‘In that case, I’m dancing.’
She stood up, suddenly impatient, but he didn’t lead her onto the dance floor. Instead, he steered her through the couples moving in slow circles out of the ballroom.
‘I thought we were going to dance,’ she protested.
‘We are. But not with all those people around us. I want to be alone with you.’
He didn’t mean it the way it sounded—she knew that. He was, she was sure, just relieved to have made it this far, and he was naturally better at all this stuff...especially at saying things that sounded intimate and personal.
That was the part she had skipped. Whereas Achileas was an expert—and you didn’t get to be that good without putting in the hours. Something wrenched inside her at the thought of how many women that meant, how many beds, how many kisses—
‘What is going on in your head?’ Achileas said quietly as he pushed open a door, then closed it behind them. He was staring down at her, his eyes intent, questioning.
‘Nothing. I was just trying to work out how many guests there are,’ she lied. ‘Only maths isn’t my strong point.’
‘Four hundred. But why count them when you could be counting the stars?’
He clicked his fingers and she gasped as the ceiling above their heads turned into a swirling galaxy of thousands of luminous white stars, sparkling against midnight-blue. His arms curled around her waist, and she leaned into him, staring dazedly up at the spinning night sky.
They were in the planetarium.
‘It’s beautiful,’ she whispered, turning to face him. ‘But are we allowed in here?’
He shook his head. ‘Not officially, no. But I bribed Manos and Stathis, the security guards, to take a little stroll round the block.’
She laughed, breathless, dizzy with a happiness she had never felt before. ‘You know their names too?’
‘Absolutely. I’m also on first name terms with Aris. He’s the technician. He’s in charge of the lights and the audio.’
He clicked his fingers again and the sounds of the orchestra from downstairs filled the room.
‘Let’s dance,’ Achileas said softly.
He wrapped his hand around her waist, pulling her against him, and they waltzed slowly around the room. She felt oddly fragile, and once again she wished that she had more experience. Was this how having sex made you feel about a person? Not just physically close, but as if the other person was a part of you, fused with you in a way that had nothing to do with bodies?
It must be, she concluded. That was why she was so attuned to his every movement, his every breath.
‘You’re full of surprises Achileas Kane,’ she said, tightening her hand against the swell of his shoulder.
‘Me?’ He frowned. ‘What about you? Every time I think I’ve got you pinned down you kick my legs out from under me. There are those lightning flashes of temper. And this dress...’ his gaze dropped a notch ‘...not forgetting, of course, the body beneath the dress. And now it turns out you dance like Cyd Charisse in Singin’ in the Rain.’
His hand pressed against her back, and he drew her closer, so that she could feel every detail of his muscular body. She knew the film. Her mum loved it. But surely, he meant Debbie Reynolds?
‘I wouldn’t have had you down as a fan of old musicals,’ she said lightly.
Something shifted in his face, just for a moment. ‘My mother loves them,’ he said at last. ‘I guess I watched them so many times I ended up loving them too. Although obviously that’s just between you and me.’
Her heart was beating too fast. It was the first time he had mentioned his mother directly and she wanted to ask more questions, only she could sense a reluctance, a hesitation beneath his words. Then again, most sons were protective of their mothers.
‘Of course.’ She kept her face serious. ‘What happens in the planetarium stays in the planetarium.’
He laughed then, and suddenly she couldn’t stop smiling.
‘As it happens,’ she added, ‘my mum loves old musicals too.’
‘So, she was the one who taught you to dance?’
Effie shook her head. ‘No, that was my dad. He was into swing and jive, you know, Lindy Hop, that kind of thing. Before everything bad happened, he used to take my mum out dancing on a Saturday night. Our neighbour Mrs Barker would come and sit with me.’