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After an hour, I started to feel a little better about the party. Everyone had been so nice. They were curious about my life in Hanna, but Gabe kept the questioning to a minimum.
Every once in a while, I’d turn and catch him watching me, as if he thought I might break down at any minute from the pressure. All I could do was smile at him to let him know I was doing fine and that I wasn’t a complete basket case, despite the past few weeks. His face would turn red, and he’d jump immediately back in the conversation.
“I’m glad to see you doing so well.” Luke stepped away from a poker table and approached us, placing a warm hand on my shoulder. “My niece has told me you’re fond of reading. I have a wonderful collection should you ever run out of options.”
I doubted very much that I’d ever run out of options. The manor’s library canvased a room almost as large as this ballroom. But I smiled and thanked him all the same.
“Luke has been mentoring me,” Gabe told me with a proud smile. “He’s preparing me to one day take his place as a member of the board. It’s an honor.”
Luke smiled, the warmth in his eyes evident as he looked at Gabe. “The membership is supposed to pass to our children, but since I have none and Gabe is like a son to me, he will take my place. It is only fitting.”
I marveled at the respect the two men had for each other. Growing up in a town of women, I’d never had a chance to know what a father would be like. While I’d heard horror stories of the abusive men who beat their wives and children until they came
running to Hanna to hide, I’d still held out hope that there could be good fathers in the world. What I was seeing in front of me was exactly that, even if Gabe wasn’t really his son.
“I want you to know that we’re still working very hard on tracking down that demon that almost took you,” Luke said, his warm eyes narrowing in earnest. “We won’t stop until its dead.”
I wasn’t sure what Hanna would do without the goddess to sacrifice to, but I didn’t want anyone else to become a victim to that hideous creature. It would be good if they found it sooner, rather than later. I’d feel safer leaving here knowing that she wasn’t out there somewhere looking for me.
“Please excuse us, Luke,” Gabe said. “I believe this young lady owes me a dance.”
“Of course.” There was a teasing sparkle in Luke’s eyes as he kissed my hand, and left us to go back to his poker game.
Gabe led me out onto the dance floor just as the band began to play a slow tune that featured a beautiful antique cello. He wrapped one of his arms tightly around my waist and took my right hand in his. Before I knew it, we were standing close together, turning to the slow beat of the music.
A swarm of butterflies were fluttering in my stomach as I tried not to concentrate on the blazing hot touch of his hand. With every breath, I inhaled the intoxicating scent of his soap and a hint of vanilla. It was hard not to turn into a pile of jelly in his arms. Even the feel of his hand pressed against my lower back was making me nervous. I had to do something before I made a fool of myself.
“My friend Kate and I used to practice slow dancing when we were kids,” I told him, intending to concentrate on conversation rather than the way his touch sent shivers down my spine. “We thought that involved putting your hands on the other person’s shoulder and standing three feet apart during the whole song.”
Gabe chuckled in my ear, his soft breath tickling my neck. “I’ve never been very good at it myself, but I thought it was time to try.” He turned us around in a tight circle, never letting go of my hand.
“Granny never would’ve let me go to a dance anyway,” I told him. Talking wasn’t completely working, but it was better than losing my mind over his lips being so close to mine. “She thought boys were evil and that a cursed child like me didn’t deserve to go to dances.”
“Cursed?” He pulled away just far enough to make eye contact. “What do you mean?”
Silently, I screamed at myself. I shouldn’t have mentioned being cursed. What if it made him hate me? It was too late to take it back now.
“Well, she always told me that I was cursed because I killed my mother during childbirth. That’s why she was so hard on me.”
The words felt heavy on my lips, but I forced them out. If anyone, Gabe would understand the deranged ideas of my hometown.
His face turned red with anger as his jaw tensed. “That’s awful,” he growled, squeezing my hand just a little too tight. “No one deserves to be treated that way. Least of all, you. I’m so sorry you had to grow up like that.”
I looked up at his eyes blazing with passion. Something inside me took control and before I could stop myself, I leaned on my tiptoes and softly kissed the corner of his mouth. Electricity ran through my veins and pooled in my stomach. He turned his head and kissed me again, the hand on my back pulling me in tight. The warmth of his soft lips would’ve engulfed me if he hadn’t suddenly pulled away and dropped his hands.
“I’m sorry, that was a mistake,” he said, running a thumb over his bottom lip. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
The nerves that had been bouncing around my stomach all evening froze, leaving me feeling like something had torn out all my organs and replaced them with lead. I’d been stupid to kiss him like that. Humans were just another plague on the planet to someone like him.
“I have to go,” I told him, searching for an exit through the heavy crowd.
He frowned. The regret forming in his eyes doused me like a bucket of cold water.
“Wait, Lizzy. I didn’t mean…”
Just as I stepped out of the ring of dancers, a new crowd pressed in, yelling and singing. They were going on about a game with feats of strength. I looked over my shoulder to see a group of guys corner Gabe and push him back into the center of the ballroom, wanting him to compete.
He scanned the crowd, but didn’t spot me as I ducked behind some people. It wasn’t hard to hide. Most everyone here was way taller than me, a pleasant surprise after coming from the petite women of Hanna.
