Just in time, Lilly came back with our food.

I sank my fork and knife into the tender meat and stuffed my mouth with the delicious lamb steak. I was never the type to eat slowly, so within minutes, I stabbed the last piece on my plate and raised it to my mouth. I put the utensils down, and as I looked up, I caught Vlad staring at me. “What?” I asked curiously.

Whether I liked it or not, Kris’s words came to mind.

You were looking at him and when you weren’t, he was looking at you.

Not giving me an answer, Vlad pushed his chair back and stood.

“Where are you going?”

“I am not going anywhere.” Standing to his full height of six foot two, he let his eyes bore into mine. “I’m going to show you what I usually do when I come here.”

“Which is?”

Bending forward, he leaned in, his face inches away from mine, taking up too much of my personal space. The last time we had been this close, our lips were against each other’s. My skin tingled and I could feel my heart beating, low and insistent in my chest. I was afraid he could hear the thumping—afraid that he could guess what was on my mind. I could feel his warm breath against my skin. The smell of soap and mint filled my senses with anticipation. Then he spoke, his lips intoxicatingly close to my ear, “So I could do this.”

For a second I thought he was going to kiss me, right there in the middle of the restaurant, but he straightened up and walked away, leaving me puzzled.

Sitting here right now, I realized how much had changed between Vlad and me. The meal had been delicious, but more surprisingly, the company was enjoyable. We were getting along. He was caring, patient, and he could even crack a joke. I watched him saunter to the front of the restaurant to the piano.

At some point, Lilly and Jake had come out of the kitchen and were now sitting at the table in front of the Christmas tree. The expressions of anticipation on their faces made me curious. Vlad took a seat on the piano stool and carefully placed his fingers on the black and white keys. He nodded at Lilly and Jake before turning his attention to the instrument. A moment later, the music effortlessly filled the air, like waves filling holes in the sand.

It should not have come as a surprise to me that Vlad could play, considering all Royals and Pure Royals had to learn at least one musical instrument so that they could sing praises for the gods and goddesses, but I had never seen him do it before. Somehow this felt intimate, almost as if he was showing me a piece of himself that he usually concealed.