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I reach tentatively for her hand. “Let’s find our booth.”
She turns to me with a giddiness I’ve never seen before. “Okay.”
“Then…” I pull her close to me so I can whisper softly. “I want to watch you dance all night.”
I can feel the heat radiating from her cheeks before she even pulls away.
After everything she did for me last night, after everything we’ve been through, she deserves this. A moment to shine.
I take her hand as I lead the others up the stairs into the private lounge. The booths here are more padded and discreet, so even though they give a full view of the dance floor, you can still hear yourself think.
The girls waste no time addressing themselves to the bottle of champagne waiting for us on the table.
“Jesus Christ!” Felicity says as she immediately pops the cork. “I could get used to this!”
Roisin watches in faux disgust as her friend takes a swig directly from the bottle. “There are glasses right there, you know.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“SignorKnight?”
We turn to see that a well-dressed server has approached our booth.
I throw a casual arm around the back of Roisin’s seat. “Sí?”
“SignorCosta sends his regards but will unfortunately be unable to join you this evening. He hopes this will make up for it.” The gentleman motions for a cart to be pulled over.
Roisin gasps next to me as a pastel, vintage-style cake is presented to the table, adorned with sparklers and candles. The icing is so delicate it almost looks too good to eat.
Regardless, the staff respectively bow out as Roisin’s roommates begin a loud and thoroughly gleeful rendition of Happy Birthday.
She’s blushing beautifully by the time she blows out her candles.
“Roisin, are you sure you don’t want any of this champagne?” I look up to see Bella now taking an indelicate swig from the bottle. “It’s so good.”
Roisin glances at me with a small smile. “Nah, I’m good with cake.”
With that, she grabs a glass from the table and presses it straight into the cake, effectively cutting herself a glass full of dessert. The girls cheer around her, quickly following suit.
Felicity hands me a glass of cake with a respectful nod before turning back to her friends. “To Roisin. The baddest bitch that ever lived.”
We clink our glasses in the air triumphantly to the sound of Roisin’s laughter.
The sound thaws something inside me that had iced over in the wake of yesterday’s work. Even if I make a mistake, even when it feels like everything I’ve ever done is for nothing, I think… I think as long as Roisin is there…
I’m suddenly overcome with the desperate need to be close to her. To feel her body against mine.
Instead I clear my throat and reveal the small package I had wrapped up in my pocket.
Roisin looks up at me with a frown. “You didn’t need to get me anything, this is all more than enough.”
I anticipated this response and am primed with a rebuttal. “It’s not really a gift. Think of it more as an investment.”
“Color me intrigued,SignorKnight,” she teases back as she takes the parcel from my fingers.
It doesn’t take her long to unwrap the paper and a second later, she’s examining the sharp, silver knife in her hand in wonder.
“It’s something I like to keep on me at all times,” I explain as she admires the emeralds embedded in the handle. “Saved my sorry ass more times than I care to admit. I hope it will offer you the same comfort.”
