Recklessly Royal(19)

“Forgive me. David, this is Lady Meredith of Thysmer.” Seeing her curvaceous figure shift so that every angle was somehow highlighted made my stomach turn. She wasn’t doing anything wrong or outlandish, but damn if she wasn’t the type of woman that turned heads. I remembered hearing once that she was an actress, so it only made sense that she knew how to show off her good angles. “Meredith, this is David Rhodes, a close friend of Duche— I mean Princess Samantha.”

“Lovely to meet you.” Meredith held her hand out and David shook it gently.

“Nice to meet you.” He smiled, but let go of her hand quickly.

“I’m going to go in and make sure he’s actually doing what he’s supposed to. You two enjoy the night air.” With a grin, she whirled away and disappeared in the throngs of people.

“She’s a duchess?” David turned and looked at me.

“Her grandfather is a duke, but her official title is Lady Meredith.” I bit my bottom lip. “She must’ve been really young when she had Marty.”

“I didn’t see anyone with her. Is Marty’s father not in the picture?”

I frowned. Was he fishing for her relationship status? “No. I don’t think he has ever played a large role in their family. She has been single for as long as I’ve known her.”

“That’s rough.” He frowned. “So, the boy, will he inherit the title as well?”

“Yes. Since he is the firstborn and only grandchild.”

“Your family tree is pretty confusing.” One side of his mouth pulled up at the corner and I felt relieved. He seemed more interested in our family than in Meredith’s dating life.

“Oh, you have no idea. This is just the tip of the iceberg.” I took a step closer to him and hoped that he had already forgotten the chicken dance. “Meredith is part of the royal tree, but so far removed that she isn’t truly related any longer. Much like Sam.”

“I think I remember hearing the name Thysmer before.” David stuck his hands in his pockets. “It was in a lot of articles about Sam.”

“They were the other family that had their title reinstated.” I smiled. “We don’t see Meredith often. She attends university in England. In fact, this was the first time I’ve actually met her or her son.”

“He looked like a handful.” He laughed.

“I think you’re right,” I said.

“But he did get you dancing.” His eyes ran over my dress and then back to my face. “I would think you’d have an endless line of people wanting to dance with you.”

“Look at you. You’re getting better at the compliments.” My mouth twitched and I hoped I wasn’t grinning like an idiot.

“Well, then I saw you doing the funky chicken and it all made sense.” His lips quivered as he fought a laugh.

“Hey! I’ll have you know, I do a great funky chicken.” I poked him in the chest and his hand shot up to grasp mine. His thumb ran over the back of my hand and I took a deep breath.

“Why don’t you show me what other types of dances you know.”

Had he just hinted at more than dancing? Did I care? Hell no.

“Lead the way,” I said.

Wrapping my hand through his arm, he led me back into the ballroom and onto the dance floor. With one hand on my waist he guided me through the other dancers in a slow waltz.

As we glided around the floor I was shocked to see Max dancing with Meredith. His eyes were locked on her mouth and she was talking softly, her lips curved into a gentle smile. I had never seen Max pay so much attention to a woman. He’d had lovers in the past, but it had always been obvious that they were a momentary distraction. What really intrigued me was how different the two were. Meredith with her flair for acting and Max with his deep desire to stay as far out of the public eye as possible.

Shaking my head I looked back at David and smiled. “I wouldn’t have thought you would be a dancer.”

“Now, that’s not true.” His eyes twinkled. “I seem to remember you telling me to shake it the other night.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I knew I’d never live that down.”

“Are you kidding me? I should write home and tell my best friend.” He laughed but my back stiffened. “I’m joking, Cathy.”

I didn’t respond, trying to fight down the dread of what would happen if he really did write home about my drunken episode. His fingers tightened on my waist and he pulled me a little closer.

“Cathy, I’m serious. It was a joke.” He leaned down so his lips were close to my ear. “I know how hard it is to keep your life out of the news. I’ve seen how difficult it has been on Sam.”