She needed to talk to Storm, though. She had to tell him she would not be attending the party with him on Saturday night.
She was still staring at the phone, trying to work up the courage to make the call when it rang, making her jump. It was Storm. Ready or not, it was time to start talking.
She pressed the green button. Before he could even speak she blurted out, “Storm, I can’t go through with this. I can’t go to the party with you on Saturday night.”
The response she got was surprising. Complete and utter silence. “Storm, are you there?” she asked.
The voice that came back to her was not Storm’s at all. It was the high-pitched voice of a woman. A voice she knew. Lola’s.
“Oh, please. Why would Storm take you to the party when he’s got me?” She gave a mocking laugh. “In fact, we’re all tied up right now. Aren’t we, honey?” There was more laughter then the line went dead.
Dani took the phone from her ear and stared at it, not believing what had just happened. Storm had actually dialed her number and given his cell phone to Lola so the woman could insult her? How could he have sunk so low? With trembling fingers she laid the cell phone on the coffee table, her heart sinking to her toes. Storm must really hate her to do something like this. If only she’d never met him.
Dani’s eyes welled up with tears and as they spilled over onto her cheeks she dabbed at them with a tissue. It was so sad, oh so sad. Why did they even make movies like this?
And yet, Steel Magnolias was one of her favorite movies. Each time she’d watched it she’d felt sad but she’d never actually cried until now. What was wrong with her? It was as if now she could cry at the drop of a hat.
What a way to spend your Saturday - watching old movies and bawling. She was reaching for another tissue when she heard the buzzer. Now who could that be, buzzing her at seven o’clock on a Saturday night?
Then she froze. Surely it wasn't Storm Hunter? She prayed someone had simply pressed her buzzer by mistake. She got up and pressed the button on the intercom. “Hello.”
“Are you ready?” Storm’s voice boomed back at her.
Her heart fluttered in her chest. “Ready for what?”
“For the party. I’ll wait for you in the lobby.”
“But…I’m not going.”
That was greeted by silence. She’d thought he would shout, she’d thought he would rage. But when he spoke it was in a voice that was quiet, firm and ice-cold. “I’ll give you until seven-thirty. If you’re not down here by then you can go your own way and I'll go mine. But just remember, you’ll have to pay me back every cent I’ve given you under this contract.” He didn’t wait for a reply and Dani was left clutching the phone to her ear, her body frozen in shock. Then she sagged in defeat.
She’d wanted to defy Storm. She’d wanted to hurt him as badly as he’d hurt her. But it was no use. He was too strong. He knew she couldn’t pay him back and that was why he’d played that card.
She glanced at the clock. Two minutes after seven. No time to stand there pondering. She had exactly twenty-eight minutes.
Dani moved at the speed of light. She grabbed a dress of burnt gold from the closet, slipped on gold sandals then ran to the bathroom where she brushed the curls from her hair and fixed it into a sleek chignon. Then she applied make-up. Luckily she’d never been too heavy in this department so she was done in minutes. Then she dug in a box in her closet and pulled out her one elegant purse, a gift from an old family friend. Now she was ready and the clock read seven twenty-five. Just in time.
When Dani stepped out of the elevator she knew she looked composed and elegant. No one would have guessed she’d just been frantically dashing around the apartment. When Storm came forward to greet her she gave him a frosty look and a tight-lipped smile that would leave him in no doubt as to how she felt. She did not appreciate being bullied.
His greeting was just as cool. “Dani,” he said with a nod then gave her his arm.
“Storm,” she replied just as coolly, and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm.
They turned together and walked out of the lobby and toward Storm’s waiting limousine, saying not a word until they were seated in the luxurious car.
Dani had thought that things couldn’t have gotten any worse than that. But they did.
In the car there was no need for her to hide her true feelings. At the party, it was another matter. There, Dani was introduced to friend after friend of Storm’s and each time she’d had to smile brightly and act happy and in love.
When they saw his parents the experience was even more trying. Whereas the friends merely greeted her, Edgar and Janet questioned them at length, even on matters that should have been personal. When were they going to start a family? If there were issues would they consider fertility drugs? They weren’t married, hadn’t even made the engagement public, and already they were getting the third degree.
Dani could see that Storm was not comfortable with the line of questioning. She was not surprised when he took her hand and asked her to dance. She knew exactly how he was feeling. Like him, she just wanted to get away.
They excused themselves and walked out onto the dance floor. Unfortunately, right at that moment the DJ decided to switch from the party beat of Rihanna’s ‘Love In A Hopeless place’,” to the slow and sultry 'Crazy Love' by Brian McKnight. When Storm reached out to gather her in his arms she could hardly resist, not in front of all these people. As much as she wanted to stay far away from him she had to do her job and play the part of loving fiancée. He’d made it clear that shirking her duty was not an option and she planned on fulfilling her obligations to the letter.
Dani melted against Storm and gave him a look of love that she was sure could have won her an Academy Award. His look of surprise was enough to tell her the act was believable. And that was all it was - an act. Because from here on that was as far as she was going with Storm and not one step farther.
And so they danced in close embrace like any loving couple would, and no one could doubt their love.
The song had almost come to an end when they heard a clapping of hands and Dani, Storm and everyone else turned to see Edgar, looking grand in his beige suit with gold tie, calling for their attention. The DJ lowered the music and Edgar stepped forward, looking flushed and eager.
“Friends, I’d like to make an announcement.”
There was a hush over the crowd as they all paused to listen.