She went and kissed Joey’s cheek. “Thank you.”
Trey looked up, and his eyes, too, bulged. “Misby! You’re like a fairy princess!”
“Well, thank you, love. Your daddy is taking me to a ball tonight.” She went over and hugged him.
Carlo did, as well. “We’ll see you in the morning, pal. You be good for Pop-Pop.”
Trey rolled his eyes. “Daddy! I’m always good! I’m a good boy!”
All the grownups laughed. “You’re right. My bad. Love you, pal.”
As they turned, Carlo Sr. grabbed Sabina’s wrist and gave it an affectionate shake. “Give ‘em hell, girl.”
“I will, Pop.”
“I know you will. Anyway, lookin’ like that, they’ll be struck too dumb to pester you with nonsense.”
She kissed her father-in-law-to-be on the cheek, and Carlo took her hand and led her out.
~oOo~
“How do you get out of this?” Carlo’s hand ran over her hips and waist, looking for a zipper. He was already out of most of his tuxedo, now wearing only his pants.
“At the top—there are hooks.”
“Oh!” He found the hooks at the middle of her back and unfastened them. “You really made a scene tonight. I’m not sure anybody cared about my silly little building.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “I hope that’s not true. I didn’t mean anything like that.”
“I know, and I’m joking. I had plenty of attention. More than I like.” He pushed the satin straps off her shoulders and then the dress over her hips. “You’re not wearing any underwear.”
“Where do you think I would have put it under this dress?” She stepped out of the puddle of shimmering turquoise.
He laughed. “If I had known you were commando, I would have found a dark corner and done you right there in the ballroom. Because that is blazing hot.”
“I would have liked that.” She turned and pressed her chest to his, hooking her arms over his shoulders and sliding her fingers into his hair. She was still wearing her silver heels, but nothing else.
“Yeah? Okay. Good to know. Public sex is on the to-do list.” He trailed his knuckles down her back, then cupped her ass in both hands. He clutched her to him, and she reveled in the feeling of his clad body against her bare sex. She moaned, and he kissed her.
With his mouth still light on hers, he murmured, “You were amazing tonight. I thought I was going to have to lay a couple of those reporters out, but you just charmed them stupid.”
She shrugged. “It’s a world I know. Not a world I like, but one I know.” She sucked a little on his bottom lip, until he grunted and flexed. “You were amazing, too. I’m very proud. You are an artist.”
He grinned with obvious pleasure. “It’s my best work. And it’s great working for this guy. He gets it. That doesn’t happen often.” His eyes suddenly darkened. “Bina, can we set a date?”
Having thought about this since they’d been engaged, she had a ready answer. “I would like to marry in May.”
“May? That’s so long from now. Seven months.”
“Yes, I know. But we’re together now, as we will be forever, yes?”
“Yes…” Yet he continued to look dissatisfied. Sabina had to admit that she enjoyed his impatience to wed her. But she didn’t want to rush. They had rushed everything so far, moved with a speed that could easily be considered foolhardy. Though she no longer questioned the rightness of their choices, she saw no reason to rush this final choice. In fact, she had reason to take it more slowly.
“I would like to wait until after the holidays. And May is important to me. It’s when we met. When I became free. When my life started. It’s a very good month. It feels lucky to me.”
His brow had smoothed as she’d spoken. “Okay. May it is. At Christ the King?”
“Of course. Then a party on the beach?”
Carlo laughed. “You’re amazing. That’s perfect.” He lifted her, and as he turned toward the bed, she hooked her ankles at the small of his back, making him grunt. “Fuck, baby. Leave the shoes on.”