Page 14 of Royal Valentine

Was I not the only one keeping secrets?

Shaking my head, I decided I must have misheard. I wasn’t going to let myself get caught up in some imagined drama. I wanted to enjoy myself.

I offered to assist in clearing the table and was told by more than one person that I was a guest, and I wasn’t to help.

Lucia’s family’s apartment had doors that opened to a little private courtyard, and her grandfather was out there playing his accordion. Callum nodded his head in that direction and then got up to go outside.

I was about to join him when Lucia was at my side, putting a mint in my hand. “Just in case,” she said with a wink.

“You’re my favorite person in the world,” I said.

“For the next ten seconds, anyway.”

I popped the mint into my mouth and chewed it quickly. Then I went and joined Callum.

“Dance with me?” he asked.

Lucia’s grandfather began to sing softly along with the music he was playing. I glanced back at the apartment, but nobody was paying us any attention.

I nodded and stepped into Callum’s waiting arms. He held my hand to his chest, his other around my waist. I was the one who closed the distance between us and pressed my body against his as I put my hand on the back of his neck.

There was a relief in touching him, but a thrill of excitement, too. Goose bumps broke out along my arms, and I wondered if he could feel my erratic heartbeat against his chest.

It was like he’d been created just for me, for this moment.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked.

Right now? More than words could say. “I didn’t know I could eat my body weight in pasta. I’m worried I might explode. However, Lucia’s aunt told me that any pasta you eat on holidays doesn’t count, and I’m not looking for any further dietary advice at this time.”

He laughed and his hand flexed against my back while we gently swayed to the music. “Are you going to pass out on me, then? Now that your stomach is probably ready to burst?”

“No. I’m not tired. I intend to be fully present.”

Callum didn’t seem to notice my hint and instead was humming along to the music, close to my ear. Which was sending shivers of anticipation skating along my skin.

“This feels veryLady and the Tramp,” I told him.

“We aren’t sharing a piece of spaghetti. I could go inside and get one—”

I tightened my arm around him and he laughed again. I didn’t want him going anywhere.

“Thank you for bringing me here. Tonight has been fun. I like Lucia’s family. They remind me a lot of my own,” I said.

“Mine as well. Are you close to your family?”

“I am. They’re very important to me. What about you?”

“Aye, they drive me mad but I dinnae ken what I’d do without them. Especially my mam.”

“A mama’s boy?” I teased.

“Guilty.”

“Maybe that’s why you treat women so well,” I mused, and he smiled at me.

“She wouldnae tolerate any kind of disrespect,” he agreed. “To herself or anyone else. She insisted that my brothers and I be courteous and kind at all times.”

“That sounds like my mother.” In fact, I had actually heard her use those very words.

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