The Other Lady Vanishes (Burning Cove #2)(45)

“Sounds like a reasonable policy to me.” Jake raised his glass and touched it lightly against hers. “To na?veté and lessons learned the hard way.”

The orchestra launched into a slow, smooth dance number. Adelaide watched couples drift out onto the floor and into each other’s arms. There was a time when she had danced with Conrad Massey in the same romantic fashion. Na?veté didn’t begin to excuse the huge mistake she had made with Massey. She had been a fool.

The thought reminded her again of the man in the dark blue coat she had glimpsed in the shopping plaza that afternoon. She had been unable to get the memory out of her head. She tried to tell herself that she had imagined the similarity between Conrad Massey and the stranger on the street. Paranoia is a sign of mental instability. But she could not convince herself that she had not seen the bastard.

“Will you dance with me?” Jake asked quietly.

Jolted out of her grim thoughts, she turned away from the view of the dance floor and saw that Jake was watching her with a brooding intensity.

“What?” she said.

“I asked you to dance with me.”

“Why not?” She summoned up what she hoped would pass for a bright, vivacious smile. “The damage has already been done, hasn’t it?”

His ascetic face, illuminated in candlelight, became even more forbidding than usual.

“Damage?” he repeated in very neutral tones.

“I’m sure that by tomorrow morning what’s left of our cover story will be in tatters, anyway. It’s not exactly customary for boarders to go out to nightclubs with their landladies.”

“Right,” he said. “The damage has been done. Let’s dance.”

It sounded like an order, not a request.

She steeled herself. It wasn’t as if he were asking her to marry him, she thought. He was simply suggesting that they dance together. Nevertheless, for some inexplicable reason, it felt as if accepting the offer was a risky venture.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I would be delighted to dance with you.”

She slipped out of the booth before she could change her mind.

Jake got to his feet, offered her his arm, and led her down the aisle to the dance floor.

Together they moved into the shower of sparkling lights cast by the mirrored ball. She caught her breath when she felt Jake’s strong, warm hand on the bare skin of her lower back.

“Nice dress,” he said. “What there is of it.”

She nearly choked on a burst of nervous laughter. “Thank you.”

Somehow it was easier to relax after that. She discovered she liked dancing with Jake. She liked it a lot. For a few minutes she was almost able to forget about the man in the straw hat and the blue linen coat. Almost.

A ripple of awareness washed across the room, dampening conversation and causing heads to turn.

“Vera Westlake has arrived,” Jake said. “I told you we wouldn’t be able to miss her entrance.”

Adelaide turned her head and saw the ma?tre d’ escorting Vera down the aisle to the one booth at the edge of the dance floor that was still empty. The most beautiful woman in Hollywood was spectacularly elegant in a sultry gold gown covered in crystals that caught the light with every step. Her hair was rolled and pinned up in an elegant cluster of curls. The style emphasized her dramatic cheekbones and heavily made-up eyes. She was alone.

The hovering ma?tre d’ seated the star and summoned a waiter, who hurried forward to take Westlake’s order. When the waiter scurried off again, Vera took out a gleaming cigarette case. The ma?tre d’ rushed forward to ignite the star’s smoke and then discreetly withdrew.

“There goes a real movie star,” Adelaide whispered.

Jake did not appear to be starstruck. “Here comes Dr. Calvin Paxton, right on schedule.”

Adelaide peered around his shoulder and watched the ma?tre d’ seat Paxton at Vera’s table.

“I can’t understand why a famous movie star would hang out with a doctor who pushes a fake diet tonic.”

“And here I thought we had just decided that you’re the na?ve one on this date.” Jake sounded amused.

“I bought a bottle of Paxton’s so-called diet tonic and tried it. It’s nothing but sugar water and, I suspect, some caffeine.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Jake said. “Maybe Westlake is attracted to Paxton because, even though he moves in the same world, he’s not in the same line of work. They aren’t competitors.”

“True, but if you ask me, Miss Westlake could do a lot better than Paxton. He’s just using her to sell his phony diet drink.”

“She doesn’t seem to mind. Maybe she really believes that it works.”

Adelaide watched as Paxton ordered a cocktail and lit a cigarette. He and Vera Westlake sat back in the booth and looked as if they were about to expire from ennui. They were not alone for long. A procession of people found reasons to pass by the booth and pay homage to the star. Vera was always gracious. Paxton leaned in a little closer to her, as if trying to steal some of the invisible glow of fame that enveloped his companion.

Jake swung Adelaide into another slow turn around the dance floor. When the music stopped, they were on the opposite side of the room.

“Let’s go outside and get some fresh air,” he said.