Page 40 of Forbidden Bastard
The next guest was in line to greet the leaders of Avce so he stepped back. However the king called out, “Charles?”
Being accepted wasn’t ever going to matter. He stopped, but raised his brow. “Yes? I promised Sandi a dance.”
His birth father’s voice cracked as he said, “I’m hoping in time you’ll view the palace and all of us as family you can depend on.”
Heat rose up his neck. Charles Esposito didn’t deserve… he shook his head. Clara could retire in style she’d earned for raising him, not that they’d get that. “Doub…” Sandi tugged on his sleeve. A zap of electricity rushed through him but he swallowed and said instead, “I’ll try to be open.”
Then they followed protocol, bowed again, and he led her toward the dance floor, as promised. She squeezed his arm as they walked. “Charles, he’s trying.”
She slowed down as he said, “I stopped myself from…” trusting too much when he’d just get hurt, but he said instead, “letting anyone get to me, because I want you to be happy.”
“You might not see how blessed you are, but that will come with time.” His heart pounded like a hammer banging on a nail to hang up some art work fast. Sandi scanned the dance floor. “This ballroom is so… sparkly.”
His eyes were drawn to a pastoral painting. It was clearly Chelsea’s work. His mother’s family was close to his father’s family. So tossinghimout just meant it was personal. His shoulders tensed. “I guess the theme was pastoral and Avcean country life, but yes, they added some sparkle too.”
She intertwined their fingers, until he wrapped his arms around her like she was the only thing in his life that could save him as she said, “I meant the candlelight. I’ve never danced beneath candles. It’s always been electric lights.”
He guided her into a dance. “Does it matter?”
She met his gaze and said, “The room has a glow. It’s pretty, but we can go whenever you want to.”
The light in her green eyes held his attention. “Not half as pretty as you though.”
She laughed and hugged him tight. “See, that’s sweet.”
He spun around the floor--she was right. There was an unusual glow to the room with the crystals reflecting the burning wicks.
The best person in the world was in his arms and she was willing to bolt whenever he was. Sandi was his Aphrodite. And he’d be stupid to lose her, ever.
For as long as she wanted him, he’d be hers.
As the music ended and the dance finished, he noticed people were staring at him.
His face grew warmer as he walked with Sandi off the dance floor, but then a stranger pointed behind him.
He turned around and straightened as he noticed an older woman in a blue gown headed toward him. Ice cold shivers caused his heart beat to slow when he met her gaze. “My birth mother is here.”
Her heart grew like she might hold him closer, as Sandi hooked her hand in his and asked, “Don’t give her a thought. Think of Clara as she matters. Why don’t you invite Clara to live with you?”
Clara. She’d once been from Avce though living in Paris with her was the closest thing he'd ever had to a home. Accepting his birth place was to ensure she could retire here. The frozen sensation in his chest as the oncoming onslaught embodied in his birth mother lessened as he said, “The plan is for me to secure the house and she will move to the dower estate that’s being prepared.”
She brushed his suit jacket and tie like he had lint or a speck somewhere. “Then you have to let everyone here know about her.”
Silence grew around them. His neck was so tight he couldn’t even move--he held Sandi’s gaze. From the corner of his eye, he saw the swash of blue fabric and said, “Yes, but not now.” His mind raced. “Francesca's coming over.”
Sandi straightened as if she was a soldier in the trenches with him.
The older woman in the blue dress stopped before him. “Charles.” So she knew his name? He wasn’t sure what to say so he stayed silent. His birth mother said, “It seems my girls went to your house today.”
Ah. He should have expected she'd find out. Avce was a small country. Francesca folded her hands as if ready to scold him. Sandi said in a sweet tone, “Cassidy and Chelsea helped me figure out what to wear.”
Francesca’s gaze went toward Sandi and her ensemble. “Chelsea has an excellent eye for clothes. You look impeccable.” She then turned toward him and Francesca’s brown eyes seemed… calculating, as she said, “Charles, I came over to ask you to stay far away from them.”
Yes.Thiswas the woman who'd tossed him out as a baby. He’d never met her, but she was the opposite of maternal Clara. “I’ve never sought either of them.”
Her face was devoid of… anything that might evoke feelings. She said, “If they come to you again, please just walk away.”
Francesca had zero rights to ask anything from him. Chelsea and Cassidy could move into the estate if they liked. He'd give them their own rooms. They were nothing like… this, but his pulse spiked as he said, “Like you did to me as a baby.”
