Her eyes fluttered shut as he pulled the sheet up over them and she snuggled into his embrace.
“Calandra...”
“Hmm?”
Silence. Then another soft kiss on her temple. “Nothing. Go to sleep.”
Something in his tone filtered through, a hesitancy that sent off a distant warning bell. But the satisfaction from their lovemaking, coupled with the events of the day, silenced it, and she drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THEELEGANTSTRAINSof a violin carried across the ballroom ofLa Reina. Sequins sparkled under the light of the chandelier, silk flashed as dancers spun across the floor and champagne bubbled in over a hundred glasses.
“I’m still irritated that you chose champagne over my wine,” Adrian said as he took a sip.
Everleigh patted her belly. “And I’m still irritated that I can’t drink any of it.”
They stood off to the side of the ballroom with Alejandro, watching as guests arrived. Even though the event was designed primarily to show offLa Reinato the board, Alejandro had followed Adrian’s lead from the merger party he and Everleigh had hosted a couple months ago and invited his employees.
“Not too bad.” Antonio appeared next to Alejandro and clapped him on the shoulder. “Perhaps we should go into business together more often.”
Alejandro smiled as his eyes roamed over the crowds. “Perhaps.”
“Looking for someone?”
Adrian’s voice was light, but Alejandro didn’t miss the edge in his older brother’s tone.
“Perhaps.”
Everleigh leaned in. “Did you decide what you’re going to do?”
Alejandro’s eyes snapped to Adrian’s face. “You told her?”
“Told her what?” Antonio asked, his gaze swinging back and forth like he was watching a tennis match.
Everleigh blushed. “I’m sorry. He was so irritable in Paris that I pried it out of him.”
“I wasn’t irritable!” Adrian retorted.
Before his family could drive him nuts, Alejandro walked away. He would deal with his brothers and soon-to-be sister-in-law later. Now, he wanted to find Calandra.
She had truly outdone herself. The food, brochures full of pictures ofLa Reina’s completed rooms and a story about where the ship would be in a year, sprigs of lavender she’d added to the rose centerpieces in a nod to some of the excursions they’d be offering—all of it was better than he could have ever envisioned.
“Alejandro!”
He turned, unable to contain his grin as his mother approached him, arms open wide.
“I’m so proud of you!” she gushed as she hugged him. “You’ve turned this ship into a marvel.”
“Gracias, Madre.”
He started to say more when a flash of yellow caught his eye. He turned. His heart stopped in his chest.
He hadn’t been sure she’d wear it. But after he dropped her off in Marseille to do a final walkthrough ofLa Reinayesterday morning with a heated kiss and a whispered goodbye, his feet had guided him down the lane to the boutique. He’d wanted to give it to her in person, see her face when she opened it. By the time he was done with his own preparations for the party, and he’d cracked open the door to the guest suite, Calandra had been fast asleep. He’d had to settle for leaving the petal-pink box with a white ribbon on the table.
The longing to crawl into bed with her, to wake her with kisses and hear her say his name as he slid inside her again, had been almost unbearable. But something held him back. They hadn’t talked the rest of the night in Provence, aside from whispering each other’s names as they’d woken sometime around midnight and made love again. Then once more in the morning when they climbed into the shower together and she’d sunk to her knees and taken him in her mouth. He’d nearly come undone before he’d grabbed her by her elbows, lifted her up, wrapped her legs around his waist and thrust inside her as hot water had poured over their naked skin.
The car ride had been spent in pleasant, companionable silence, their fingers woven together. Talk had been unnecessary.