For the time being, though, she was very much here. As she sat next to him, she was quickly losing it. Her shaking had become more pronounced, and little snorts of laughter were escaping around the hand she’d clamped over her mouth.
The gondolier was really getting into it, and the crowd lining the canal loved the performance. They clapped and whistled their approval, which only encouraged Luigi to ham it up some more. As he flung his arm into the air and projected the single word dance, someone lobbed a baseball-sized object toward the boat.
Luke barely had time to shield Giselle before it landed on his head and broke. A water balloon! He should have guessed.
“Security!” Luigi bellowed as he abandoned his song. “Someone’s throwing water balloons! Security!”
“No big deal,” Luke said. He’d rather not have Cynthia and Landry arrested, although they were probably long gone by now, anyway.
Luigi turned and crouched next to Luke. “Sir, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? The Venetian will make this right. I’ve never had someone throw a water balloon at my boat before. I’m really sorry. And on your special night, too.”
Luke ran a hand over his dripping face. “I’m fine, really. It’s only water. Takes me back to my high school days.”
Luigi still seemed concerned. “I wish I could promise that we’ll find whoever threw that balloon, but with crowds like this, it’s nearly impossible.”
“I doubt you will find him,” Giselle said. “I’m pretty sure it was my brother.”
“Oh?” Luigi looked surprised, and then he grinned. “A little welcome-to-the-family prank on this guy, huh?” He glanced at Luke. “I suggest you keep your honeymoon plans to yourself, my friend.”
“Luigi, those plans are so top secret even I don’t know what they are.”
“Ah.” Luigi’s smile widened. “So you’re letting your future bride handle the details. Smart man. The happier she is, the happier you’ll be.”
Luke met Giselle’s gaze. “My thoughts exactly.” Her emerald eyes were filled with laughter, and he sure did enjoy when that happened. Maybe it was worth getting a little wet.
Representatives from the casino met them at the dock. One of them recognized Luke and insisted on giving them gambling tokens, coupons for free drinks, and a complimentary dinner for two. Luke could tell they all were relieved as hell that he wasn’t going to make a problem for them over a water balloon.
Eventually they left and he turned to Giselle. “Want to drink and gamble?”
She smiled at him. “Not particularly. You handled that well, though.”
“Apparently I’m getting used to dripping.”
“You have to admit that song was hysterical.”
He gazed at her sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks. Damn, but she was a pretty woman. Good company, too. “I could tell you thought so. I’m surprised the boat didn’t start rocking, the way you were trying to keep from cracking up.”
“He was so sincere that I didn’t want him to know I was laughing.”
“So tell me, does your brother repeat his tricks or does he tend to move on to new ones each time?”
“I’d be surprised if he repeated anything with you. He considers himself something of an artist in this regard.”
“He’s got a hell of a throwing arm. Accurate, too.”
She nodded. “All-star pitcher for the high school baseball team.”
“Huh.” He had to admit the baseball information made a difference in how he perceived Bryce Landry. An all-star deserved some respect for all the work involved in getting to that level. A total screwup couldn’t accomplish it. He should know.
“Under different circumstances, you two might have become friends.”
“Tell you what. If he’ll give up this campaign and convince Cynthia to go back to school, I’ll be his friend for life. I’ll name my first kid after him. I’ll put him in my will. I’ll—”
“So are you saying that after all this, you’re still dead set against her plan to be a showgirl?”
He looked into her eyes. Sadly, the laughter wasn’t there anymore. “That’s what I’m saying. Somebody has to keep her from making bad choices. I’m the only one available to do that.”
Chapter 9
Giselle was ready to whack Luke upside his incredibly thick skull. The odds against keeping a twenty-two-year-old from making bad choices were far worse than the odds against hitting a million-dollar jackpot on a one-armed bandit. But Luke, who was at least as focused as his sister, had decided that Cynthia had to finish her last semester and get that sheepskin, and apparently that was that as far as he was concerned.
There was a thin line, Giselle realized, between being focused and having tunnel vision. She suspected that Angus Dalton had been a very focused individual, as well, and he’d passed on that characteristic to both of his children. Now they were butting heads, each of them determined to outlast the other.
“At least there’s no envelope this time,” Luke said. “Maybe she gave up on that. I hope so, because I think we have duplicates of everything in the vault, but I’ve never made an inventory to be sure. Trusting any pictures to strangers is risky.”
“Maybe she’s willing to take chances if it can get her what she wants.” Giselle wished that he’d see how devoted Cynthia was to her art. If he allowed himself to see that, he might soften his position.
“The pictures aren’t going to change my mind, so she might as well quit finding clever ways to give them to me. It’s a waste of . . .” He stopped talking as a little blond girl about five years old walked toward them.
She wore a black leotard, white leggings, and pink sneakers. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, and a small tiara rested on her golden head. She was clutching a manila envelope.
Giselle scanned the crowd and saw a woman watching the proceedings very carefully. The woman held a black canvas tote with PAM RAU DANCE STUDIO lettered on it in neon pink. Everything about her alert stance signaled that she was this little tot’s mother and that she wasn’t about to let anything happen to her kid.
Once Giselle satisfied herself that the little girl was well chaperoned, she turned her attention to the drama unfolding in front of her. Luke had hunkered down so that he was on the same level as the child. The tenderness in his expression caught Giselle by surprise.
She hadn’t seen this side of Luke Dalton. He might talk tough and act macho, but apparently he could also be a total pushover. This cherub had him completely in her power.
She held the envelope in two hands, as if carrying a tray. “Are you Mr. Dalton?”
“I am.” He spoke with such gentleness that without her Were hearing, Giselle wouldn’t have caught what he’d said. “And who might you be?”
“I’m Ella. My mommy’s over there.” She turned to point, let go of one side of the envelope, and had to make a quick grab for it. “Whoops. Almost dropped it. The lady said to be very careful.” Her solemn blue gaze returned to Luke. “It’s a picture. She showed us it.”
“Tell me, Ella, is that lady still here?”
Ella shook her head, which made her tiara jiggle. She let go of the other side of the envelope to grab for it and would have dropped it entirely if Luke hadn’t slid his hand underneath.
“Thank you for holding it for me.” After adjusting her tiara with one hand, Ella clutched the side of the envelope again. “You can let go now.”
“Are you supposed to give it to me?”