Drake nodded as he sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “I guess she gets lonely sometimes, not having a sibling to play with?”
“You’ve got that right,” Meg said emphatically. “She keeps pestering me for a little brother or sister. I don’t know why because she’s now old enough to know it takes a mommy and a daddy to make a baby…” Her voice trailed off and her heart did a skip as she stared at Drake. Now how had she ended up down that garden path? What had they been talking about again?
Meg breathed a sigh of relief when Drake rescued her from the foot she’d put in her mouth.
“Have you ever heard of the South African Dance Troupe, The Leaping Lions?”
She shook her head. “No, never.”
“I’ve seen them perform once. Excellent group. They’ll be in Wisconsin this Saturday, performing in Muskego, a small town just outside of Milwaukee. Would you like to go with me?”
“To Milwaukee? That’s two hours away.”
“So?” he said with a shrug. “It’s the weekend. We can take our time and cruise over to Wisconsin then cruise right back. It will be a nice drive.”
She thought about it a moment. Of course she would love to go. She hadn’t gone out in ages, and to see an international dance group? That had to be good. But the question was, what effect would it have on her? With each passing week it was as if she’d grown more and more emotionally attached to this man. But one day the memoir project would be over and then what? She knew she'd better be careful or else she’d be in for a bad fall. And going out on a second date with Drake might just be the thing to send her over that cliff.
“I don’t know…” she began but she stopped when he held up his hand.
“Give me one good reason why you can’t come,” he said, a look of challenge in his eyes. “You don’t have Jessie to worry about. You’re almost done with my project and you have the whole weekend ahead of you.”
Well, wasn’t he sure of himself? She cocked an eyebrow at him. “And what if I already have a date?”
That one knocked him off balance. He blinked then a slight frown creased his brow. “Oh, sorry. I hadn’t thought of that.”
He looked so worried that Meg had to put him out of his misery. “All right, I admit it. I don’t have a date. And I don’t have much of an excuse not to go.”
“So you’ll go with me?” He had an eager look that made him look a whole lot younger.
“Yes,” she said with a note of finality, “I will go with you.” Best to say yes before she changed her mind. If she didn’t go she would spend the rest of her days regretting it. And you only live once, right? That settled, she smiled at him. “What time should I be ready?”
“I’ll pick you up at four-thirty,” he said. “I like to give myself an extra hour just in case of heavy traffic.”
“I’ll be ready.” And, just like that, she had another date with Drake Duncan.
And just to be sure she wasn’t dreaming, when she got to her car thirty-five minutes later she pulled out the brochure Drake had given her. The Leaping Lions in Wisconsin. It hadn’t been a dream at all.
She could hardly wait for Saturday afternoon.
******
Drake had never seen Meg look more beautiful than she did when he picked her up on Saturday afternoon. As if to fit in with the exotic atmosphere of the show she’d rolled her chestnut hair into a French roll and to the side of the thick plait of hair she’d placed a gold clip with a crimson hibiscus of silk. Her hairpiece was a fitting complement to the flowery pattern of the form-fitting dress that hugged her curves and swirled in a soft, colourful cloud around her ankles. A short gold jacket and gold sandals completed her elegant attire and Drake could not have been more proud to have her by his side.
They got to the Continental Hotel, the venue for the show, with a good forty minutes to spare and used the time to admire the South African art on display in the lobby. They were browsing when Drake was recognized by the show promoter and invited backstage to meet the performers. Meg had seemed perturbed by the attention but eventually she calmed and even exchanged a few words with some of the dancers. Before they left, the promoter made them promise to drop by the after-show party.
As they headed for their reserved seats Meg raised an eyebrow. “A party, huh? I hope you can dance.”
Drake gave her a rueful grin. “Not very well, I’m afraid. But maybe I’ll pick up a few moves from tonight’s show.”
And what a show it was. After a spectacular performance with dancers dressed in elaborate costumes in vibrant colors and dances which seemed more like acrobatic feats, Drake and Meg left the hotel’s grand ballroom in a daze.
“So, are you glad you came?” Drake asked, although he could already guess what her answer would be.
“Am I ever!”
He stared down at her face, wide-eyed and radiant, and he knew he had done the right thing in asking her out for the show. She looked like she hadn’t had this sort of entertainment in a long while. He opened his mouth to tell her how beautiful she looked when there was a shout and he turned to see Mr. Promoter heading toward them. Crap. He’d been hoping to avoid the man.
But when their garrulous host reminded them of the party Meg looked so eager that he didn’t have the heart to say they were leaving. Another thirty or forty minutes wouldn’t kill them, he guessed.
The anticipated thirty or forty minutes turned into almost two hours. The South African dancers and their managers were just as entertaining off stage as on. They insisted on teaching their guests some of their dance moves and then, before Meg and Drake knew what was happening, they found themselves in the middle of a Congo line. By the time they were able to escape it was almost midnight.
As they walked back to the hotel lobby Drake took her hand. “I’m sorry I kept you out so late. You must be exhausted.”
“Me?” Her eyebrow shot up. “It’s you I’m worried about. How are you going to manage, making that long drive back to Chicago? We won't get in till two in the morning.”