“Hiding out?”
I jumped, putting my hand over my heart. It beat fast and heavy. Whether that was from being surprised or him being close to me, I didn’t know. “You almost gave me a heart attack. What are you doing?”
Dante sat down on the grass next to me, looking out of place in his tuxedo. “Running away. You?”
“Same.”
“You are going to owe me for this, Limone,” he said as he took off his jacket and placed it on the ground.
“Owe you? Pretty sure you owe me now.”
He flashed that smile that always turned my stomach to jelly, and I forced myself to look back up at the sky, searching for stars that couldn’t shine through the layer of pollution.
“I owe you?” He let out a short laugh. “Don’t worry. I plan on paying you back.” His voice sounded weird. Ominous. Un-Dante-like.
Before I could ask what he meant, he said, “I heard things got crazy in there earlier.” He sounded like himself again. So I told him about the catfight that had taken place. He was laughing as I told the story. I, admittedly, played up the comedic aspects. I liked hearing him laugh. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
A twig snapped behind us and we both turned. I was worried that we’d been caught and they’d force us to go back inside.
“It’s only Marco.” I heard the relief in Dante’s voice. Marco was his primary bodyguard, and was one of the nicest people I’d ever met. One of the deadliest, too. I saw him practicing hand-to-hand combat in Monterra once, and I pitied the person who ever tried to get at Dante.
“Hey, Marco!” I called out.
“Buonasera, Signorina Lemon.” He melted back into the shadows, and we sat quietly for a couple of minutes until it was clear that he was giving us some privacy.
“I’m glad I caught you alone. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something.”
He suddenly sounded serious, which made me wary and a little nervous. Dante was never serious. I wondered if it was about how he planned to pay me back. Or the task thing he’d mentioned earlier.
“You should tell me about this fiancé of yours.”
“I don’t know if we should talk about this.” It seemed strange to talk about Sterling with Dante. I didn’t talk about Dante with Sterling, either.
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. We’re friends, and I would like to know what’s happening in your life.” He sounded so sweet and sincere. I ran through my list again of why Dante would be a terrible boyfriend.
Maybe talking about Sterling would help keep us in the friend zone. It would be a reminder to both of us that I was an engaged woman and he needed to stop chasing me for fun.
“What’s his name?”
“Sterling.”
“Sterling? That’s not a name. That’s a type of silver.”
I pushed him on his shoulder and he listed to one side, laughing. “I’m sorry. I won’t tease. Sterling what?”
“Sterling Jackson Brown, the fourth.”
“He sounds like a law firm.” I went to hit him again and he held up his hands, still laughing. “Sorry, sorry. Please tell me you’re not marrying a lawyer.”
I sat still for a beat. “What’s wrong with lawyers?”
“Everything’s wrong with lawyers.”
“My mother was a lawyer.”
“A lawyer created an angelic creature like you? I don’t believe it.” He reached out when he said this, brushing a strand of hair from my face and tucking it behind my ear. I held my breath until he took his hand away, and I closed my eyes slowly and opened them again. He made me more skittish than a newborn colt.
“True story. It’s how my parents met.” Even I could hear the wobbliness of my voice. I hoped he didn’t notice. “She was an environmental lawyer, and my daddy had started up his oil company, and they met in court when she tried to shut him down. They started dating once the trial was over. Daddy says he won the case and the girl, and then Momma reminds us that she only lost on a technicality, because she was a great lawyer who should have won.”
“How do you know she was great?”
“Because a good lawyer knows the law. A great lawyer knows the judge.”
He laughed at that, and I joined him. Most of my time spent with Dante alternated between wanting to laugh with him and wanting to punch him for making me feel things I didn’t want to feel.
It was exhausting.
“Did your mother keep practicing law?”
“She stopped when they got married. They wanted a family more than anything. My grandfather died when my daddy was young, and my poor grandmother, who had never worked a day in her life, had to work three jobs just to keep them afloat. They nearly lost the ranch. Daddy always says his proudest day was when he gave my grandmother the deed and made sure she never had to have a job again. He didn’t want my mother to have to work either. Or me.”