Page 63 of Plane Passion

“I’m going out this evening.”

A triumphant grin spread across Beth’s face. “With Ernie Pritchard?”

Millie sighed. “Yes, with Ernie.”

“I knew this would happen!”

Trying not to roll her eyes, Millie walked over to the hook next to the front door where her purse hung, and she pulled out a crisp twenty-dollar bill.

Beth walked up to her and plucked it from her hand.

“I always win. You should have known better,” Beth said with a smug smile as she tucked the bill into her own purse.

Gritting her teeth, Millie swallowed a retort.

“Now what do you need help with?” Could Beth possibly look any more pleased with herself?

“I want to look good but not ostentatious. We can’t have any gossip columnists writing about us or snapping photos. How do I make myself look attractive for Ernie but unremarkable for the rest of the world?”

Tapping her index finger on her lip, Beth looked Millie up and down.

“I have a black velvet number that should suit you to a T. You’ll blend in with everyone else wearing black. It isn’t showy like your beaded dresses, but it will hug your curves beautifully, and it’s heaven to touch. He won’t be able to keep his hands off you.”

The thought of Ernie’s hands on her sent shivers down Millie’s spine. She bit her lip.

“Ooh. You have it bad,” Beth observed, missing nothing. “We’d better show up at least half an hour before him so that it doesn’t look like we were there to meet him.”

“We?” Oh, no. Was Beth saying what she thought she was saying?

“I’m going with you, of course. Then it will look like a girls’ night out instead of a date. No one will think anything of it if you dance a few dances with a gentleman who you just happened to meet while you were out with your friend. Besides, I can be your lookout. If any reporter shows up, I can warn you.”

It was a good plan, much to Millie’s chagrin. The only downside was that Beth would get to observe every minute detail of her behavior with Ernie and then tease her about it for the rest of eternity. But Beth was right. The two of them together would attract less notice.

“I’ll dress to the nines, and you can be my dowdy friend,” Beth said, enjoying this far too much. “Let me pin your finger wave before your hair dries,” she said, tugging at the towel.

“All right,” Millie said, surrendering.

“To the plan or to your hair.”

“Both.”

Beth was never going to let her live this down, but what were friends for?

Millie knew the instant Ernie came in the door. She could feel his eyes boring into her with an intensity that made her cheeks heat, despite the fact that she’d spent the last half hour feeling like a pigeon next to a peacock in the dim and busy speakeasy. The tables were packed, and the dance floor roiled with soused couples.

Beth’s plan was working a little too well. All eyes were on Beth in her red, beaded dress with the scooped back that barely covered her knees. Their gazes slid off Millie’s unadorned outfit, modest jewelry, and muted makeup.

A bevy of men surrounded them, all ogling Beth, vying to ask her to dance and buy her drinks.

No one spared Millie a glance as Ernie glided up to her without a word, took her hand, and pulled her to the dance floor. No one except Beth, that was, whose gaze followed them, her face brimming with amusement.

Ernie’s arms enveloped her, pulling her as close as decency would allow as the band started a foxtrot. His thumb stroked the soft fabric on her back, and everyone in the world disappeared except the two of them.

“You look breathtaking,” he murmured in her ear.

She melted into his embrace.

“Is your friend discreet?” he asked, glancing at Beth.