Marjorie rolls her eyes, but his words make her smile. “Yes, yes, I know. Now, go dance.”
Kerry arches a brow. “They’ve barely started to play the music. No one else is dancing yet.”
“Exactly,” Marjorie says with a huff. “Be good hosts and get everyone to start.”
I turn to survey the crowd. People are mingling by the refreshment table, talking in clusters in corners of the room, and… a whole bunch of men lined up against the wall? They’re all dressed in suits and are quite handsome, but they’re all clearly members of the Nameless. I have no idea who most of them are, other than Alessandro and some I met at the wedding. They’re quite the variety of people. Some are covered in tattoos,from neck to fingertip, some have no visible tattoos. One looks like he walked off of the cover of a regency romance book, cravat and all. But Alessandro stands at the end of the line in a viridian and black tux, looking as proud as a peacock.
I barely register that I haven’t been paying attention until Kerry’s hand encompasses my elbow. “Amy?” His voice cuts through my distraction, and I snap back to attention. “Did you want to dance?”
I nod, and he smiles as he leads me through the room, towards the atrium-turned-ballroom. The room is adjoining the living room, which has been cleared out of furniture for the party. The walls and ceiling are made of glass, the chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling. It’s clear of any objects to make room for dancing, with a handful of musicians playing mostly stringed instruments in the corner.
We pass the lineup of rather intimidating men as we go. Most of them turn to look at us, and their gazes are heavy. They’re the type of men I’d be instantly anxious around normally. But not with Kerry next to me.
Alessandro perks up when he notices our approach, he steps forward, drawing our attention. “You look lovely,piccola signorina.Too pretty for him.” When Kerry tenses beside me, Alessandro grins. “For anyone. Like a goddess.” Kerry exhales, and I have to hand it to the man, he knows how to rile up my husband and then calm him down again. It’s kind of funny to watch.
But two can play at that game.
“Thank you. Actually, I’m a fairy. And everyone knows that the Irish are the only ones that know how to work with them, really.” My words make Kerry chuckle.
Alessandro’s eyebrows raise. “Ah, loyalty. A beautiful trait.” He clicks his tongue. “You have a special one there, Alasdair. Be careful not to lose her.”
Kerry smiles, his hand tightening on mine. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” His gaze flickers over the different men. I wonder why they’re all lined up like they’re on display, but I’m not even suretheyknow. He nods to each of them in greeting, before lingering on the man that’s from New York City. “Marshall.” He steps forward, releasing me briefly to shake the heavily tattooed man’s hand. “Thank you for getting all of Amy’s items for her.”
I pause, looking between the two men in confusion, having no idea what he’s talking about.
Kerry notices my befuddled look and turns to me to explain. “I asked Marshall to see if he could get into your previous home and get your belongings, and he came through.”
I turn to the man with wide eyes. “You did?”
Marshall nods, smiling like he’s proud to be getting our praise. “Yeah, I did. I hope you don’t mind me and my men going through your belongings. We tried not to peek around too much and just packed up everything in your room.”
Everything in my room?“Oh my god. That’s amazing. Thank you so much. I’d kinda written all of that stuff off as lost.”
Kerry rests his hand on the small of my back, rubbing gently. “I asked him mostly to get your legal documents. I figured it would be good to have your birth certificate and all of that. But he went over and above, and went through a lot of hassle to get it all here. Jack and Liam have all of it now and will bring it all up to our room after the party.”
Marshall shrugs, still grinning. “Yeah, well, it helped that you sent your private plane.”
“As if I’d ask you to lug all of her belongings through on a commercial plane in economy class.” Kerry scoffs. “You did me a big favor. I don’t forget shit like that. And this isn’t the first time you’ve done good things for me. I’m in debt to you.” Kerry reaches out to offer his hand to shake again.
Marshall clasps his hand firmly. “I told you before that I’ll keep it in mind, and I did. I know how you can return the favor.”
Kerry’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, but he’s not upset. “Go on, then.”
Marshall gestures to a tall man beside him, also heavily tattooed, with giant shoulders and a close cropped haircut of brown hair. “This is Anthony Windrow. He’s one of my best men, and someone I trust dearly. I told you before that we desperately need a better cleaner. And since O’Brien isn’t up for poaching…I was wondering if he could stay here and learn from her. He’s one of my best, as I said, and he’ll do good work for you. I’m sad to be losing him for any length of time.”
Kerry is quiet only for about ten seconds. “Seems like an excellent trade-off to me. I just need to speak to O’Brien about it and make sure she’s willing, but I doubt she’d be opposed.” Marshall looks relieved, and so does the man next to him. Kerry returns his hand to the small of my back.
Marshall nods and steps back into line. “We’ll discuss things more later, then.”
Kerry nods, turning away to lead back to the atrium to dance again, and I look over the men again. They look a bit lonely like that with nothing to do. They’re watching us go with various expressions, most of them neutral and only of vague interest. It’s a shame that they don’t have partners of their own to dance with.
All thoughts of anyone else flee my mind as soon as Kerry pulls me into his arms. His scent invades my lungs, his eyes drawing me in until I can’t think of anything but him. His eyes crinkle at the edges as he smiles down at me with such intense adoration that I can barely breathe, his hand sliding around my waist. The other hand intertwines with mine, his thumb occasionally caressing my skin.
I don’t know how long we dance. A long time, I think. I lose all sense of time and space in his arms. Other couples join us,but I barely notice. I’m too focused on Kerry, on the way his lips lift at the corners in a smile, on how he looks bathed in the soft golden light of the chandelier. He orchestrates our bodies to glide across the marble to the gentle rhythm of the music.
It’s magical. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.
That’s why it takes me too long to figure out that something’s wrong. Kerry tears his face away from mine to glare at someone. I blink, my brain coming back into play as I turn to see an unfamiliar man standing a few feet away from us, grinning. It takes me another moment to register that he’d said something. My brain races to remember it.May I cut in for a dance with the lovely lady?
