The next morning, I sat at the dining table eating my bacon and eggs. It was around 9:00 AM, and Pepper had stopped by to check on things. She sat next to me, and we talked about what happened last night. I only mentioned my mother coming over for dinner, not the goodnight kiss.
"Wow, sounds like Tony had a ball." Pepper said.
"I'm sure he did, oh my god. It was so embarrassing. She even told him that I thought he had a nice butt!" I took a sip of my orange juice.
"You admitted to it after she left…" Tony said as he suddenly stood in the doorway. I choked on my bacon and coughed, Pepper snickered.
"So are you two getting along?" Pepper asked.
"Definitely! It's wonderful having Tianna here. Makes the place seem… less empty and lonely." I looked up at Tony and he smiled at me.
"Your breakfast is on the counter." I nodded over to the kitchen.
"You made breakfast?" Tony looked over his shoulder and spotted the plate of food. He went in to get it, then came back and sat down at the table. "Thanks!"
"No problem. So anyway, Pepper. Was there any news on the case? Pepper stopped by the police station earlier." I said
"Well, they found her car deserted on the side of the highway. They said it's going to make it a bit harder to find her now."
"She's smarter than we thought." Tony said.
"Indeed, I never thought she'd be the kind of person to pull all this off. But, they always say expect the unexpected." I picked up my plate and went into the kitchen to wash my dishes.
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It's been two months and there was no sign of Jillian. The police said they were going to stop the search, but Tony insisted that they continue, and that he would pay for their expenses. I wasn't the type to hold grudges for very long, and even I insisted they just stop looking. But the thought of her coming back and trying to start where she left off kept running around in my mind.
By now I was used to living with Tony and I started working again. The police had installed a new alarm and security system in my business building that was connected to a room full of computers, and the computers were connected to the system down in the police station. Whenever someone walked into the building, the sensors would scan the face of the person and would see if it matched anyone of interest, mostly people who were wanted by the police. It'd also scan the rest of them to see if any guns or knives were being carried. I was pretty impressed.
Most of the week, I was at Mrs. Winston's house, redecorating it. During my free time, I was either out shopping with Pepper, or lounging around the house with Tony if he wasn't busy. The more I hung out with Tony, the more I realized I was falling for him. I was hoping the more I'd fall, the more there was a chance of being caught.
"Hey, Tianna?" I looked up from the computer I was using in the study and smiled when I saw Tony standing there.
"Hey Tony, what's up?"
"Well darling, I was just wondering if you'd want to go to a ball-type thing with me." Tony scratched the back of his head, as if he was nervous.
"You mean… like a date?"
"Yeah, I suppose you can call it that dear."
"Is Pepper going?" Always got to have back up in case something happens!
"Of course. So, will you join me? I assure you I won't have any fun unless you're there to share it with me." I nodded in agreement. "Great! I would suggest you get ready, we're leaving in 2 hours."
"I have a feeling you'd have dragged me there, even if I said no." Tony smirked and left the room.
During those two hours, I had taken a quick shower and gotten ready. I picked a nice slimming black dress that was strapless and had a slight train to it. It had a heart shaped corset attached to it and flowed outwards at the bottom. I put my hair into long flowing loose curls and added a diamond necklace to it with diamond studs in my ears. I brushed my teeth and did my makeup. I added a nice pair of black heels and looked in the mirror. Not bad.
I left my room and headed to the stairs. I was about to go down, when I saw Tony and Pepper standing at the bottom waiting. Tony looked very handsome of course, in his black tux. Pepper was wearing a pale pink dress that stopped just below her knees with cute ballet flats. They looked up to see me and smiled. I walked down the stairs, trying hard not to trip and fall flat on my face. Once at the bottom, I sighed in relief.
"You look… amazing!" Pepper said and hugged me.
"Not as amazing as you!" I grinned.
"Yes, you both look equally amazing. Now can we hurry up? We're going to be late." Tony said.
"Party pooper…" I stuck my tongue out at him and he stuck his back out at me.
