Page 26 of Dancing With Lies

“Oh, you don’t want to eat?” Lincoln asked and started to pull out boxes of food.

“I wouldn’t turn down some fried rice and maybe an egg roll, but I’ll take it with me.” She said, eyeing one of the bags.

“Nope. If you want to eat, you stay here.” Lincoln pursed his lips and nodded. He might be a little tipsier than he thought.

“Fine, pass me a bag. Are there chopsticks?” She sat down at the table and stared at the two men as they went on a scavenger hunt for chopsticks. They’d emptied every bag by the time they found the sticks and Lincoln caught the way she rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop a grin.

“Here you are, fair lady, chopsticks.” He presented the bamboo to her as if it were a prize.

“Thanks, Lincoln.” She muttered and opened a packet of soy sauce to dump into her fried rice.

They sat together eating, with Kai continuing to drink. Roxie had a couple of beers, but not too many. She had to drive home, she reminded him. Lincoln got up from the table and walked into the living room. The first floor of the house was open plan, so Lincoln felt Roxie’s gaze as he moved over to a piano in front of a pair of sliding glass doors. He sat down, inspiration taking over as he began to play Song Without Words.

“Kai can’t play, but he likes to have the piano in here for those of us that can.” He told her as he stroked the keys.

He’d seen Chloe dance to the song several times when he’d gone to pick his sister up from her house. She’d been graceful, magical, and was the only reason he’d ever watched a ballet. He wondered if it would inspire her.

The way the piano was positioned meant he could look out at the ocean or over at Roxie. He watched her as he began to play, saw how stiff she went, and could only smile when something came over her and she stood up. She kicked away her flip-flops and took up a stance.

10

Roxie

Roxie saw Kai get up and slip over to the couch, but she didn’t pay him much attention. He hadn’t seemed to recognize her that night on the boat and it would seem Lincoln hadn’t informed him who she was. That was good.

She hadn’t done any ballet, not even practice, since the night of the fire, the thought of it only brought her pain. She looked up at him as she took a stance on her bare toes and saw Lincoln smiling at her with pure joy. She couldn’t help but smile back and began to dance. Luckily, the house was huge, open, and she had plenty of room to move around as her muscles remembered the movements, the steps she needed to make.

She whirled around the room, alive again, safe again, for the first time since she’d left him at that hotel. Maybe it was the two beers, maybe it was just him, but it didn’t matter. She was dancing, and it was like being home again.

Lincoln continued to play, and play beautifully, as she moved. She was older now, but she’d continued to keep herself fit with dance, just not ballet. She missed a few steps she knew she should have made, but it didn’t matter. She was dancing ballet again, for Lincoln, and it was like she’d been set free.

“Bravo,” Lincoln said with applause as he finished playing and she came to a sudden halt.

“Thank you.” She breathed as she noticed Kai was passed out, snoring on the couch.

“That was beautiful, Roxie.” Lincoln stood up and bowed to her.

“You didn’t play so bad yourself.” She answered and walked over to grab a glass of water from the kitchen.

“Do you still do ballet?” He asked as he sat down at the table.

“No, not anymore.” She shook her head and looked away from him.

“Hey, let me show you guys something,” Kai mumbled, making them both jump as he got up from the couch and wandered up a set of stairs. “Come on.”

“Where is he taking us?” Roxie asked as she followed beside Lincoln, up the stairs and down the hall to a room with a padlock on the door.

“I’ve known Kai for a long time, spent a lot of time in this house, but that door has always been locked. I have no idea what it is.” Lincoln said softly.

“It’s my playroom.”

Roxie frowned, suspecting she knew exactly what kind of room it was, but Lincoln just looked puzzled.

“A what?” He asked and looked down at Roxie.

“A playroom. I think he means his sex dungeon.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively and grinned.

“Oh. Shit. Never mind. Sorry.” Kai turned around, a little green around the gills. “Excuse me.”