“Well, I’m glad you are.”
The gold of his eyes turned molten when they landed on her jeweled ones. “Me, too.”
“Ralph, come here a second,” Leo yelled over the music, waving over the school nerd who was only going to the dance behind a camera.
Stopping from looking out of the lens, he dropped the camera to hang around his neck. Shocked that Leo Caruso was talking to him, it took him a second before he finally went over to him.
“Yeah?”
Unlike his brothers, his sister always treated him differently. They might not have ever said it, but he knew Lucca and Nero thought he was soft, too sweet to ever be made. His sister, however, treated him like he was better, like Lucca and Nero could never be half the man he would be someday. Even though Leo knew that would never be true, he still appreciated her for it and the bond they shared after their mother’s death. Now that he was older, he could finally repay the favor and then some.
“I need you to do me a favor.” He pointed through the crowd. “Do you see Mr. Evans and the blonde talking to him?”
Lifting the camera back up, he used the lens to get a better view. “The hot one?”
“That’s”—grabbing the camera, Leo made it fall to his neck again—“my sister.”
Ralph’s face went red. “Oh shit, I’m sorry, man. I didn’t kno—”
“It’s all right. I just need a favor ….”
Maria was lucky that he loved her, because she was going to owe him big.
“Mr. Evans, can I get a picture of you two for the school yearbook?”
“You’re supposed to be taking pictures of the students, not the teachers, Ralph.” Kayne tried to get the meddling teenager to move along.
Ralph put the camera up to his eye. “Just one quick pic?”
“All right.”
She almost hadn’t believed it, wondering if she had heard him agree to it in her head. It wasn’t until he started moving closer to her did she know she hadn’t dreamt it. She met him halfway, getting closer to him for not only the picture’s sake but for hers.
When the firm hand at her back returned, the thud of her heart this time was much louder. So much so it was hard for her to do her normal “smize” to the camera. Instead, when the flash went off, she caught herself staring at him. Finally, at last, she was closer than she had ever gotten before. But that fucking millisecond of time it took to snap a silly, little picture wasn’t going to be long enough, so she used it for all it was worth.
“Come on, Mr. Evans, ask her to dance already,” Ralph quickly parted his teenage wisdom before running off scared while they were still touching.
The slow song the DJ suddenly switched to had the explosive gym beginning to calm.
“I was wondering the same thing.” Maria bit her lip, hoping that the first shot she had ever taken in her entire life would pay off.
His silence had her fearing it wouldn’t, but the fact that he hadn’t made a move from her side and his hand was still at her back told her something else. She could see it—the turmoil resting behind his eyes. And his chest rising and falling showed her that he wanted it just as much as she did.
“I’m afraid that, if I do, I won’t be able to stop dancing with you.” He just had the fucking willpower to fight it.
Lifting her arms slowly, she placed her hands lightly on his broad chest, practically able to feel his pounding heartbeat. “Would that be so bad?”
“It’s not that it’s bad, Maria ….” Giving in, he started to sway to the music. “It’s a question of right and wrong.”
Suddenly, she knew they weren’t talking about dancing anymore. “Why? We’re both adults.”
“Because …” He paused for just a moment. “I’m Leo’s teacher.”
For the first time, she didn’t know what to say. Her usual selfishness didn’t speak up around him. She liked Kayne. Really, really liked him. And, even though she was willing to risk it all to see where this could go, considering the crown on her head, she couldn’t ask that of him, not after hearing where he had come from.
His job was something she could feel in her bones that he took pride in, and she knew them being seen together would raise ethical questions from the school board.
As much as it hurt her to say it, she had to. “I understand.”
Knowing that when the song ended, their dance would, too, she would use it for everything it was worth, like the picture.
Her second dance wasn’t the same as when she had danced with Dominic. Dominic had danced with her gentlemanly, making her feel like she was a woman. With Kayne, they danced like two kids in love, just like the rest of the kids in the gymnasium were dancing.