Once we got to the manor, I was amazed that it was much bigger than Tony's house. I was assuming this person was extremely important to have a house this big, or just incredibly rich. I felt a bit intimidated by the size of the house, compared to how my own was. It wasn't much to brag about and now that I saw this house; it REALLY wasn't anything to brag about.
Tony held his arm out, and I linked mine with his as Pepper walked in front of us. We were let in by a butler who was probably older than my mother. He led us into the ballroom and we all gawked. This room was huge with tons of chandeliers and decorations. It was half full with people; I was guessing more people were going to arrive later. We stopped at the top of the stairs and a man walked over to us. Tony whispered something to him and the man nodded. Everyone in the room looked up at us as the man took a step back. The band stopped playing, making it quiet for the man to speak.
"Mr. Stark has arrived with his date Tianna Bellfaire and Ms. Potts." He stated.
The people clapped in approval as we walked down the stairs. When we got to the bottom, the band started playing again and everyone began talking and/or dancing once more. I was kind of nervous because I've never been to any gathering like this. I was hoping I didn't look too out of character. Tony could see that I was a bit intimidated and placed his hand on the small of my back.
"Don't worry, darling. They've got nothing on you. Besides, you're too gorgeous to be worrying about what they're thinking." Tony said and guided me towards the side of the room.
We were flooded by people all around us. They all wanted to shake hands with Tony, chat about recent business, or wanted to know who I was. A few men tried to flirt with me, but it seemed all Tony would have to do was give them a look and they'd back off. Some of the women would give me dirty looks as Tony and I walked by. Tony stated they were probably old flames or just jealous. What did I have that would make them jealous? Tony wasn't mine, I was just his date. Pepper showed up with some glasses of champagne and gave each of us one.
"Thanks, I could really use one." I said and gulped down most of my glass.
"I can see that… I know what it's like to be flooded like that." Pepper motioned her glass to the crowd of people surrounding Tony.
"Jeez, at least he enjoys all the attention."
"Well, not when it's from his ex-girlfriends. Most of them just cause drama." Pepper and I moved over to the wall so our conversation wouldn't be over-heard by prying ears.
"I'm not surprised." I finished my glass of champagne and put the glass on the table we were standing next to. "How long do we have to be here for?"
"No clue, I'm assuming until Tony wants to leave, which could be never." Pepper watched as Tony walked over to us. He smiled and placed his empty glass on the table.
"Hey ladies, whatcha talking about?"
"Nothing." Pepper and I said at the same time.
"Care to dance, Tianna?" Tony asked. I looked over at Pepper and she smiled.
"Go ahead; I have some business to discuss with Mr. Parker." She patted Tony's shoulder as she walked by and headed over to the man.
"Alright, but make it a quick dance. I don't want to embarrass myself." I said and took Tony's arm.
We walked into the crowd of people dancing and stopped in the middle. Tony placed his arm around my waist; my arm was on his shoulder. My free hand was linked with his, pointed outwards slightly. Tony and I began to sway to the music slowly; I was hoping I wouldn't step on his feet. He dipped me in a circle and pulled me back up gracefully. I listened to the song and realized it sounded familiar. It was a song I heard from a movie: Princess Diaries, Mia's Waltz.
The song became louder and faster, our dancing became more of a waltz type. Tony and I were now twirling in and around, meeting back together. Our steps were quicker and Tony held me tightly as we danced. We moved across the floor and people were making room for us to dance. The others had stopped dancing and decided to watch us. Tony was smiling and I couldn't help but smile myself. I really felt like a princess dancing with her new found prince. If only my prince felt the same way…
Tony twirled me out, then spun me back in and dipped me. I blushed as I looked deep into his eyes. The song faded into the background and I couldn't tell whether he was going to kiss me, or pull me back up. He leaned in close to me and smiled, his lips barely touching mine. I felt the heat in my cheeks grow warmer. I closed my eyes as he kissed me gently. Tony pulled away and I opened my eyes again. He smiled, I smiled back and he pulled me up, holding me close to his chest. The song ended and so did our dance. The people clapped and cheered as Tony bowed to me, and I curtsied.
