A Night at the Tropicana by Chanel Cleeton

Author:Chanel Cleeton [Cleeton, Chanel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-30T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

My eyes flutter open; bright sunlight shines through the crack in the curtains. For a moment, I think I’m in Florida, in the bedroom Elizabeth and I have shared for years.

It comes back to me slowly—in images flashing before me—the sequined dresses, the leafy green trees, the sight of Antonio holding his hand out to me.

I lurch upright in bed in our hotel room in Havana.

My head pounds, all those brightly colored drinks with the swizzle stick dancers clearly taking their toll.

Elizabeth is still asleep in the bed beside mine, soft snores coming from beneath her covers.

No doubt she snuck a few of those brightly colored drinks herself.

I wince slightly as I pull the covers back, rising from the bed.

I’ve never been the sort of person who holds much stock in romance, nor have I dreamed that one day some handsome man will sweep me off my feet. I have always been a woman of science, my dreams of being a doctor lofty enough, considering how few women are physicians. I see the love my parents have for each other, of course, but I never thought much about having a family myself or spending my life with someone else.

That always seemed like something that would come later, once I had established a place for myself, items to be scheduled in between the progression of my medical career.

Strange how one night can make you look at things so differently.

My fingers drift to my lips, remembering how I kissed Antonio, the passion I felt in his arms, the—

My dress is gone.

I blink, my vision clearing as I stare down at the floor where I remember discarding it the night before.

All that greets me is the patterned carpet.

The slip of paper Antonio wrote his address on was in the pocket of my dress.

I scramble out of bed, racking my brain to remember the events of the evening after we returned from the cabaret. I was dizzy from the drinking, and the magic, and the man.

I remember walking into the room—I open the closet doors, thumbing through the outfits hanging there.

No blue dress.

Tears threaten as I rifle through my suitcase, but it isn’t there either.

There’s a knock on our bedroom door; then it opens, and my mother strides into the room.

She stops near the foot of Elizabeth’s bed, a smile on her face.

“Did you just wake? I checked in on you about an hour ago, and you were both sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to disturb you. Your sister isn’t one for early mornings, but I never thought I’d see the day that you hadn’t stirred by eight. I confess I was a little worried about you.”

“When you came in here earlier—was my dress here?”

She nods. “Elizabeth’s too. I sent them off to the hotel laundry to be washed. They should be back soon. I told them we had to leave for the airport in a few hours. I noticed there was a stain on your gown and considering how much you loved it—I didn’t want to risk it being ruined.

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