"And I'll bet you've got just the word for it."
"Yes. Judgmental." More curls fell and she lifted both hands to fix them.
With an indulgent smile, Dan gently, but firmly, pulled her arms down. With deft movements of his fingers, he pulled out pins, wound up curls, and set them back in place.
Taken aback, Silvey could only stare for a few seconds before she recovered enough to slap his hands away. "Stop that! I can take care of my own hair, thank you very much."
In an expansive gesture, he spread his arms wide and said, "Whatever you say, Miss Canton."
Silvey frowned. How could she argue with someone who was so outwardly agreeable? She was trying to get back to the point she was making when Lawrence alighted from the car, smoothed his mussed hair, straightened his bow-tie, which had somehow become skewed beneath his right ear, and walked around to help Leila out.
The older couple drifted up the walk and Silvey had to file away the pungent remarks she had for Dan. He gave her a knowing grin as he told her goodnight, gave Leila a courtly salute and accompanied his father back to the car.
Once they were inside, Leila commented dreamily on how well the evening had gone and floated away to her room.
Fuming, Silvey paced the floor until she thought Dan had sufficient time to reach home-she'd memorized the address, too-then she pounced on the phone, rapidly punching out his number.
When Dan answered, she blurted, "You were grilling her."
Dan was silent when he recognized her voice but when he spoke, she was sure he was grinning.
"Good evening to you, too, Silvey. Didn't we just say goodbye?"
"Don't try to change the subject."
"And what was the subject?"
"Your questions tonight."
"And what was wrong with them?" he asked reasonably.
"You ... you were only trying to find out the negative things about her. You didn't focus on the positive at all." Silvey prowled restlessly around the room, her satin dress keeping up a whispered accompaniment as she moved, carrying the phone with her.
"Then tell me the positive." His voice, coming over the wire, was low and seductive. Unexpectedly, goose bumps rose on Silvey's arms.
Refusing to believe it was caused by anything except the air-conditioning, she dragged the phone with her as she adjusted the thermostat upward.
"She's loving and generous," Silvey said, frowning at the temperature control. "She's genuinely concerned about other people and she likes doing things to help them."
"I see."
"You do?" she asked suspiciously. Some of the stiffness began easing from her shoulders. She seated herself on the arm of the sofa.
"Yes, but you need to explain more."
Warily, Silvey said, "Leila says it's the duty of every able-bodied person to help those less fortunate."
"Hmm, that sounds reasonable."
"Do you think so?" Silvey slipped her high heels off and wiggled her toes.
"Absolutely. Tell me more."
Pleased and surprised by his receptiveness, Silvey slid off the sofa arm onto the seat. "That's why she started her group of activists-to help others." She placed her stockinged feet on the coffee table and leaned back. "Since the activists-they call themselves Leila's Warriors-are all retired, they've got time to pursue important social reforms."
"Like better health care for the elderly?"
Silvey leaned against the arm of the sofa and propped her elbow on a cushion. Sliding onto her spine, she was almost prone. "That and better conditions in nursing homes. Why, you'd be shocked at how poorly some of them are operated."
"I'm sure I would," Dan said.
Mollified by his agreeability, Silvey let her head fall back and her eyes drift shut as she concentrated on his voice. Strange how she'd felt tense all day, either when with him, thinking about him, or anticipating their double date. Now, on the phone with him, she was able to relax for the first time since waking up that morning.
"What about you, Silvey?" Dan went on.
"What about me?"
"Are you interested in all those causes that your grandmother is involved in?"
"Well, yes. Yes, I am. Some of them, at least." "I thought so, especially the Branaman Mountain excavation."
"Of course. It involves my ancestors. My family."
"And you're very loyal to them."
"Certainly," she said, trying to sound as loyal as a troop of army veterans.
"Mmm," he murmured in a tone that shimmied delight from vertebra to vertebra, hopscotching all the way up her backbone. She closed her eyes to shut out distractions and better concentrate on the strangely pleasant sensations his voice was evoking.
"What you're saying is that your grandmother is open with her time, and generous with her love and concern for others?"
"Exactly."
"Well, I have just one thing to say to that, Silvey."
"What's that?"
"She sounds exactly like you."
Silvey's eyes sprang open and she sat up. "A compliment?"
"Sounded suspiciously like one, didn't it?"
"Yes."
"I'll have to be careful."
"You'd better. That kind of thing can go to a girl's head."
He chuckled. "In that case, I'd better concentrate on your feet."
"I beg your pardon?" She frowned at the un-romantic comment, then wondered why she was thinking in terms of romance when it was crystal clear that was something neither of them wanted.
"I told you to wear your dancing shoes tonight, but I didn't take you dancing."
Silvey smiled and found herself caressing the receiver. "And you're a man of your word."
"So I've been told," he said modestly.
Silvey couldn't suppress a giggle. "I can't let you break your word."
"No, you can't. We'll go dancing tomorrow night. You can sing Leila's praises to me some more."
"I'll do that."
"I'll see you tomorrow night at eight, then."
"All right, Dan." Silvey told him goodnight, placed the receiver on its hook, then sat staring into space trying to pinpoint the exact moment when her irritation with him had turned into eager anticipation to see him again.
