Bedding the Wrong Brother(66)

“Why—”

But Max walked off, and Rhys stepped closer to Melina. She looked at him, her mouth trembling. Then she lifted her chin and smiled, a sweet, brave smile. He reached out and squeezed her hand. She squeezed back. “Do it,” she whispered.

Snapping out of his daze, Rhys pulled out his scarves. They weren't the same ones they'd used in Lake Shasta—he'd retired those to his dresser drawer. He showed the audience two white scarves, then knotted them together. Then he turned to Melina. “Ma'am, can you tuck these under the edge of your skirt, please?”

Melina took the scarves with one hand, keeping a death grip on her coat with the other, and awkwardly tucked them under the bottom of her coat. Stooped over, she looked up at him questioningly. Rhys cleared his throat. “Good. Now, can you tell me what color underwear you're wearing?”

Melina's eyes got even wider. “W-why?” she stuttered.

Rhys smiled and turned to the audience. “Smart woman. Always ask questions before you tell a strange man anything about your panties.”

The audience laughed, and Melina just stared at him, frozen and silent. They'd never rehearsed this particular trick in front of her, so he told her so she wouldn't be nervous.

“If you tell me what color your underwear is, I'm going to make a scarf of that exact same color magically appear, tied between the two scarves you've got under your skirt.”

She smiled. “Really? You can do that? That's amazing.”

“I can do a lot of things with my hands that would amaze you.”

The audience laughed, but he barely heard them. He and Melina smiled at one another, and for the first time in days, the tension eased out of him.

Things were going to be okay.

Melina straightened, letting the tied scarves flutter to the floor. “Instead of telling you what color my underwear is, can I show you?”

Rhys's eyes rounded. He laughed nervously and jerked his head at the crowd that had suddenly gone quiet. “Honey, I know I tend to make a woman forget where she is, but we've still got an audience here.”

“I know,” she said. “But I'm making a point.” She grasped the edges of her coat.

Rhys reached out to stop her. “Melina, don't—”

She whipped her coat off and dropped it on the floor.

The audience went wild.

From downstage, Amanda and Tina whistled.

From stage right, Max whooped and pumped his fist.

Rhys just stared.

He knew that when he died, hopefully only after a long, full life with Melina, he'd picture her at this exact moment—scared out of her mind, but holding her own, her shoulders back, her chin up, and a challenge in her eyes daring him or anyone else to respond less than positively to her bikini-clad body.

Her smoking-hot, he-wished-they-were-alone-so-he-could-jump-her body.

Damn, he was good, he thought, noting that the black and red polka dot bikini hugged her curves in all the best places.

The audience quieted, and still Rhys didn't move or speak.

Melina narrowed her eyes and peered more closely at him. That's when he realized Melina wasn't wearing her glasses.

“Where are your glasses?”

She frowned. “In…in my coat.”

Rhys snatched up the coat and searched the pockets until he found her glasses. Carefully, he slipped them on her nose. She blinked at him. He grinned.

“When you want to make a point, you go all out, don't you?”

“Being in love with a professional magician isn't going to be easy. I have to upstage you every now and then.”

“So you're in love with me?”

Melina nodded. “For years.”

“Love, as in love, love?”

“Love, love,” she echoed.

He dipped his head and kissed her, a reverent meeting of lips that drew an “aww” from the audience. Throwing her arms around him, she buried her face in his chest. “Can we get off stage now?”

“You bet.” Rhys turned to Max. “Can you take over here?”


Max strode up to them, hugged them, then turned to the audience. “Talk about a tough act to follow. Now, ladies, who's wearing something that can compete with that bikini?”

The audience roared as Rhys helped her into her coat and off the stage. He ushered her into his dressing room before sweeping her off her feet and twirling her around. His hands immediately wandered inside her coat, and hers followed suit, tugging off his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt faster than he thought possible. She was working the fly of his pants when she suddenly stopped. “Wait. I forgot something.”