Rhys nodded. “It’ll be fine. I’ll let her see everyone and listen to the music. I’ll make sure to bring her back in an hour so she doesn’t get overstimulated by the crowd.”
“That sounds good.” Trudie patted Ellie’s arm. “Have fun, honey.”
As we started up the brick pathway, Ellie walked slightly ahead of us, craning her neck to take in the sound of the string quartet coming from the tent off to the side of the house. “She’s going to enjoy the hell out of the music,” Rhys said, as we walked up the stairs and into the kitchen.
Ellie paid little attention to the people overfilling the main hallway and other rooms. She had a singular focus it seemed, to find the source of the music she was humming. Rhys, on the other hand, was the consummate Southern gentleman. He spoke to everyone he saw—shook hands with the men and kissed a few women’s cheeks. Each and every time, he made sure to introduce me. All the while as he socialized, he kept a cautious eye on Ellie.
When she had gotten to the ballroom door that led out onto the veranda, she had stopped. It seemed she had found her perfect spot to listen to the music and watch the dancing partygoers. Those who didn’t know her cast frustrated looks when she wouldn’t move aside for them.
“Excuse me, Eddie,” Rhys said to a bald man in a red and black checked kilt. He then crossed the room to go to Ellie’s side. He gently took her by the arm. “Why don’t we sit at a table, so you can see and hear better?”
While she didn’t appear to acknowledge him, Ellie did let Rhys lead her over to a table in the back of the veranda. I eased down beside Rhys. Glad to be off my feet for a moment, I, too, enjoyed listening to the quartet. My gaze flickered around the room, taking in the guests. Several were in kilts like Rhys, but most of the men wore tuxes. When a waiter stopped at the table, I gladly took a flute of bubbly. Thankfully another appeared with a tray of hors d’ oeuvres. After I greedily devoured the napkin of goodies, I craned my neck to see where another waiter was.
Rhys chuckled beside me. “What?” I asked.
“There is real food in the dining room if you’re hungry.”
Embarrassment warmed my cheeks. “I guess scarfing that down didn’t look too ladylike, huh?”
With a roll of his eyes, Rhys said, “Like I give two shits about anything ladylike.” He leaned forward. “What I do care about is if you’re hungry.”
“I am.” And for more than just food. I’d like to have you as the appetizer, main course, and dessert. Those were the thoughts derailing my mind in the middle of the party.
He smiled. “Then let me get you a plate.” After waving one of the waiters over, Rhys said, “Please bring me three settings of the dinner course.”
“Yes, sir.”
As the waiter hurried off, I cocked my brows at Rhys. “Wow, that was impressive.”
“What do you mean?”
“Having someone at your beck and call like that. No standing in line with the other peasants. Not to mention, you get table side service.”
Rhys laughed. “It’s basically the same thing as ordering something at a restaurant. The wait-staff always know to keep my parents’ guests happy and give them what they ask for.”
“So he wasn’t falling over himself to give you what you wanted because you were lord of the manor?” I teasingly questioned.
“Maybe.” Then he shook his head at me. “I’m not lord of the manor. I told you my branch of the family didn’t have a title.”
I opened my mouth to tease him more, but the waiter arrived with our plates. “That was fast,” I murmured, after he left the table.
“And I’m sure the fast service was because of me being Lord McGowan?” Rhys asked, cocking his brows at me.
“You can’t tell me any different.”
“Whatever,” he replied, with a good-natured chuckle.
While I dug into the deliciously aromatic roast chicken, Rhys coaxed Ellie to eat a little. His efforts went to waste when two bagpipers in full regalia strolled past our table. Ellie dropped her fork and sat up a little straighter, her curiosity piqued.
“You weren’t kidding about celebrating Tartan Day, were you?” I asked.
He grinned. “Do you think I’d be rocking this kilt if we weren’t hardcore about it?”
“Probably not.” Reaching for my purse, I took out my phone. “I should seriously take a pic and send it to Jake.”
Before I knew what was happening, Rhys had snatched the phone out of my hand. “No fucking way!”
“Why not?”
“Because he and the others will be ragging my ass for days, if not weeks, if they saw that.”
Since I’d often seen firsthand how Jake and AJ loved to tease Rhys, I knew I had to respect his wishes. “Okay, okay. I’ll put the phone away.” When I held out my hand, Rhys reluctantly slipped it into it. Once I’d put it into my purse, he seemed relieved. We sat back in our chairs to enjoy the rest of the performance by the bagpipers.
Once it had ended and the quartet started up again, Rhys looked over at me and smiled. Motioning out onto the floor filled with swaying couples, he asked, “How about a dance?”
While Ellie seemed content, I wasn’t sure about leaving her. I didn’t want to upset her by making her feel abandoned. I guess Rhys sensed my apprehension. “It’ll be fine, and we can keep an eye on her from the dance floor,” he reassured me.
“Okay, I’d love to dance with you.”
As Rhys rose out of his chair, he leaned in close to Ellie’s ear. “Allison and I are going to dance. We’ll be right back, and then I’ll take you back to Trudie.”
Once again, she didn’t acknowledge him. She just kept staring straight ahead with a serene expression on her face. She didn’t appear to be upset that we were leaving her. Taking my hand, Rhys led me away from the table. As we weaved in and out of the other couples, the quartet began playing Moon River, the theme song from one of my mom’s favorite movies, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
We didn’t move far into the dance floor. Instead, we stayed on the fringes so that we could see Ellie. Once we had found the perfect place, Rhys pulled me closer to him. Of course, since we were at a society party, we didn’t dance like I was accustomed to. It was much more formal. I would have rather wrapped my arms around Rhys’s neck than to have had one hand in his and the other on his shoulder. It seemed like there was always something keeping us apart.
When the song ended, Ellie got up from the table. Both Rhys and I froze as we watched her carefully. She went just inside the door to sit at the grand piano. When she began playing along with the quartet, Rhys exhaled a relieved breath.
As we danced to the music, I tried not to think about how frustrated I was with how things were moving along. Then a thought popped into my mind, and I couldn’t help giggling. “What is it?” Rhys asked.
“Oh nothing,” I muttered, refusing to meet his eye. I couldn’t believe I had laughed out loud.
Rhys eyed me with a skeptical look. “Come on. You expect me to buy that? It was obviously something amusing, or you wouldn’t have laughed.”
At his imploring look, I decided to come clean with him. “Dancing as close as we are, I couldn’t help but wonder about Cassie’s question from earlier.”
Rhys’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
Lowering my voice, I asked, “You know, when she asked you about your kilt?” When he still looked clueless, I sighed. “Are you wearing any underwear under that kilt?”
“My, my, that’s awfully intrusive of you. What’s gotten into you tonight?”
“Nothing. I was just curious.”
He then gave me a sexy little grin that ignited the lacy panties I was wearing. “You really want to know for you or so you can tell Cassie?”