Her back turned to him, Jamie took the opportunity to stare, much as he'd been doing all night when he thought no one was looking. She'd pretty much walked straight out of his fantasies in a dress like that, and he had to wonder if that was planned on her part.

Of course it was. This is Layla we're talking about. If she's not the most deliberate person I know, I'll eat my suit for breakfast.

"Need a hand?" he asked, tossing his shoes in the box he'd built after Richards had chewed through one too many pairs. He kicked the lid closed. It was a loaded question, of course, given what they'd been dancing around for most of the night, but he wasn't so clueless as to not recognize what she was doing as a sign, for lack of a better word. Going slow wasn't same as standing still, after all -- she'd as much herself.