by Jade Astor
“Ready to hit the buffet, Argo?” he asked, prompting Argo to jump up in obvious gratitude. “Do you want us to get you anything, Mom?”
“I’m fine for now,” Ange said. “Though I’ll take another candy cane drink anytime.”
“I’ll be happy to get it for you,” Bodie offered, standing. “I was just going up myself.”
“Come on,” Darian whispered, taking Argo’s hand. As they made their escape, Maurice turned to Bodie and chuckled.
“She’s a feisty one, that Angela Winter,” he announced fondly. “Destined for big things on campus. Only hope she finds herself a nice young man. Strong women like her sometimes have difficulty with that.”
“Don’t worry about Mom,” Darian said when Argo winced on her behalf. “She’ll have more fun with her colleagues than she will with us. This way she has Iris to confide in. Besides, you still have an entrance to make, don’t forget.”
“Ah, yes, the Kyle factor. “ Argo scanned the crowd as they took plates and joined the growing line for food. “Where is he tonight? Surely not in the kitchen cutting up celery sticks or washing dishes.”
“Bound to be lurking nearby, as always. I’m sure we’ll run into him soon. Don’t worry about him, though. We have all night to make him jealous.” From the corner of his eye, Darian noticed Bodie moving from his table toward the bar. “You know, Maurice might be right about one thing. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for my mom to enjoy too many of those peppermint martinis. They’re stronger than I expected.”
“Try not to stress out about it. She’s a little on edge, and understandably so. A drink or two might be the thing to take things down a notch…assuming Gabrielle keeps herself busy with her other guests.”
Thankfully, their hostess was still fully absorbed in whatever she was saying to Zara and the gray-haired man in the expensive suit. Taunting Ange seemed to have dropped off her agenda for the moment. And Rikki was still nowhere to be seen. “Maybe you’re right. Let’s just hope it doesn’t go much beyond one or two.”
“If it does, you and I are here to drive her home. I didn’t finish mine, and I’m already done for the night. The candy cane hit the spot, though, I must admit.”
Darian nodded, knowing it was silly to worry. Argo never drank to excess, especially at a public function. Though he was far from his own jurisdiction, in some ways the man was always on duty. His snapping to attention during Carl’s ruckus was a perfect example. He only hoped Carl had cleared out of the hotel once and for all so the party could continue in peace.
“I have an idea,” Argo said after they’d heaped their plates with a little of everything from the buffet and the carving station. Since his hands were full, he tilted his chin to indicate a line of people carrying their food toward the lobby. “Why don’t we check out the band while we eat? That way you won’t be tempted to keep watch over your moms and Gabrielle all evening.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
They followed the migrating diners back the way they had come and found that the crowd by the Christmas tree had doubled, as had the number of people taking advantage of the dance floor. Pub tables had been set up around the perimeter of the lobby so guests could eat and drink while various couples waltzed, twirled each other, and even stole kisses around them. Darian watched with a mixture of optimism and melancholy.
“I’m sorry about how things have turned out on this trip, Argo. It was supposed to be a chance for us to get away from all that snow and stress and spend some quality time together. Instead, I’ve spent the last three days wigging out over my moms’ relationship problems. I know I need to get a grip. I’m acting like I’m ten years old and worried about which parent will win primary custody of me. You’ve probably already vowed never to go on vacation with me again.”
“Not exactly. Okay, true, things haven’t been quite as laid-back around here as I’d hoped. But you don’t have to tell me that circumstances can change fast, and life can whack you with some fastballs you never saw coming. What’s going on with your moms was a shock. It would take anyone some time to adjust.”
To his horror, Darian found himself blinking back tears. He pushed his plate away, no longer enjoying the rich holiday food. “I really thought they loved each other for all time,” he blurted, his throat tight with emotion. “That they were perfect for each other. Now I’m left wondering if that was all an illusion they created just to keep me happy.”
