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“Thank you,” Lucas said, tucking the envelope in his own jacket. He’d get that safely into Candace’s hands later. “We truly appreciate it. Everything.”
Geoffrey started to turn away, his hands shoved into his pockets, but he stopped, his eyes locked on someone in the crowd. Lucas followed his gaze to find Geoffrey watching Snow as he escorted Anna back to where Jude was waiting on the sidelines, a wide easy grin on his face, erasing years of worry and pain from his handsome face.
“I’m glad he’s happy,” Geoffrey murmured and then he disappeared back into the crowd.
Andrei slid his hand into Lucas’s, threading their fingers together before giving him a little jerk. “Come on, Mr. Popular,” he said, pulling him toward the dance floor. “This will probably be the last break you have for tonight.”
Lucas grinned as Andrei led him out to the center of the floor as the band struck up another slow song. He pulled Andrei in close so their chests were touching but let Andrei take the lead. Around them, a gentle applause broke out, but Lucas couldn’t tear his eyes away from the handsome man in front of him.
“I love you,” he suddenly said because he couldn’t hold the words back.
A smile spread slowly across Andrei’s face and it was like watching the sun break over the horizon, pushing back the night. “I love you too.”
“I hate to break this up, but are me and Smee the only ones working?” Rowe’s voice broke over the earpiece. Both Lucas and Andrei laughed loudly before Lucas pulled Andrei tightly against him and spun them around.
“Shut up, Tinkerbell,” Snow suddenly growled in their ears. “Let them have this.”
Andrei brushed a kiss across Lucas’s jaw. “How did I forget we had such a big audience?” he said with a chuckle.
“Because the world falls away when I’m with you,” Lucas said.
“Oooooh…that’s good. Do you practice in front of the mirror or does it come naturally?” Hollis suddenly chimed in.
Lucas rolled his eyes and Andrei snickered. No, this really wasn’t the best time to have their moment, but if they were going to have it, he was glad that his family was there to share in it in their own unique, quirky way. Still smiling, he kissed Andrei one last time as they continued their slow dance in silence and he enjoyed the feeling of Andrei in his arms, his strong body moving against his. Later tonight, when this was all over at last, he’d slowly make love to him until his voice broke on shouts of Lucas’s name and his body shook with need.
The song wound down and the partygoers around them politely applauded again. They smiled, standing in the center of the floor, hand in hand, waving to the crowd before Lucas spotted Candace standing close by with a worried look on her face. He gave a slight nod and then directed Andrei over to where Candace waited for them.
“One of the waitstaff said that they found this in the prep area,” she said, handing over a white envelope with Lucas’s name written in block letters across the front.
Something twisted in his stomach. “I’m sure it’s just another donation. I’ll look it over.” He tucked it into his jacket and then handed over the envelope that Geoffrey had given him. “Please make sure this gets safely put away.”
Lucas politely chatted with some of the partygoers as he weaved through the crowd, aware that Andrei was resolutely remaining on his heels. He glanced around to find Snow watching him, but he was a good distance away with Jude and Anna. He didn’t see Ian and Hollis, but on his last turn on the floor, they were on the opposite side of the rotunda.
“Report in, Nibs,” Rowe snapped. “What did you receive?”
“This is quite a crowd you’ve managed to gather,” Andrei said, indicating to Rowe that he and Lucas were still surrounded and couldn’t reply.
It was several minutes before Lucas and Andrei could pull away from the crowd to find a private, empty corner. Lucas immediately pulled out the envelope and tore it open to find a single sheet of paper covered in the same rough blocky scrawl.I SEE ALL YOUR SNEAKY EYES.
COME TO ME ALONE OR I GO TO IAN.
LIBRARY.Lucas met Andrei’s wide gaze and grabbed his arm when his lover opened his mouth to speak. He shook his head, his lips pressed into a hard, tight line. If Andrei said the wrong word right now, everything could fall apart. Jagger couldn’t think they were shifting the security around to find him.
“Everything is fine,” Lucas said, forcing a cocky smile onto his lips while Andrei was still frowning at him. “Andrei and I are going to steal a private moment in the library.”
“Ugh,” Rowe groaned. “Don’t get anything on the books. Those are historical documents.” Lucas heard a couple of their friends snicker softly in response, but his attention was on Andrei’s worried expression. Crumpling up the note, Lucas shoved it into his pocket and grabbed Andrei’s hand. They were ending this thing.
