Blood pumped far too quickly through Zeke’s body. He looked at the sweet, beautiful face of the blonde woman at his side and then at her extended hand. Did they have to make this so hard? Couldn’t people just bow their heads and get the obligatory ritual over with?
Mia’s welcoming look slipped. Holly squeezed his hand. Joseph looked at him as if he had some serious issues. He did. They should know that. Their daughter was marrying his friend Demo. Demo or Jessie should’ve explained to them this was a bad idea to bring him here and thrust him in intimate and uncomfortable situations like praying and holding hands.
Don’t show weakness, he commanded himself. He closed his eyes and reached out blindly for Mia’s hand. He’d rather not look at the viper as it touched him.
Their hands connected, and Mia must have been an expert on this hand holding thing. She confidently secured their palms together and wrapped her soft fingers around the back of his hand. His breath shortened, and he realized instantly this was not a viper. This delicate but firm touch was the opposite of a viper. Unless it was being disguised and would bite and poison him soon.
Zeke didn’t dare open his eyes, but the sensation of warmth and his hand being in the perfect spot against Mia’s almost overwhelmed him. The initial handshake with her hadn’t been a fluke. He liked touching her. Liked her touching him. He liked it far more than he should.
He had no idea what Holly said in the prayer. He had no idea what was happening to his hand or his body. Without thinking about it, he wrapped his own fingers around Mia’s delicate hand and knew somehow … it would all be okay. Maybe he’d even be okay. He’d never felt such peace and security.
The prayer must’ve finished because he heard amens. His eyes sprang open, and he released both women’s hands as quickly as he could. He tried to forget the sensation of touching Mia. It was probably over-inflated because she was in danger and he felt responsible for her. Plus, how often had he held hands with exquisitely beautiful women in his life? Not since Rachel.
Rachel had worked at a supplement store off base that carried a few things he couldn’t get on base. She’d chased him for almost two years, slowly wearing down his barriers until he’d gotten comfortable with her, and he’d eventually assumed that must mean he should date her. When she said they should get married after dating exclusively for a year, he’d been terrified but had agreed. While he was on a two-month deployment, she’d met someone else and changed her mind about him.
He’d gone back to single status with a sense of relief he’d never shared with anyone. He was responsible for his SEAL unit and he cared for those men as much as he was capable of caring. It was a huge load off to no longer be responsible for Rachel and a future family. As he thought back, he couldn’t remember any touch with her feeling like the two times he’d held Mia’s hand. He’d learned to tolerate Rachel’s touch as she’d been gentle with him, the exact opposite of his parents’ touch. Rachel’s touch hadn’t repulsed him, but he’d never encouraged or initiated it. Mia’s touch made him warm and happy and somehow looking for a reason to touch her again.
Picking up his fork, he concentrated on his food. That was a lot safer than these deep thoughts. Despite being reheated, the food was delicious. Everything was savory and well-seasoned, the meat tender, the veggies still firm but soft, but the roll blew him away. He loved homemade rolls. His mom had always made gritty wheat bread that stuck with you for hours. He’d had to retrain himself to eat wheat as an adult. He still didn’t like it.
Holly’s roll with butter seemed to melt in his mouth. It made sense as Holly was as sweet, warm, and kind as his mom had been cold, belittling, and controlling.
Luckily the other three were having a conversation about each of Joseph and Holly’s children, getting Mia up to date. Colton and Bailey were just home from their honeymoon and happily settled in their house in the woods not far from here. Klein and Alivia were busy with numerous homes under construction and helping take care of his Granny Vance who stayed alternately with them or Thor and Shelly who lived next door. Both houses were up by Colton’s. Braden and Maddie were traveling the world protecting families and children from crime lords and traffickers. Zander and Jessie would be married at Christmas. Currently Jessie was with Zander in California, but she’d be home soon. Zeke smiled to himself, happy for his friend Demo to have found his perfect match in the sweet but brave Jessie.
They moved on to asking about Mia’s parents. It was a short conversation. “Mum’s as feisty and fun as ever, rocking the pickleball court and the charity lunches. Dad’s … well, you both know Dad. Mum adores him, but he is a pompous Duke.” She smiled at that, but it was tight. “You can’treallyexpect a royal to be fun or interesting. At least that’s what I hear. Maybe if he fit me in his busy schedule, I’d know.”
Zeke paused in his eating halfway through her explanation about her dad. He loved her accent and the classy and unique way she expressed herself, but she’d revealed a few important facts. First, her family wasn’t perfect like the Deltas and she was very open about it. Second, her dad was a pompous … Duke?
“Your dad’s a duke?” he asked, thrusting himself into their conversation.
She looked at him with her golden-brown eyes. “And proud of it.”
“Do I call you … Lady Mia?” he tried to tease, but this piece of information made him even more uncomfortable. He’d protected some royalty at different times throughout his career. Most of them hardly noticed their protection detail, unless it was to make sure he knew that despite his accomplishments, he was ranked far below them. Simply because his blood was common. Mia didn’t make him feel like that, though.
“Please don’t.” She laughed. “My mum hates being called Duchess. But she and my dad fancy each other and he never reminds her she doesn’t have royal blood. Though he expects her to attend certain functions with him, he doesn’t even get upset when she ‘acts like a commoner’ or when she teases him. Usually he’s too busy to notice her, but she takes whatever scraps of time he’ll give.”
His eyebrows lifted, and he saw Joseph and Holly exchange a look. “That’s … nice of him to not get upset?”
He often felt that the people around him were from a different world than he was, as it appeared most people weren’t raised by two-faced, hypocritical, narcissistic, and controlling abusers disguised as religious zealots. But she had truly been raised in a world he could never comprehend. Royalty. They were light years apart. It shouldn’t bother him, but it did.
Mia laughed harder at that. “My dad doesn’t know the meaning of ‘nice,’ but he’s a good man, loves my mum, donates his fortune liberally as long as it doesn’t affect his bottom line, and is respected and fair in his political and business dealings. Plus, he plays a mean game of cricket.” She grinned.
Her grin was perfect.
It was a lot better than he could say of his dad, but it was telling she didn’t say her dad loved her. She didn’t look like she wanted to dwell on what her father was or wasn’t, so he racked his brain for something else to ask her and came up with, “Do you help your dad with his … business and cricket, or play pickleball and attend charity lunches with your mom?”
“Mum,” she corrected. “Neither, actually.” She took a drink of water as if trying to decide how to answer him. “Except in December when I take the month off work and my mum and I buy and distribute toys to hundreds of children,” she looked sad to be missing out on that, which made him like her even more, “I design clothing.”
He looked over her sweater dress and felt his neck heat. He’d already noticed how perfectly it fit her. Custom made. By her. Her career fit her. Unique, creative, and completely beyond his comprehension. “Good for you.”
Which was obviously not the correct answer, as she gave him a placating smile and focused on her dinner.
“Mia.” Holly sounded exasperated. “You saying you design clothing would be like Zeke saying he’s a newly-enlisted soldier. You’re the best designer of women’s clothing in the world.”
“Ah, Auntie.” Mia smiled. “You’re such a love.”
“Well, you are. She is,” she told Zeke. “The girls and I each have dresses from her for church and special occasions. And of course every bit of her active wear we can get our hands on. Sometimes it takes a while shipping it across, but most Nordstrom and Macy’s stores carry her dresses and business casual now.”
“Auntie.” Mia sounded exasperated. “If you don’t buy direct from my site, you can’t use the discount code for friends and family.”