I feel utterly giddy as he holds me in his arms, slowly swaying with me to the music.
“This feels like a dream,” I murmur, shifting my arm around his neck. It pulls us closer together, and the grip he holds on my hip tightens.
“It is a dream I wish to never wake from.” Through his tone, I hear the conflict of emotions—the happiness mixed withsadness.
We’re reaching a point where we need to make a decision together, and knowing this makes the room feel like it's caving in.
I want to be with him more than I’ve ever wanted anything in this lifetime, but the thought of revealing who the love of my life is to my family feels like a hundred knives stabbing into my gut.
For the remainder of the song, neither of us says a word, but we hold each other close, slow dancing while the world around us ceases to exist.
It’s a beautiful moment.
Romantic and lovely, but somehow also filled with sorrow.
As the song ends, my stomach clenches when he bows low and presses a long kiss to the top of my hand.
“Ti amo, piccola ladra,” he whispers, then backs away, never taking his eyes off me as I stand frozen in place, watching him go.
It’s difficult to breathe, and as the song changes to an upbeat melody, I swallow thickly and go to find a drink.
The server submerges a large ladle into the cauldron and fills a crystal glass full of spiked punch. I take a sip just as my father comes to stand next to me.
“Are you having a nice time, sunshine?”
A shiver runs through me, fear slicing through my core as I wonder if my father recognized Sly.
“I am,” I tell him a little too enthusiastically.
“The best of the night is yet to come,” he muses, kissing my temple.
He walks away before I can ask what he means, leaving me what can only be described as a bewildered expression.
Sipping my drink, I go back to watching the party, looking everywhere to see where Sly disappeared to.
Knowing he’s here fills me with peace, but also an eruption of nerves.
Another slow song plays, its soft melody filling the room as couples stand and head to the dance floor, while others already on the dance floor break apart and find new partners. I watch the shift, wishing Sly would have allowed me one or two more dances.
“How fitting that you’re dressed as a princess when I’m here as a prince,” August’s slimy voice rumbles far too close to my ear.
I stiffen, but keep my chin held high. “Funny, it looks to me like you were a courtier, not a prince.”
He hums in a snide tone, not having a comeback to hurl at me.
“Come dance with me,” he says, encircling his hand around my wrist.
“No.” I pull against his grasp, but he doesn’t let me go.
“It wasn’t a request,” he sneers, and tugs me so I have no choice but to move, until we’re walking in step and he’s wrapped my arm around his.
He’s forcing my hand, strong-arming me into putting my fake smile into place under the watchful eye of those around us.
Once on the dance floor, he pulls me into his embrace, and we start to glide.
“Things don’t have to be so unpleasant between us, you know. I’m not as unfavorable as you think I am. I could make you very happy, Vinnie.”
I rear back, looking at him like he’s grown another head. “You’re kidding me, right? August, you disgust me. You’ve cornered me numerous times, threatened me with unspeakable things. Portrayed us as in a relationship in the media without my knowledge or consent. And that’s just to name a few things. You are the last person I would ever consider having in my life more than I already am forced to.”