Thoughtfully, Silvey rubbed her chin.
How had that happened, anyway? She distinctly remembered being thoroughly irritated with him at the beginning of the conversation, but he had turned the tables on her so that she had been all but purring by the time she had hung up the phone. She'd even accepted a date with him, this time without her grandmother's presence.
Silvey frowned. This might not be such a good idea, after all. It was one thing to have Leila and Lawrence along, and for the older couple to be the focus between her and Dan. But tomorrow night, even if she did, indeed, sing Leila's praises to him, she would be alone with him while doing it.
Silvey wondered why he was taking her out again. Surely not to discuss the loan he was giving her-though that might come up during the evening.
Silvey sighed. She'd been suckered, blind-sided, thrown for a loop.
Dan had told her exactly what he really wanted-to hear more about Leila, but he was still suspicious of both Silvey and Leila. He couldn't believe Leila was as unselfish as she seemed.
Jumping to her feet, Silvey stalked around the room. He couldn't get Leila alone to examine her motives. Lawrence wouldn't .stand for it.
But he could get Silvey alone. With a grimace, Silvey admitted that it didn't help that she was so enthralled with him-and that it showed.
If she was going to protect Leila's interests, and her own, Silvey knew she was going to have to be as wily as Dan. Oh, yes, she would go out with him again, but she'd be careful about what she said and about how she reacted to what Dan said.
The next night found them once again in the Rolls, heading off into the night. This time, Dan was driving. Lawrence had insisted that they take the car. He had dropped by to spend the evening with Leila, bringing with him a few videos of his f
avorite movies. Silvey had been amused to note that he was the star in all of them. She and Dan had left the older couple popping popcorn-in the microwave and flipping the tops open on cans of soda.
As Silvey and Dan pulled away from the curb in the magnificent automobile, she nervously smoothed the skirt of her yellow silk sheath. She knew she looked good. The dress had matching heels that added three inches to her height and, once again, she'd wound her hair into a sleek French roll, but tonight, she'd used more hairpins. She could only hope that her appearance hid the fact that her nerves were sizzling with anticipation.
Dan said, "Dad tells me the El Monte Hotel ballroom has an honest-to-goodness dance band that plays tunes from the forties and fifties."
Surprised, she turned to him. "You'd rather go there than to a club?"
"If you don't mind. Clubs are too noisy."
Silvey rested her forearm across her waist and her chin on her fingertips. "And you want to be able to talk, to ask me about Leila?"
Dan slid her a sideways glance. "That's right. Besides, I'm better at the old-fashioned two-step and the foxtrot than I am at modern dances."
"Why's that?"
"My dad was a party animal during my formative years. I could cha-cha and samba long before I could disco. Dad had a cast party for every movie he made. In fact, he had a party for any excuse he could think of."
"Didn't you ever want to hide or be alone during these parties?"
"Sure." Dan shrugged. "I had the normal teenage aversion to contact with anyone over thirty, but it didn't do any good to hide.
They'd come find me and insist that I join in."
Silvey smiled, but she couldn't help being disturbed by the mental image of Dan, a solitary boy, trying to grow up in the middle of endless rounds of parties and excitement. She wondered if that kind of upbringing had contributed to his present choice of careers. In academic pursuits and in writing fiction, he probably needed long periods of deep concentration and quiet-something his growing up years had lacked.
And where had his mother been during all of this? she wondered, incensed. Dan talked as though he'd lived alone with his father and string of stepmothers, never mentioning his own mother.
Silvey shivered as she wondered what kind of relationship Dan had maintained with his mother, and what kind of attitude toward women he'd developed from seeing Lawrence's example. She could guess, though, having been faced with Dan's suspicions about her and Leila's motives.
When they reached the El Monte, they found a table at the edge of the dance floor. Before they were even seated, Dan tilted his head toward the crowd of dancers. Most of them were older, but Silvey was surprised to see that there were many young couples, too.
"Care to join them?" he said.
Silvey's eyes lit like summer lightening. She loved dancing. Her feet were fairly itching to get out there. "I'd love to. After all, that's why we came-that, and to make sure you remain a man of your word."
"Ah, yes, and you were going to tell me more about your grandmother's sterling qualities."
"That's right."
She gave him an insincere smile. "Mustn't forget why we're here.
Although, in my opinion, we could have had this talk while sitting on my front porch."
"Maybe we should have," he said, taking her hand. "That way I could have kept an eye on Dad and Leila."
Silvey rolled her eyes. "They don't need you watching over them."
"I don't know about that." After a moment, he added reflectively, "Dad's in an odd mood tonight."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because he insisted we take the Rolls. He doesn't usually do that because he's very protective of it."
"Maybe he's just happy to be with Grandma," she suggested brightly. "Without you breathing down his neck."
"Maybe ..,"
"You're a hard man to convince," Silvey said in a long-suffering tone.
Dan took her into his arms and moved her onto the polished wooden floor.
The band was playing an old Glenn Miller tune, "String of Pearls." A huge, reflective ball suspended from the middle of the ceiling rotated slowly. Lights shone on it, scattering pinpricks of brightness around the darkened room. The mood was romantic, yet mysterious.