“Either way, it’s nothing you can control. If they’re meant to be together, it’ll all work out.”
“You think so?”
“Sure. Look at Maddy and Warren. In a way, it’s the opposite situation. They stay married, even though they’ve had plenty of problems and don’t seem well suited at all. There’s something between them I sure can’t see. But the two of them see it, and feel it, and that’s all that matters.”
Privately, Darian railed at the unfairness of it all. His moms had stood up to society in ways Argo’s sister and brother-in-law never needed to imagine. Why couldn’t his parents be the ones who made it through?
Still, he hated to disappoint Argo or say anything he might interpret as a criticism of his sister. He appreciated the attempt to make him feel better.
“Anyway, your moms are two functioning, educated adults who have been handling their own problems for a long time. It’s really not your game to referee. Would you like it if, say, my niece showed up and started interfering in our relationship issues?”
Darian’s stomach clenched with worry. “Do we have any?”
“I’m speaking hypothetically.”
“Glad to hear that.” Darian forced a smile. “Okay. Message received. As of now, I’m officially absolving you of the need to cheer me up. Like I said before, I’m an adult. I can handle this. I just wonder what Gabrielle is thinking, trying to break up their marriage. With her money and power, she could have anyone she wanted. Why did she have to zero in on Rikki?”
“Ha! Because that’s the way she always does things,” a gravelly voice answered, startling both of them. Darian turned, almost dropping his plate, and saw Carl smirking up at him. He seemed to appear out of nowhere. “Ask me how I know.”
Right behind Carl came Kyle, his face uncharacteristically grim. “Carl! You’re not supposed to be here,” he said as he reached for Carl’s shoulder. Carl swerved out of the way.
“You’re going to put me out, are you?”
“If I need to,” Kyle blustered.
“If he isn’t, I am.” Without missing a beat, Argo stepped away from his now-empty plate and moved to stand between him and Carl. “Much as I don’t want my new suit wrinkled, if you two start trouble I’ll end it.”
“You need to go,” Kyle urged, though Darian noted that he seemed to be pleading with Carl rather than ordering him out. Of course, Kyle had never been much of a tough guy. “Gabi says she wants you out for good this time.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Argo said, puffing out his chest. His new suit fit him well, Darian thought, hugging those broad shoulders and tapering down to that trim, muscle-wrapped waist. He would have a seriously hard time forgiving Carl and Kyle if they did end up tearing or staining it. “The exit’s that way, if I’m not mistaken.” He pointed.
“Sure, if that’s the way you want it.” Carl barked out a bitter laugh. “Go ahead and keep thinking she’ll ever cut you a fair deal, Kyle. You’ll be lucky not to end up floating in the ocean with the fishies nibbling at your face. But why should I bother warning you? I’ll take care of things in my own way. I told Gabrielle and I’m telling you, too—I know enough to make things difficult for this hotel and her. Looks like you’ve chosen which side you intend to be on.”
Spinning around, Carl fought his way through the mass of partygoers and vanished through the lobby doors. Kyle watched him go, open-mouthed, and slowly brought both hands to his cheeks.
“Did he just threaten to let fish eat my face? Why would anyone say that?”
“He seems to enjo
y menacing people,” Argo said. “What’s his deal, anyway? Why’s he feuding with Gabrielle and Rikki?”
Kyle patted his lips, chin, and forehead to make sure everything was still intact. “I don’t know all the details, but he’s definitely a bad seed. Rumor has it Rikki caught him with his hand in the till—figuratively speaking, of course. In a business this size, most transactions are strictly electronic. Very little cash on the premises. Anyway, Carl insisted he had nothing to do with it, but Gabi docked his pay for the missing funds. He hasn’t shut up about it since. I guess she finally had enough.”
“Do you believe him?” Argo asked.
“Me? Not a snowball’s chance in Miami. Carl’s a cute enough guy, but we all know how those hot ones are. They’d just as soon stab you in the back as rub sunscreen on it.” He paused and winked at Argo. “I hope for Darian’s sake you’re an exception.”
