christ, you two. Get a room already,” Gabs teased as she appeared at Matt’s side with a flute of champagne and a plate of canapés balanced in her right hand.

  Mallory’s heart skipped a beat when Addison turned into her, flipping Gabs off with the hand that held the nearly-empty flute of champagne, and held her breath as a light, barely-there kiss that left her skin tingling was dragged from the corner of her mouth to her ear. She grabbed for Addison’s hip with her free hand as a ragged breath cascaded over her ear, and her eyes fluttered shut as Addison’s husked, “Take me home, Mal,” short-circuited her brain.

  Mallory nodded as she blinked her eyes open, and then it sounded like someone else was asking with her voice, “Are we done here?”

  “You’re so done,” Matt chuckled. “Get out of here.”

  Mallory squeezed Addison’s hand and ducked her head to whisper against her ear, “Lead the way, darling.”

  “Finally,” Addison breathed when the car stopped in front of Mallory’s building.

  Mallory nodded. The short, thirteen-minute ride from the theatre had been pure agony, the air between them so charged with anticipation that they hadn’t dared to even look at each other, knowing that it would only take one look to shatter the tenuous hold they had on their self-control, and it was all she could do to not vault from the car now that it had stopped. “Exactly,” she agreed as she reached for her door, not willing to waste any more time by entertaining Noah’s gallantry.

  Noah shot her a playful glare over the roof of the car as he opened the rear driver’s side door and offered Addison his hand to help her out, and then hustled to the boot to help them retrieve their things. He handed Addison one of the bouquets and asked in a concerned, fatherly tone, “Everything okay?” as he held out the shoulder strap of her bag for her to slip her arm through it.

  Mallory wasn’t surprised that he picked up on the tension that simmered between them—considering they were usually touching in some way, even if it was just holding hands, the distance they had kept from each other had be
en impossible to miss—but she was glad, at least, that he didn’t seem to understand it.

  Addison huffed a quiet laugh and shook her head. “Everything’s perfect,” she assured him as she moved out of the way so Mallory could collect her things.

  “Just tired,” Mallory lied as she slipped the strap of her kit bag over her shoulder. Her violin had ridden in the back with them, as she would never dream of transporting it in a crumple-zone. She motioned toward the bouquet Noah was reaching for, and added, “Take that one home with you. Surprise your wife with them when she returns from her trip.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t—”

  “You absolutely can,” Mallory interrupted as Addison’s hand slid down her forearm to tangle their fingers together. Her heart leapt at the way Addison tugged her away from the car, and she shook her head to ward off his next protest as she allowed herself to be pulled toward the door to the building. “I insist.”

  Noah looked between them—Addison none-too-subtly dragging Mallory toward the front door with Mallory following willingly even as she tried to not bring an abrupt end to their conversation—and a slow smile of understanding lit his face as he nodded. “Right. Cheers, Miss.”

  “Ta, Noah,” Mallory replied with a grin as she heard Addison enter the code for the main door. “I’ll ask for you next time I hire the service?”

  “I look forward to it, Miss,” he assured her with a chivalrous tip of his hat as he slammed the lid to the boot shut.

  Mallory barely avoided tripping over the threshold as Addison tugged her inside, and she laughed softly as she pulled her close to claim her lips in a slow, deep kiss that left them both flushed and breathless by the time they eventually broke apart. “It was all I could do to not kiss you like that in the car.”

  “God, I know,” Addison murmured, pressing as close as the massive bouquet in her arms allowed as she kissed Mallory again.

  Mallory sighed into the kiss and cupped Addison’s jaw in her free hand to keep it from becoming too much. After a night of starts and stops, intrusions and obligations, she wanted more, and the promise of complete, uninterrupted privacy waited for them at the top of the stairs. “Come on, darling,” she whispered against Addison’s lips as she began slowly backing toward the stairs. She smiled at the way Addison huffed in protest even as she followed, and squeezed her hand. “I know.”