Against her will, Silvey found herself getting caught up in that mood.
Even though there were dozens of other couples in the room, Silvey felt as if she and Dan were alone. Moving with the flow of the music and the fluid grace of Dan's motions, she reminded herself not to relax too much. She had to stay mentally alert if she was going to deal with Dan.
"Now's your chance," he commanded. "Tell me more about your grandmother. And while you're at it, throw in a few incidentals about yourself."
"Gee," she murmured, glancing at him from beneath her lashes, "I don't know when I've been more flattered."
He gave her a pointed look to urge her along and she launched into a narrative about the years she and Leila had spent as circus acrobats. She described how her grandfather, who had been ringmaster and part owner of a circus, had wooed her grandmother and how they had stuck together through all the upheavals of their nomadic life. Her own father, Richard, hadn't liked the life, so when he'd married, he and Silvey's mother had lived in Tucson for Silvey's growing-up years. They'd taken jobs with an oil company when she had left to join her grandparents.
"Why didn't you stay with the circus?" Dan asked.
"I was more like my dad than I thought I was," she admitted ruefully.
"I loved performing, but the nomadic life wasn't for me. I like having a real home."
Dan met her eyes but his voice was strangely flat. "Yes, having a real home can sound very attractive."
Nonplussed, Silvey blinked at the odd comment and couldn't think of anything to say.
"But your grandmother loved the circus life?" Dan went on.
"I don't know that she really loved it, but she loved my grandfather.
They were married for forty-eight years. No one can say she gives up when the going gets tough."
The music changed to "Can't Help Lovin' That Man of Mine." Dan said, "I think the same could be said for you."
"I hope so."
"Either you're persevering or just plain stubborn."
Silvey grinned and batted her eyelashes at him. "You're the learned professor and famous writer. You choose the word that fits best."
"Stubborn," he decided.
She wrinkled her nose at him, then tilted her head back to look into his face. "You know, Dan, this whole situation would be much easier if you were selfish and unconcerned about your father."
"It would?"
"Yes, because then I could honestly dislike you for your suspicions about Leila's motives."
Dan looked down at her with narrowed eyes. "Do you ever have a thought you don't feel compelled to express?"
Heat rushed to Silvey's cheeks. "Occasionally."
"Rarely," Dan corrected. He drew her closer, his hand tightening on the small of her back. "At least you realize I'm worried about Dad."
Silvey had a quick retort ready to fly, but she suddenly became aware of the way Dan was holding her. A new, more dangerous tension transferred itself from his hand to the back of her waist. It sizzled through her, reminding her of the reaction she had felt the night before when they'd been talking on the phone. The only difference was that he was much more potent in person.
Her eyes shot up to his and she saw that he was watching her with wary interest. He released her fingers and dropped his hands to join together at her waist, drawing her to him until their lower bodies touched.
Tingling joy rippled through her. She didn't know how she kept dancing with her legs melted off below the knees.
Excitement started as a slow heat deep inside her. It was unexpected but not unwelcome. She usually made buddies of the men she met, but she couldn't see that happening with Dan. He was too driven and intense, not to mention opinionated, to be turned into a pal. Not that he had given
much indication he saw her as anything but a minor character in this drama concerning his father.
A slow fire began to simmer in his eyes as he looked at her.
Speckles of light from the rotating, reflective ball dappled his face and flashed in his eyes. "You're a good dancer, Silvey."
"Comes from being an acrobat."
"Am I a better partner than that floor mop?"
Her gaze flew to his. He had been watching her silly dance. She sniffed and gave him a superior look. "At least your knees bend."
Dan laughed against her hair and Silvey smiled. Their feet went through the automatic steps but they were lost to the music and their surroundings.
Every one of her senses was open to the fullest. She was sure she would never forget the music being played, the feel of his arms around her, the rich fabric of his jacket, the texture of his hair, his body pressed against hers, the heady maleness of his scent, the soft murmur of his voice.
Dan's smile matched hers as his gaze touched her face, lingering on the awareness in her eyes. Heat whooshed down Silvey's body, flipped her stomach over a couple of times, and zipped back up like a jet-propelled elevator.
She stumbled just as the dance was ending. Dan caught her, gave her a knowing smile, and swept her into the next number. They danced several more dances, then sat at a table drinking coffee and talking.
Silvey was surprised and delighted to discover that they had a great deal in common besides their concern for Lawrence and Leila. Given the tone of their initial meetings, Silvey never would have guessed they could talk for two hours without arguing. She was pleased, but still uncertain. She didn't know if she had accomplished her stated goal of changing his mind about Leila. By going out with Dan for the evening, she had also given Leila and Lawrence some time alone.
When they left the El Monte and drove home, she had second thoughts as soon as Leila and Lawrence met them at the door with glowing faces.
Silvey could feel Dan tensing even before Lawrence said, "Come on in, kids, we've got something important to discuss with you."
"What is it, Dad?" Dan asked, his tone cutting through the festive mood he and Silvey had enjoyed all evening.
A Double Wedding Page 5