Argo grunted, unimpressed, but Kyle wasn’t in the least discouraged.
“Oh, good choice. When in doubt, always go for the strong and silent approach. So now that we’re free of Human Resources Nightmare Number One, please enjoy the rest of the party. I need to go and find the photographer I hired to take pictures for the web site. Need to make sure he isn’t spending more time hitting on Zara than he is documenting the festivities. Though it seems Mr. Lampson might have something to say about that.”
“Lampson? The guy she was with in the restaurant?” Darian asked.
“Oh, yes.” Kyle lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Checked in this evening. He’s one of Gabi’s dearest friends. Apparently he introduced her to her dear late husband. I guess she wanted to return the favor by having Zara show him around the hotel.”
Just then the band launched into a new song, a cheerful holiday number celebrating love and family in every size, shape, and gender combination. Darian heard something in the lyrics about gingerbread houses, too. Whoever wrote the song had covered all the bases.
“Inclusive holiday music, huh?” Argo tilted his head to listen for a moment. “That’s different. I like it.”
“Rikki insisted,” Kyle informed Darian with pride. “She says all the media focus on traditional families can be a little off-putting this time of year, so she made a point of acknowledging other kinds of households, like yours.”
“Great idea.” Smiling, Argo put out his hand. “Come on, Darian. Let’s dance.”
Darian almost tripped over his jaw, which hit the floor as Argo led him away.
“I thought you didn’t dance,” he said. “What brought this on?”
Argo laughed. “I got tired of listening to Kyle’s voice.”
“Ah. I’m with you there. I was getting a little tired of it myself.”
“Hopefully, this counts as my entrance. Is he watching us?”
“I have no doubt at all that he is.”
The next song wasn’t an especially slow one, but nonetheless Argo slipped both arms around Darian and pulled him close. They swayed together, bathed in warm, colorful light from the nearby Christmas tree. Darian enjoyed the way the blue, red, and green flashes glinted off Argo’s hair, as though he’d experimented with the crazy dyes his students used.
He also noticed more than one other guy on the dance floor glance at them with not just admiration, but envy. Not for the first time, he reflected how lucky he was to have Argo.
Would their relationship turn into something permanent? The prospect had crossed his mind more than once. Was there really such a thing as an unbreakable love?
Darian sincerely hoped so. But since he saw no way to resolve that question during the party, he allowed himself to loosen up, mellow out, and just be a guy on a date.
Chapter 6
Darian and Argo danced, rested, and danced again until the band completed their set and canned holiday music replaced the live performance. Darian could see that Argo was as relieved as he was to put the drama of the last few days behind him, even temporarily.
“You’re not a bad dancer,” he said as they shared some egg nog at one of four corner refreshment stations. “You should get out on the floor more often.”
“Not a chance.” Argo grinned. “I have a certain image to maintain back home. Hard to make someone get down on the ground with their hands on their head when they’ve seen you doing the Electric Slide in public.”
“Never know. I thought you were a proponent of community policing. Busting people for bad dance moves could open up a whole new area of law enforcement.”
Gradually, the crowd milling around them began to thin out and drift away. Darian was surprised to see the party winding down until he realized several hours had passed. It really had been a while since he’d enjoyed himself enough to lose track of time.
Then, as if on cue, Rikki entered the lobby and scanned the crowd with a worried expression. Something told him the carefree part of their evening was over.
When she spotted Darian and Argo, she made a beeline for them. “Have either of you seen Ange?”
“Isn’t she with Bodie and Iris in the restaurant?”
“She was.” Rikki bit her lower lip. “I saw her standing at the bar and went up to talk to her. We had…an awkward moment. Then she left. I buzzed her phone, but she didn’t pick up.”
“She locked her phone up in the car. You know how she hates it when people stare at screens instead of talking to each other. What do you mean an awkward moment?” Darian asked with growing dread. “What does that mean?”
