Even now that I know he’s real, I don’t pull my hand away.

“Why are you out here?” I ask.

“I just arrived and wanted to stretch my legs instead of taking one of those carriages. Why are you out here?”

“I needed fresh air.”

His gaze flits briefly over my shoulder. “You’re pretty far from the villa.”

“I didn’t realize.”

Finally, he releases my chin and steps back, taking me in from head to toe. My hand falls back at my side, and I wonder what he can see in the darkness. I’d pay every dime to my name to know what he thinks of me.

“I had no idea you’d be here.”

He tucks his hands into his pockets. “My father and Victor are close. When my father couldn’t make it for the celebration, I cleared my schedule to attend in his place.”

“What a small world we live in. Tiny, it seems. I saw you at the ballet earlier this week.”

His brows hitch with interest. “You were there?”

“Perched high up in a box, hidden away. You wouldn’t have seen me.”

“But you saw me.”

My cheeks flush. “I was standing up to applaud the dancers and I noticed you down in the crowd with your date. The two of you were hard to miss.”

He nods coolly. “Miranda works at GHV. She’s a friend of sorts.”

I tilt my head to the side, wanting more. “A friend who accompanies you to the ballet is a good friend indeed,” I goad.

He fails to take the bait.

“And who were you with?”

I wish I could say someone handsome and dangerous and bad for me in every way.

“My grandmother,” I reply, trying not to feel self-conscious.

“You two are close,” he notes.

“Extremely.”

“Then I look forward to meeting her.”

“You two haven’t met?”

“Not officially, though I do think she’s an acquaintance of my father’s.”

I hum. “I’m sensing a pattern here.”

He nods, understanding. “We can’t escape each other, it seems. It’s getting late. Were you going to head up to dinner soon? I’ll escort you.”

I pivot on my heels, and he comes up beside me. I think he’s going to extend his elbow for me to take, but instead, he presses his hand to the small of my back in the same way he did for his date at the ballet. I wanted to trade places with her then, and it feels heady to be experiencing it now. His firm grip of possession on my back is enough to sear through the dress layer between us. His pinky rests barely an inch above my tailbone, and the placement feels intimate rather than friendly. We continue up the path, and his hand slides slowly around the outside of my hip so he can gather me closer to him. I realize why a moment later when I narrowly miss stepping on a short branch that must have fallen from one of the swaying Cyprus trees.