15
PARKER
Isabella’s arms were cinched around my neck and her face was buried against my skin as we danced, even long after our obligation to be out on the dance floor had ended. When the last bars of the first dance song had faded, I’d expected her to take a step back, and when she didn’t, I’d decided to go with it.
The fact was that I loved having her in my arms, and if I could keep her there for the rest of the night, I would. I’d never been this close to her, and while it was driving me crazy, I also didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want her being like this to end.
Verona and the wedding were having an unexpected effect on Isabella. She was more open, smiling all the time, and wasn’t talking about work twenty-four-seven. When she did mention it now, it seemed almost forced. Like she didn’t really want to talk about it either but was reminding herself of it nonetheless.
She had let her guard down on this trip and I wished she would do it more often. I’d been impressed by her since the moment we’d met, respected her for her work ethic, and had had my fun teasing her just to make her smile and bring a flush to her cheeks. What I was feeling now had nothing to do with any of that, though.
I’d liked her since before we’d come here, but it’d been a different sort of like. One based more on curiosity and sussing her out. One that had been rooted in the challenge of getting a peek behind the curtain of her professional veneer.
This, however, was more real. It ran deeper than curiosity or the challenge, and it was because now that I’d gotten a glimpse behind that curtain, I liked who she was on the inside. I liked her brutal honesty with me even when she was sometimes ashamed by her thoughts or admissions. I liked her directness and the fact that she never backed down from a challenge.
Whether it be a Segway race, a water-gun fight, or taking on a client who wasn’t like all the rest, she had a determination to her that I admired. She was also proving to be fun, which was the most surprising of all.
When she let herself, she really could relax just like anybody else. I hadn’t believed it when she’d texted it to me all those weeks ago, but she’d been right. I just got the feeling that she didn’t let herself do it very often.
“Okay, folks,” the band announced at the end of another song. “We’re going to take a short break. We’ll be back soon and then we’ll really get this party started.”
There was a smattering of applause, and then they left the small stage they were performing on. Grudgingly letting go of Isabella, I took a step back and smiled when my gaze met her blue eyes. They’d been sparkly all day, shining like sapphires in the sun whenever she looked at me.
“Do you want to take a walk while they’re on their break?” I asked, suddenly not ready at all to go back to our table and have to share her attention again. “For all the sightseeing we’ve done, we haven’t really had a chance to take a good look around the castle.”
“You really are something,” she said softly. “You keep accusing me of not being able to relax, but I haven’t seen you doing it for a minute since we got here. Now I’ve even found out that you’ve been reading at night.”
I shrugged. The truth was that I hadn’t been sleeping so much because I only stayed in bed until she was asleep. After that, I got up again, looking for something to distract me from how badly I wanted the girl in my bed. On our first night, I’d found an old worn copy of Romeo and Juliet in the library. There were tons of copies of it, actually, but I’d chosen the one that looked the most well used.
I went back to our room when I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. It was the only way I could think of to keep from going slowly insane lying there next to her. Or going to jerk off in the shower several times a night. Which might’ve raised some questions at the same time that it caused a water shortage in the country from the amount of showers I’d have had to take.
“I’m a night owl,” I said, which was also true. “I don’t need quite as little sleep as you do to function, but I can’t just put my head down on a pillow and fall asleep.”
She chuckled. “I’m usually the same way. I think the air around here has done me good, though. I’ve been out as soon as I close my eyes.”
“I know,” I joked. “I’ve heard the snores before your head has even touched the pillow.”
“Bullshit,” she exclaimed, flushing. “I don’t snore.”
I tapped the tip of her nose. “Keep telling yourself that, Bella. You snore, but it’s cute. Like you’ve got a tiny mountain lion stuck in your throat.”
“How is it cute that I sound like a mountain lion?”
“A tiny mountain lion,” I repeated. “Just think about how cute a miniature mountain lion would be. Then you’ll know what I mean.”
Her head dropped to one side before an adorable smile spread on her lips. “Yeah. Okay. I get it. Why haven’t you woken me up, though? Is that what’s been keeping you up?”
I snorted but stopped short of telling her the whole truth about whathadbeen keeping meup.Pun intended.“No. I’ve just got a lot on my mind. Not the least of which is finding a way to top that speech at the next wedding.”
“It really was a good one,” she agreed as we made our way out of the ballroom and into one of the hallways leading off it. “I’m sure you’ll find a way. You seem to be good at that.”
“Finding a way?” I thought about it for a minute. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. So are you, though. I still don’t know what those circumstances were when you were younger that made you so determined to lift yourself out of them, but I’m sure you’ve also had to do your fair share of finding a way around whatever was standing in your way.”
She hummed her agreement. “It looks like we’ve found something else we have in common.”
“Yep.” Not wanting to dwell on a topic she clearly didn’t want to talk about, I pointed at a painting on the wall. We’d stumbled on a hallway full of portraits of family members who must have held the castle, and they provided me with an easy way to focus her attention on something else.
“Do you think all the men from that time period had to have a painting made of themselves dressed regally while on horseback? There are enough of those kinds of paintings around that I have to wonder if it was mandatory.”