Page 114 of Lucian

“Did you look inside the flowers?” he asked purposely.

“No, why?” Cecelia eyed him curiously, smiling even wider. “What did you do?”

“There’s something special in each of the bouquets. Be sure to check them all, yes?”

“Lucian … the flowers were enough.”

No, they certainly weren’t. Not for his mother.

“I love you, Mom,” Lucian said. “Always.”

Cecelia sighed softly. “I love you, too, my boy. Now, go keep an eye on your brothers before they steal Jordyn away.”

She didn’t have to tell Lucian again. Sure, he wanted to speak with his father about what he missed over the last couple of weeks, and Cecelia definitely deserved more of his time, considering he missed most of her birthday. Still, Lucian felt out of place when Jordyn wasn’t at his side.

“You’re a special kind of woman,” Lucian told his mother. “There’s a beautiful place in heaven for mothers of all boys, especially our kind.”

“So someone keeps telling me,” Cecelia agreed with a look back at Antony. “Go, Lucian.”

It wasn’t long before Lucian was back where he belonged, and so was his hand, firmly planted to the curve in Jordyn’s waist. Because some of the guests in the hall were friends of Lucian’s parents, those people made their way through the crowd sipping on catered drinks to give Cecelia birthday wishes. That, of course, led them to the brothers to say hello, also.

Jordyn didn’t stay hidden behind Lucian, and for that, he was proud. Introducing her to just a few people was good enough, as once they knew, it would start to spread between the others who were curious and asked without actually coming to meet her themselves. That was also how the gossip would begin to spread, but he didn’t care.

It wasn’t like he planned on leaving her alone to the wolves.

After the doors were opened to the ballroom for the important guests who were invited early to the Opera event, things moved more fluidly. While the whole night was essentially about the show happening later, the early party had a point, too. A silent auction was going on in the hall they’d just come from, all the proceeds being donated to a charity both Cecelia and Antony were fond of.

The live band in the background of the ballroom was of a more classical type. Certainly not to Lucian’s tastes, though his mother pulled him out to dance a waltz with her at least once. It led her to demanding he do the same with Jordyn.

How was he supposed to deny his mother when it was her birthday?

“Let me lead, sweetheart,” Lucian told Jordyn after she muttered for the fourth time she couldn’t dance to music like this. After the first steps, Jordyn caught on that the waltz was a simple few movements that followed the same pattern over and over. It was about the man leading to show off the beauty of his partner. “See, easy.”

Jordyn winked, then looked around. “People are watching us again.”

“Good. Beautiful things should be watched. They shine.”

• • •

“You don’t seem impressed,” Jordyn said quietly.

Lucian shrugged, chancing a glance over his shoulder at the curtain that kept their private booth closed off. “Opera and theater isn’t my favorite thing. Cecelia loves it, so Dante couldn’t resist getting us the balconies for her birthday.”

“I think it’s fascinating. The elegance and power mixed together is kind of astounding.”

“You do, huh?” Lucian was happy she was enjoying herself. “That’s all that matters, then.”

“It does get to be tiring after a while, though.”

Jordyn tossed him a grin from her plush leather chair pushed close to his. Between them, their fingers laid laced together, her thumb rolling soothingly over the side of his hand. It was the only thing keeping Lucian from nodding off in the dimly lit balcony, even with the singing filling the theater. Her innocent touch was ensuring Lucian’s body was fully awake and hyperaware of just how close she was.

Oh, he’d missed this woman terribly.

“Another hour,” Jordyn said, reading the event itinerary in her hand. “And then you’ll be free again.”

Lucian hummed lowly. “Or we could skip out now. I do have that hotel room booked for the night. It’d be a shame to waste it and the hot tub out on the balcony I didn’t even get to try.”

Jordyn’s lips crept upwards with a smirk. “Will Cecelia be terribly angry?”