“You probably noticed that she got a little too fond of those peppermint martinis. I wasn’t trying to criticize, but I…ah…might have said something she took the wrong way. She took her drink and stormed off. I intended to follow her and apologize, but just then the carving station ran out of food and I had to redirect traffic. By the time I’d dealt with that, I couldn’t find her anywhere. I was hoping she’d wandered in here to listen to the band.”
“If she did, we didn’t see her,” Argo said. “Don’t worry, though. We’ll help you search.”
“No, no, don’t worry about it. No need for you two to interrupt your evening. If you do run into her, though, can you ask her to come and find me in the kitchen? She and I need to talk.”
“I can’t disagree with you there.” A hint of exasperation crept into Darian’s voice.
“Darian,” Argo warned.
Rikki held up both hands. “No, it’s all right. I owe everyone an explanation. I should have addressed this before now, but the truth is that I never expected things to go this far. I’m sorry, Darian. I’ll tell you and Argo everything, and I know you’ll understand. But I need to tell Ange first.”
“Good idea,” Darian struggled to contain his rising anger. “It’s way past time we got some stuff out in the open.”
“You’re right. This has gone on long enough. All I can tell you for now is that it’ll be better after tonight. You trust me, don’t you?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Darian asked through clenched teeth.
Rikki stopped as though realizing she’d said too much. “Anyway, the party’s almost over and I need to get back to the restaurant to supervise the clean-up. Turns out Gabrielle’s gone missing, too.”
Turning, she hurried away.
“Okay, that was mysterious,” Argo said.
“Was it? I can predict the content of this big family meeting. I’ve been on the receiving end of talks like that myself. It’s not fun.” Darian’s scowl turned into a blush when he realized how he must sound to Argo. After all, Argo had been the one to break things off between them, even if it was only temporary. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Argo took out his phone and tried Ange’s number. Darian heard the muffled sound of the prompt to leave a voice mail. “Try it on yours,” Argo suggested. Darian did and got the same results.
The muscles in Argo’s face tensed with concern. Darian recognized that look. It meant Argo was worried, and that worried him in turn. “Come on. Let’s find your m
om.”
“We should start where we last saw her and work our way forward.”
“Agreed. Back to the restaurant, then.” Argo gestured in the direction Rikki had taken. “After you.”
Sure enough, the restaurant was emptying out almost as rapidly as the dance floor. The buffet lay decimated, the steam tables disassembled and the dessert spread reduced to a pile of sweet-smelling crumbs. Harried staff members swarmed the room, clearing away empty platters and bussing orphaned cups and dishes.
Only Bodie, Theresa, and Maurice remained at the table Darian and Argo had shared with them earlier. All three of them were on their feet, and Maurice appeared to be arguing with the others.
“You shouldn’t have wandered away again, Daddy,” Theresa was saying. “We talked about this just the other day. We’re lucky Bodie was here. Otherwise, who knows how long it might have taken me to find you?”
“No harm done,” Bodie said jovially. “He hadn’t gone far.”
“Not this time, maybe. That doesn’t make what you did okay, Daddy.”
“Stop fussing over me!” Maurice snapped. “I have every right to go where I want. This is a Christmas party, not a prison exercise yard!”
“I didn’t want you out in the dark, Daddy. There’s a path that leads down to the water, and…” Pausing, Theresa turned pale. “I was worried you’d get lost out there.”
“Well, the point is that he didn’t leave the patio.” Bodie gave Theresa a comforting pat on the arm. “Nothing to worry about. He came right back inside without any trouble.”
“I’ve asked you to stop discussing me as though I were hard of hearing! I most emphatically am not! In any case, I had no intention of casting myself into the sea as you seem to believe. I simply wanted to ask Angela Winter to dance. Poor gal looked as though she could use some cheering up.”
At the mention of Ange, Darian and Argo exchanged a glance.