Grace pulled her battered leather jacket tight around her chest as she stepped carefully out of her Jeep at the Henderson Country Club. Only a few cars were parked in the large, blacktopped lot this early in the evening. Her family always arrived first. The valet staff wasn't even on duty yet. She should be able to get inside and have her jacket safely stowed away before she ran into anyone, and by anyone, she meant Annabelle. Her sister would not be pleased to see her carefully executed ensemble covered by worn leather.
Grace took a step, felt her ankle buckle, and immediately grabbed the roof of her Jeep. Ramos would laugh if he could see her now, the tough agent playing at being the belle of the ball. She pulled back her long, champagne-colored skirt and considered her shoes. She had no idea why women wore these kinds of things. What if she needed to chase down some criminal, or execute a defensive move?
Annabelle, fashion tyrant, hadn't bought that argument. She'd commandeered Grace's perfectly nice pair of flats and had hidden them in her magic closet. They were probably somewhere in Narnia by now.
The shoes she currently wore were deceptively pretty instruments of torture. Sparkly confetti in shades of pink, blue, gold and silver shimmered on the peep-toe sling-backs. Despite several laps around her room, she still wobbled when she walked.
She was about to take a few more practice steps when headlights appeared on the road leading to the clubhouse and a white Maserati roared into the lot. Her parents had arrived.
Her mother slid out of the passenger side and walked around the front of Grace's Jeep, moving quite easily in her heels. Maybe Tess was right all those years ago.
"Mom, am I adopted?" Grace asked the approaching woman.
Her mother raised one lightly penciled eyebrow. "Twelve hours of labor, ending in a C-section. You're all mine. I have the scar to prove it."
"I was there. I can confirm that." Harry Devine joined his wife. "Why? Are you thinking of disowning us and ditching the party? Tired of losing the bet?"
"You know about the bet?" No one but the three sisters was supposed to know. They'd sworn a secrecy oath, hadn't they? She frowned. Her memory was fuzzy on that part. She'd talked one of the young wait staff into a couple of glasses of real champagne that night instead of her usual sparkling white grape juice.
"Gracie-belle, most of Henderson knows about it. Your annual bet is one of the highlights of the Ball." Her dad patted her arm.
An acid burn started in her stomach. Losing to her sisters was one thing. Having the whole town watch her dates dump her every year brought her failure to a whole new level. Okay, that settled it. If for some reason Michael didn't come tonight, she would kiss Lewis and then she would drown herself in the nearest punch bowl. Ramos would attend the funeral and hear what an amazing young woman she'd been, loved by all, except on New Year's Eve.
She felt better for having a plan.
"Are you waiting for someone, sweetheart?" her mother asked, eyeing Grace's hand against the car. "Your date from Washington?"
"No, Michael won't get here for a couple of hours. He got held up in a late meeting." She cleared her throat. "I was just standing here admiring the...evening sky." Okay, that was weak. But she really didn't feel like adding shoe klutz to her title of dating loser. Tess had danced on several Broadway stages in heels and Annabelle...well, Annabelle probably slept and took showers in hers.
Grace had every intention of mastering these suckers, even if they maimed her. She just needed her parents to go inside so she could have a few moments in private to find her balance.
"The overcast, starless, moonless sky is very lovely." Her mother glanced up. "And the nip in the air is certainly refreshing. However, I think we should all go inside."
Since the temperature was close to freezing and the wind was painfully cold, not nippy, Grace unfortunately couldn't argue.
The parking lot was located to the left of the clubhouse, a gracious old Southern mansion only slightly faded in glory. Warm yellow light, glowing from every window, beckoned a welcome. The pavement that stretched between the parking lot and front doors did not. Grace squared her shoulders and slowly removed her right hand from the roof of her car. She could do this.
Her father stepped forward and with a courtly bow, offered her his arm. "May I?" he asked. Taking her left hand, he tucked her fingers in the crook of his arm. Her mother smiled and took his other arm.
"Two beautiful women. I'm a lucky man tonight." Harry pulled his arm tight against his ribs, allowing Grace to lean slightly against him as they began to walk.
