Tori
Chapter 3
“The princess returns,” Stefan said, flashing a devilish smirk as I approached.
I had marched back out to the ballroom with my chin up, determined to approach this proposal with an open mind. Now I was standing in front of my maybe-fiancé, trying to reconcile his flirting with the formal, gentlemanly front he’d put up when my parents had been standing there.
I liked him better this way.
“I thought you might’ve run away with a stable boy or something,” he teased. “Not that I would have blamed you. You looked shell-shocked. Though I’ll admit, this whole situation is…”
“I believe the Latin term is ‘insanus maximus,’” I blurted, then immediately regretted it.
But Stefan just tilted his head and laughed, in the same full-throated, infectious way I’d seen earlier. This time I joined in, and when we shared a smile afterward there was an undeniable spark of heat between us. This was good. Chemistry. Attraction. And he’d enjoyed my Latin joke. Whatever lay ahead of us, we would at least have that.
“You are…not what I expected,” he said. “It’s a pleasant surprise.”
“And I hadn’t expected this at all,” I said.
At the end of the day, I knew I was lucky. My father could be trying to marry me off to someone like Congressman Ellis—wealthy, well-connected, but several times my age. Instead, he’d found me a young, handsome man with devastating green eyes and a laugh I already loved.
It still didn’t feel real.
“I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot,” Stefan said as the orchestra began to play a waltz. “In the interest of starting over, may I have this dance?”
“You laughed at my nerd humor, so I guess you’ve earned it,” I said with a smile, and took his hand.
He was a good dancer. Incredible, actually. As I fell in step with him, a hum of electricity seemed to buzz between our bodies, his palm hot against mine.
“Your dress is stunning,” he said as we spun around the dance floor. “You look like a fairytale princess. My sister Emzee’s favorite when she was little, I think. The one with the mouse friends and the missing shoe…”
“Cinderella,” I murmured, suddenly struck shy again. His voice was low and soothing, his breath warm in my ear, giving me goosebumps.
“Right. The one with the carriage made from a squash. Completely impractical.”
I laughed, missing one of the steps. “It was a pumpkin, actually.”
“Ah yes,” he said, guiding us back in time with the music. “I’ve always liked pumpkins. They’re the spirit of Halloween. The one night of the year when everyone wears a mask.”
“Do you often wear masks?” I asked. I was trying to tease, but I also wanted an answer.
“We all do,” he said. I couldn’t read his expression, and I wondered what he kept hidden beneath that handsome exterior. Darkness? Danger? Loss?
I realized I was staring when those lips curved up into a smile. “You’re studying me like a book, Victoria Lindsey.”
“Sorry.” I dropped my gaze, my cheeks suddenly burning.
“Don’t apologize. I’ve been warned you’re an academic. An inquisitive mind is nothing to be ashamed of. Just remember what they say about curiosity and the cat.”
Every word out of his mouth sounded erotic. I trained my eyes on his feet and the swish of my dress against the floor, taking several breaths to cool off before I spoke again.
“Please call me Tori. Nobody calls me Victoria unless I’m in trouble.”
“Maybe you are in trouble.”
He smiled, and I had to look away again. His flirting was over the top, but it had its intended effect on me. Was he doing this on purpose, to sway me? And if so, did I really mind?
His hand was firm on the small of my back as we passed close by the orchestra. With the tiniest pressure, he directed me where to go. Dancing with him was like a dream.
