Page 69 of Always You (A Lilac Bay Novel)

“You gonna be on TV in that, when everyone else is in nice clothes?” she asked, looking skeptically down at my jeans and tennis shoes.

“I’ll run home to change before eight,” I assured her.

She looked like she wanted to argue but in the end she reached out and gave me a quick hug.

“What was that for?”

“For doing such a good job today.”

“It’s not over yet.”

My little sister shook her head. “You got this entire thing organized in less than ten minutes. You kept everyone from going crazy.” She met my gaze directly. “We don’t get to hear enough that we made someone proud, Riley.” I swallowed, thinking of our mom, currently God knew where. “So I’m telling you now. I’m proud of you.”

I cleared my throat, determined not to cry. “Thanks,” I muttered, not meeting her eye.

When eight o’clock finally rolled around, we were ready. There was food and drinks waiting on long tables in the tents, out of the way of where the dancers would be doing their thing. The stars and lights were hung in the tent, though it wasn’t quite dark out yet. Andrew’s lighted signs were finished, flashing the words “Just Dance” across the lawn. Every person in the hotel was wearing some approximation of twenties garb. I’d even had time to run home and put on a dress. And the dancers were in position.

“Dance captains,” I said feeling a flash of pure terror. “Everyone ready?”

They assured me that they were and I glanced around at the group. Should I say something? Give some inspirational speech? I felt like I was going to throw up. In the end I gave the captains a weak thumbs up and headed over to watch on the monitors with Gina.

The choreography called for the dance to start in three different places—the main staircase in the foyer, the grand ballroom, and the front porch. Each group would dance their way down towards the front doors until eventually they all joined up and spilled out onto the grand lawn for the finale. It was complicated and required not only the dancers but also the camera crew to be in the right places at the right times. I was sure that something, somewhere was going to get messed up, and the fear actually took my breath away as the music started.

But then the best thing happened—my neighbors started to dance, and all my nerves disappeared. I was too busy laughing to feel anything but happiness. It’s not that they were bad—they were really good! It was just hilarious and amazing to see them this way.

To see Rose Powell dancing like a flapper girl right next to her granddaughter. To see Zane and Eddie getting down in a fairly good approximation of a tap dance. To see the mayor in his vest and tie, leading the way. Everything about it made me laugh.

I couldn’t remember ever enjoying anything more.

When it was done, we all burst into cheers, the dancers jumping up and down, hugging each other. And those of us that weren’t on camera ran out into the crowd as well, laughing and cheering. It was awesome—there was no other way to put it.

“Now I think you all deserve to party!” Mayor Jones called out, and everyone cheered again before the crowds descended on the food tables.

The DJ started up on the porch, a few couples taking to the makeshift dance floor on the lawn, everyone eager to go over the flash mob detail by detail. And all the while the cameras rolled, capturing the people that I loved most in the world as they enjoyed their celebration.

“I have to tell you, Riley,” Gina said, coming up to stand beside me. “That was really something.”

“It was amazing,” I said, not caring in the slightest about being professional. “They were freaking fantastic.”

“You all were,” she said, gesturing around at the lawn. “This is so much more than a flash mob.”

“That was the goal,” I said, laughing.

“In all seriousness,” she said, leaning in a little closer. “You should be proud of this. I spent a lot of time watching you today, and you have a knack for this kind of thing.”

“For flash mobs?” I asked, and she laughed.

“No. For putting on events. For organizing large groups of people. You know, that’s half the battle when it comes to producing. I spend most of my time getting things organized.”

My heart was beating a little faster. “Well, you’re definitely good at it.”

“So are you, Riley. I saw your resume, you know. When we were going through all the paper work. You went to school for broadcasting?”

“I switched majors my senior year,” I told her, praying that she wouldn’t ask why.

“Well, if you’re ever interested in revisiting it, let me know. You could have a future in this.”

I gaped at her. “Seriously?”