Free The Proud and the Prejudiced by Colette L. Saucier

Your grace, we have been expecting you.”
    He stepped close to me so our faces were only
inches apart and grasped my arm, firm but not harsh. “Dammit, don’t do that,”
he said in a low voice. “No matter what my title is, I am just an ordinary man
who desperately wants you.”
    I decided. I was thrilled.
    The next night had to be one of the most
wonderful in my life. He picked me up in his limousine, where we drank
champagne and I had my first taste of caviar. Then we went to dinner followed
by dancing. When I thought the night was coming to an end, he brought me to
Rockaway where we sat on the beach drinking champagne.
    He had quizzed me almost non-stop through the
evening, and I told him everything about losing my parents and moving to
Virginia. I told him about Molly being killed last year and Tad being found
right after. He went from being sympathetic to horrified as I related my tale.
    “When did you come to New York?”
    “About six months ago.”
    “Why did you decide to make the change?”
    What could I tell him? The truth would be too
painful to speak and too shocking to hear. “Please, I’m bored talking about
myself. Could we change the subject?”
    He stretched out beside me, reclining with his
head braced on his hand, and looked up at me. “You never once mentioned love.
Haven’t you ever fallen in love? Has there never been anyone special in your
life?”
    The pain bubbled up from deep inside me. “What
is it you want from me? Why are you always throwing love in my face?” I could
feel the cynicism flowing through my lips.
    “Ooh…you are quite young to be so bitter.” He
touched my hair gently. “You have answered my question. If this is not the
right time for me to become involved with you, just tell me.”
    I couldn’t stop the tear that slowly fell down
my cheek. “You understand. Don’t you?”
    “I understand more than you will ever know.”
    He moved his hand from my hair down to between
my shoulder blades and pushed me down into his embrace. He kissed me, gentle at
first but then deeply, and his lips were as sensuous as they had first
appeared. I had forgotten how wonderful it felt to be held this close, to feel
a man’s breath within me. As we lay there in the sand, his hand began to roam,
and I pulled away.
    “Is it the wrong time?”
    “No, actually, the timing is perfect. I’m just
not used to moving this quickly.”
    He rubbed his finger along my jaw. “Of course, my
sweet Virginia girl.”
     
    *****
     
    Alice walked down the hall aligned with doors
emblazoned with the names of the soap stars, headed to Eileen’s dressing room,
and had no intention of, yet couldn’t help overhearing Jack talk to Peter with
his door ajar.
    “So I heard a bunch of the cast is going to
eighties night at this club in West Hollywood. Are you going?”
    Alice came to a halt in the middle of the hall and
squeezed her eyes shut speaking softly to herself. “Oh, please say no. Oh,
please say no.”
    “Eighties night…in West Hollywood? You cannot be
serious,” Peter said, and Alice offered up a silent prayer of thanks. “I cannot
think of any more deplorable waste of an evening.”
    “Come on; it’ll be fun. There’ll be dancing, and
it would be good for you to get better acquainted with the other actors.”
    “If you are planning to go, then I am certain it
is because my new sister will be there.”
    “What? Oh, well, yeah. Sienna, I mean Giselle said
I should come. Don’t tell me you’re still pissed off about that.”
    Alice strained to hear, even squinting as though
that would help, but Peter didn’t respond to Jack’s last comment.
    “You know I hate to dance,” he said, “especially
to eighties music. That has to have been the worst decade in the history of
music. And why should I become acquainted with the other actors on this soap
opera ? I’m only here temporarily.”
    Alice jumped when Eileen burst out of her dressing
room and yelled her name. Shit. She hoped Peter