“He doesn’t appear to be in the best mood right now,” Whit whisper-yelled. “And he specifically asked you to stay in your room and pack up all your shit.”
“Whit,” I said reproachfully.
“Belongings,” Whit amended, his lips twitching. “You have so many belongings.”
He pulled me closer until I was flush with the long line of his body, and I let out a protest. He looked down at me, a sardonic curve to the blunt edge of his mouth.
“I’m not going to ravish you against this column, Olivera. I just don’t want you to be seen.”
My cheeks flooded with heat. “I knew that.”
He winked. “Sure you did, my little innocent.”
“This is hardly the moment for teasing.”
He took my hand. “Let’s make a go for it.”
“If Tío Ricardo sees us, he’ll make a scene,” I warned. “Your hearing will never be the same.”
He peered into the crowd. My uncle stood in the dead center, as if by some instinct he knew he needed to position himself within easy reach of the grand staircase. But at least he faced the lobby entrance, his back turned to where we needed to go.
“Do what I do, and don’t do anything so stupid as to trip or faint.”
“I have never fainted in my life,” I said in my haughtiest voice.
He pulled me around the pillar, and we slowly walked through the crowd. Whit kept a careful eye on my uncle, and I kept a careful watch on my husband.
Husband.
I swore I’d never get used to it.
Whit stopped abruptly, motioning for me to stay behind him. We stood alongside a group of four Egyptian businessmen, their tall tarbooshes concealing Whit’s towering height. They puffed on their cigars, discussing cotton prices. Through the gaps, I caught my uncle’s feverish gaze roaming the room. He looked so terrible with his hollowed-out cheeks and red-rimmed eyes that I wanted to usher him up the stairs myself. But then I recalled his demand that I leave the country posthaste.
My sympathy soured.
Whit squeezed my hand, and we moved forward, darting and ducking around the room as if we were game pieces on a massive chessboard. One step forward there, two steps to the side here. After taking a moment to hide behind an enormous potted plant with leaves that plumed outward like a broom, we finally reached the foot of the stairs. Whit peered down the corridor leading to the dining room.
“I’ll return shortly,” he said before running down the hall.
I gaped after him, scrambling behind a voluminous curtain obscuring an arched window. I peered around the thick embroidered fabric in time to see my uncle drop into a leather seat in one of the alcoves. He leaned forward and retrieved a discarded newspaper and idly ruffled through the pages.
I snapped the curtain around me, breathing hard. Where had Whitgone? And did he really need to run an errand that precise moment? Couldn’t it have wait—
“I can see the toes of your boots,” came an amused voice. Whit swept the curtain aside. In his left hand, he carried a bottle in the deepest green, a shade that reminded me of Elvira’s eyes when she was furious. I took a closer look and corrected myself. He carried anexpensivebottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne from 1841. Grinning, we made our escape to the upper floor, but all I could think about was that I walked beside myhusband.
We belonged to each other now.
I snuck a glance in his direction, sure I’d imagined the whole evening. His auburn hair that couldn’t decide if it was red or brown, the strong line of his shoulders, and his blue eyes that were sometimes serious, sometimes mischievous, sometimes bloodshot.
Whit threw me a sidelong look. “We make a good team, Olivera.”
“It hardly seems real,” I murmured as we reached the third floor.
“And yet here we are.” Whit took my hand, his warm palm grazing mine, and I shivered. “Regretting me already?”
“Ask me again tomorrow.”
We reached my hotel door, and I stared at it dumbly, only just realizing the part that cameaftera wedding. Whit leaned against the frame, his gaze drifting from my face down to my toes. He’d never looked at me so thoroughly. I felt naked beneath his study. We were still holding hands, but neither of us moved to reach for the handle.