Squeezing his arm, Grace kissed his cheek. "I'm the lucky one."
Her mom leaned over with a mischievous grin. "I bet that's exactly what Lewis will think when he sees you walk in tonight without a date."
Since Lewis hadn't arrived yet, one could only guess what his thoughts would have been on her dateless entrance. Grace released her father's arm once they had navigated the steps into the clubhouse and made her way over to the coat check on her own. She handed her jacket to one of the two teenage girls sitting behind the half door that led to the coatroom. Grace had a vague memory of babysitting for both of them in middle school. How had they grown up so fast? "Hi, Ann. Hi, Jen." Thank you, nametags.
"What an absolutely gorgeous dress, Grace," Ann breathed, eyes wide. "That's one of the newer Thela designs, isn't it?"
"Look closer, Ann." Jen squinted her eyes. "That's definitely Vera Wang. And those shoes!"
"Are those Kate Spade's Charm shoes?" Ann looked like she might faint.
Her shoes had a name?
"Ann, did Annabelle teach you nothing?" Jen threw her a disgusted look. "Those are Jimmy Choos. I've wanted a pair of those forever but my mom won't buy them for me. You are so lucky, Grace."
"I have a job," Grace said sternly. "Get good grades, work hard, earn money and you, too, can have Jimmy Chews." Or, screw that advice and borrow them from Belly.
The girls gave her an odd look but nodded. Her duty to the future generation done, Grace turned to walk across the lobby toward the long, wide hallway that led to the back of the building. On the left of the hallway was an open room dominated by a polished wooden bar. Hors d'oeuvres were set up on tables against the walls. On the right, a long row of doors led into the ballroom. Tonight they were wide open and Grace could see the twinkling lights of what looked like a blue and silver fairyland. She glanced down at her full skirts and suddenly felt like Cinderella at the ball.
Until midnight, she would dance, visit with old friends and forget Leo Ramos. At midnight, she would kiss Michael and break her New Year's Eve dating curse. This would be the perfect start to a fabulous new year. Really, it would. The fact that Leo was no doubt at some party not even thinking about her didn't matter a single bit.
She'd only made it three steps toward the ballroom when her dad called her over to a small group composed of her mom, dad, Belly and a man who must be Duncan James, Belly's date. As soon as she saw Annabelle eyeing her critically, Grace tugged at her bodice.
"My God, Grace. If you touch the bodice of that damn dress one more time I'm going to rip it off of you. I swear it!"
"You and what army?" Grace asked and then shrugged. "I thought the dress was falling off." She was not quite as blessed as her sister in the breast department.
Belly started spouting some idiotic nonsense about wearing a dress like a gun holster (as if she had any idea how to wear a gun holster) and her dad began introductions.
Grace ignored them both and gave Duncan her FBI stare, to which he responded with a barely concealed grin. He wore a tux like Annabelle wore a pair of heels--as if born to it. His brown eyes held a hint of devilry and more than a hint of intelligence. "You're the hero who gave my sister her first speeding ticket."
"I cannot tell a lie. I was the one who gave Annabelle the ticket."
"Good for you." Grace liked the look of him. He might be just the man to shake up her little sister's well-ordered life, but he should know that if he hurt her, he'd have Grace to deal with. She held his gaze until he gave her a slight nod.
Annabelle rolled her eyes, fully aware of the unspoken communication, and pulled Duncan off toward the bar. Grace shared a smile with her parents then turned to head to the ballroom.
Inexplicably, her heartbeat quickened. Anything could happen once she stepped into that magical blue and silver world. Her aching feet and the awkwardness of her strange clothes faded and she felt transformed from a plain and sturdy agent into a princess.
Anything could happen. She blinked. Including a hallucination of a dark, lean Prince Charming who looked remarkably like Ramos. She closed her eyes and opened them more slowly this time.
The hallucination didn't disappear. Leo stood with one shoulder propped against the wall, looking gut-wrenchingly handsome in a tux. Hands in his pant pockets, a half-smile on his face, he watched her approach with lazy intensity, his eyes never leaving her.