Lee Condor's first glimpse of the girl was an intriguing one. When he arrived at theFultonplace, the door was open, and a flurry of activity was already in progress. No one noticed him as he walked in; the dancers--in all shapes and forms of workout clothing--were milling about, stretching and warming up. A gray-haired carpenter was finishing up at the top of the long, curving stairway, and Tony Asp, the dance director, and Gary Wright, the general director, were arguing midway up the stairs.
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Lee glanced quickly around the elegant entryway and oversized ballroom. Neither Perry nor Andrew--nor even Mick-- seemed to have arrived yet, but it was still onlyten to ten, and they had all spent the night at the casino, gotten a little nostalgic about being back in Tahoe,then toasted themselves until
thedawn.
Still, he thought with a knowing, inward smile, Perry and Andrew would arrive by ten. They had learned long ago that when they worked they were a team, and as a team, they were courteous to one another without fault. That meant not wasting the other guys' time by not showing up.
Lee ran his eyes casually over the dancers.Ten men, ten women.Most of them very young. Probably kids just out of high school, or maybe college, trying to get a break with a show in Tahoe. Well, if he was giving anyone a break, he was damned glad. Breaks were hard to come by.
It was while he was idly staring about that he noticed her-- or at least part of her. His first sight was of long, long legs.The backs of them, to be precise.
The girl was bent over at the waist, first stretching her spine parallel with the ground, then dangling over until the top of her head almost touched the floor. Her tights were pink, and her leg warmers were black, as was her leotard. He really didn't have much of an impression of her face, all he noticed at first sight were those legs, slim, yet sinewy. And he couldn't help but notice her nicely rounded derriere. Not when it topped those long legs and faced him so pointedly...
She straightened, stretched her arms as if reaching for the sky,then slid into a graceful split.
Something about the action mesmerized him, and when he realized that he was watching her with his tongue practically hanging out, he laughed inwardly at himself.
She probably wouldn't appreciate the fact that he would have loved to bark out an order, empty the room and jump her like a madman.
But to him, it was nice to have the feeling. There had been women sinceVictoria, but none that had made him feel this way at first sight.Victoria's death had changed him, and not for the better.
And, he reminded himself, if he had ever thought ofVictoriathat way and she had found out, she would definitely have considered him a madman.No, a savage. That had been her favorite term__
He gave himself a little shake. Whatever mistakes he had made, whatever mistakes she had made, they were in the past.Over. Agonizing over all that had happened had never done him any good. It was too late to go back.
"Lee, you're here! I didn't see you come in."
Lee turned as Tony Asp approached him, grinning broadly, his hand stretched out in greeting.
"Hi, Tony," Lee said, shaking the offered hand and returning the grin. "I just walked in." He waved an arm to indicate the entryway, the staircase and the grand ballroom.' 'The place looks great. What do you think?"
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"Day and night," Tony replied with a grimace. "I have to admit, I thought you were crazy to buy the place and renovate it, but you were right. From what I hear, it cost less than renting, and you've got yourself a dynamite house. You gonna move in here after the shoot?''
Lee shook his head. "I like my old house. Or new house, depending on how you look at it."
"Well, for the video, it looks great. I don't think you could find anything that looked more antebellum in the heart ofGeorgia."
"I hope you're right--" Lee began, but just then a hand clamped down hard on his shoulder and he turned to see Gary Wright, a too-thin bundle of nervous energy, but a brilliant conceptual director, standing behind him.
"Lee! How was the concert tour? Good to be back with you."
"The tour was fine, Gary, but I think it was our last. And it's good to be back with you, too."
The three men shared a good business relationship, although it had been an awkward one when they had first come together a year ago inScotlandto work on the first video. Tony had made his name in classical ballet, andGaryhad earned his reputation as a director for PBS. They had been skeptical about working with Lee, but Lee had learned early that there were two things about him that could draw prejudice: he was a Blackfoot, and he was a rock musician.
Growing up, he had learned to be tough. Growing older, he had learned to shrug his shoulders and quietly prove his points.
And he had proved himself to both Tony and Gary.