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Now I narrowed my eyes at my brother. He knew Samuel, had known him eight years ago and acted as if he still knew him now. Did he have an answer to how Samuel was here now, still looking like he could be in his twenties?
“You know him?” I asked innocently.
“We’ve worked together over the years.”
“So I’m still not allowed to meet anyone you work with? I thought I’d outgrown that part of my life.” I could hear the edge in my voice, and judging by Nacio’s wince, he heard it too.
“I… Can you just trust me on this?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Maybe I want some trouble in my life.”
He let out a sigh I hadn’t heard in years. The six-year age gap between Nacio and me hadn’t felt so steep in recent years, and I hadn’t felt like he saw me as a child to take care of in quite a while, but that was how he was looking at me now. “Trust me, you don’t want this kind of trouble.”
“See, that’s the thing. Idon’ttrust you when it comes to this. You’ve always protected me, and I love you for it, but there are some lessons I need to learn for myself. So unless you can give me an explanation and a real reason I should stay away from Samuel, I’m going to be the judge of what kind of trouble I want in my life.”
This would be the moment I’d usually walk away from him, but the musicians were still in the middle of their song and I wasn’t nearly mad enough at Nacio to make a scene on the dance floor. So instead, I looked over his shoulder and did my best to ignore him while still following his lead in the dance.
Nacio didn’t say anything else for the rest of the song. When the last notes finished, he stepped back and took both my hands in his. He stared down at the black lace that covered one hand and the bare skin of the other. “He can’t give you what you’re looking for,” he whispered.
Then he walked away.
I made my way off the dance floor. I’d just picked up a champagne flute when I felt the shadow of a presence beside me.
“You look lovely tonight,” the smooth voice of Freddie Rossi said.
I turned toward the man I’d known since I was twelve, whom I knew was still my parents’ first choice for my husband.
He was twenty-six now, with curly dark hair and light eyes. Freddie was a handsome man and seemed nice enough from all of our interactions, but I’d never been able to get past the night I overheard my parents talking about their matchmaking plans. I knew he was in on them even though he’d only been eighteen at the time, and a part of me didn’t think I’d ever forgive him for planning with my parents instead of trying to win me personally.
I gave him my polite smile. “Thank you.”
“Would you like to dance?” The hopeful look in his eyes sent a tiny stab of guilt through me.
I held up my glass. “I’m taking a break from the dance floor at the moment.” I was torn between feeling bad for him and wanting to yell at him for trying to ask for my hand in marriage without askingme, as if we were still living in the Regency era. I’d never really gotten to yell at him for that. The opportune moment for that would have been the night I overheard my parents talking about my prospects. When Freddie approached me, I should have had the conversation then. Instead, I ran and met Samuel.
“Piper, can I ask you something?”
My stomach churned with something awfully close to dread. I nodded anyway before lifting my glass to my lips and taking a small sip. I wanted the drink to last me at least a few songs.
“Have I done something to offend you? I assure you, that was never my intention.”
I gave him a tight-lipped smile. I wasn’t sure what to say to him. My instinct was to brush off his worries, say he’d done nothing wrong, but that wouldn’t be the truth. “I believe you,” I said finally.
“That wasn’t really an answer.”
“What do you want from me, Freddie?” I turned to face him more fully.
His brow furrowed in a look of genuine confusion. “I simply want to mend whatever I did to upset you.”
I almost laughed. He wanted to know what he did to upset me? “Wouldn’t it be easier to find someone else to talk to than put so much effort into me?”
He glanced around the room. “It might be easier, but nowhere near as interesting. No one else in this room holds a candle to you. You’re the most beautiful and kind woman I’ve ever met.”
“You think I’m kind?” My brows lifted. I wouldn’t say I was mean, but I didn’t know exactly what would give Freddie the impression that I was kind. I’d never been overly friendly to him, brushing him off when he asked to dance at events like these. And I had declined every invitation he’d ever sent me.
Freddie chuckled. “You seem so surprised. I watched you with the children at bible camp when we were counselors as teenagers. I’ve seen the way you care for others. It shows. You’ll be a wonderful mother someday.”
I blinked at him. I hadn’t realized Freddie had been paying attention to that. For the first time, I considered that he might have wanted me for more than what the relationship would do for his connection to my family. “Why didn’t you ever say anything to me then?”
