Read Online Dead on Her Feet (An Antonia Blakeley Tango Mystery Book 1) by Lisa Fernow - Free Book Online Page B

out, you rotten human being. “If you let your seat come down half an inch you’ll get better alignment in your axis. Like this, may I?” Antonia placed her hands on Nathalie’s pelvis and spine and made a slight adjustment. Holding on to Nathalie to keep her from going anywhere she called out, “Followers, rotate.”
     “You’re with me, Roland,” Barbara said, and Antonia released her hold on Nathalie congratulating herself on how easily she’d separated them.
    But Nathalie, seeing her quarry stolen out from under her, promptly locked eyes with Christian.
    Antonia reached for Nathalie again, but it was too late. Nathalie slithered over to where Christian stood, coiled her arm around his shoulders and drew his arm around her back. Christian didn’t know how to lead a sacada and he was so flabbergasted to be holding Nathalie in his arms he couldn’t have anyway, so they just walked. Worse, they talked. Antonia could just about hear his side of the conversation, something about websites. “I’ll send you the URL … looking at it the other day … dance shoes … your feet… it’s easy, actually… no bother really … yes, a little poetry …”
    She had to put a stop to it, whatever “it” was. Not waiting for the song to end she just turned the CD player off, ready to blame it on technical difficulties.
    Nathalie’s voice cut through the silence. “I’m staying with Roland.”
    Roland stopped dancing and turned in Shawna’s direction. Bobby took off his glasses and polished them with his handkerchief.
    Shawna stood up. “Roland, what’s she talking about?”
    Roland stroked the back of his head. “I just told Nathalie if she was ever in Atlanta she would be welcome to stay at my place. I would have mentioned it but I didn’t think it was important.”
    Nathalie pranced over to Roland and Barbara and insinuated herself between them. “What do you mean? What did you tell me in Argentina?”
    Shawna twisted her Bridge to the Tango catalog into a tight roll. “Roland?”
    “Just a misunderstanding, darling,” he said to Shawna.
    Holy moly, Antonia thought. Roland just proposed to Shawna and he’s already cheating on her with Nathalie? For that matter, Nathalie was supposed to be in Argentina with Eduardo.
    Nathalie planted one hand on her hip. “You said you were breaking it off with her, Roland. Which one of us is it going to be?”
    The room went dead silent except for the whomp—whomp—whomp of the fan. Antonia watched Shawna fight to keep her composure and ached to give her a big hug.
    “Nathalie,” Roland entreated, “not here.”
    Shawna laid the catalog on the chair. The color rose in her cheeks as she confronted her fiancé. “Antonia was right. She told me you tried to poach Nathalie from Eduardo and I didn’t believe her.”
    Antonia saw Roland dart a black look in her direction before answering Shawna. “Shawna, I love you.”
    Nathalie gave Roland an indignant look. “That’s not what you said to me in BA. You said,” Nathalie mimicked his voice, “Shawna’s too good for me. I made a mistake proposing to her.”
    Roland opened his mouth and closed it again. He looked back and forth from one pissed-off woman to the other. Everyone just stood there waiting to see what would happen next. Only Bobby had no taste for voyeurism; he tried to drag Barbara away but she shook him off.
    This could actually be good, Antonia thought. If Roland and Nathalie end up together Nathalie will stop messing with Christian’s head and Shawna and Eduardo will be saved from terrible marriages. That is, if Roland follows through. But he’ll never settle down, not without a father and a shotgun.
    Shawna slipped the engagement ring off her finger, placed it in Roland’s hand, and closed his fingers over it. “Roland,” she said in a voice cold enough to refrigerate all of Atlanta, “take this back until you know what you want.”
    Shawna gathered her street shoes, placed them in her drawstring