He caressed the nape of her neck now, a nape that had been bared by the almost careless way she'd pinned her curls up this evening, holding them in place with a pair of clips adorned with green dragonflies. She'd kept her makeup minimal, but had done something subtle with her eyes and lips, and her pale gold skin glowed beneath the recessed lightning over their table.
Sasha smiled up at him, her hand covering his where it still rested on the back of her neck. "Pretty good massage technique there," she teased. "Maybe I should start teaching you a few things. That way you can return the favor and give me a massage once in awhile."
Matthew pressed a kiss to her temple. "Anytime, sweetheart. Though there's no possible way I could ever return all of the favors you've done me."
She flicked the diamond and emerald drop earrings that had been another birthday present. "I'd say these are a pretty expensive form of payback."
He waved a hand in dismissal. "I'm not talking about gifts or money, Sasha. What you've done for me has no monetary value, can't be bought or paid for. You gave me my dignity back, my self-worth, and gave me a reason to wake up and look forward to the day ahead - something I hadn't done for a long time. So a few small material things are no comparison to the things you've given me."
Tears shimmered in her eyes as she cupped his cheek in her hand, pulling his face towards hers until their lips met in a brief, tender kiss. Across the table, Enzo cleared his throat until Matthew glanced up at him a bit guiltily.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "Couldn't help myself. As you said, she looks lovely this evening, more so than usual."
Sasha gave her father a look of disbelief. "Honestly, Papa? You of all people are objecting to one tiny kiss in public? It's a wonder I wasn't warped for life watching you and Mama go at it almost every time we were out somewhere."
Enzo grinned wickedly. "We were very naughty, weren't we, Katya? Ah, do you recall the time we almost got kicked out of that club in Madrid? Or when the waiter at that café in Brussels told us we were making the other diners uncomfortable? And then of course there was that incident in Mexico City when - "
Katya clamped a hand over his mouth before he could finish his sentence. "Enough, Enzo," she commanded in a tone that made Matthew sit up a little straighter. "Yes, I'm sure Mathieu gets the message that you and I were silly, romantic fools in our youth. Fortunately, we've finally grown up. Well, at least I have." She bolted down the rest of her champagne, smiling her thanks when Matthew refilled it. "Good God, I'm going to be fifty next year. And Sasha will be thirty a year from today. We're all getting old, I'm afraid."
"Speak for yourself," retorted Enzo, topping off his own flute. "You are as young as you feel, meu amor. And you look fantastic for your age, much prettier and in much better shape than a girl half your age. Hotter, too."
He nuzzled her neck then, and made to slide his hand up under her dress until Katya very firmly removed it, and gave him another of those icy glares.
Matthew frowned as he did some quick calculations in his head, and realized uneasily that he was actually closer in age to Katya than he was to Sasha. At forty-one, he was nine years younger than the mother, but eleven years older than the daughter. He'd never thought about the difference in age between himself and Sasha before, largely because she was so mature and composed for her age, something of an old soul. And eleven years really wasn't all that much, he reasoned. After all, there was a full fifteen years between Ian and Tessa, and he'd never met a couple who were crazier about each other than the two of them.
As dinner drew to a close, it quickly became apparent that for Enzo at least the evening was really just beginning. Sasha had warned Matthew that her father could turn into a real party animal at times, and evidently celebrating his daughter's twenty-ninth birthday was one of those occasions. Fortunately, Matthew had arranged for a driver this evening, having already witnessed the previous night how much Enzo could drink, and fearing that there would be pressure to keep up with him tonight. Sasha had arranged for a substitute to teach her Sunday morning yoga class, wanting to spend as much time as possible with her parents during their brief visit, so she somewhat reluctantly went along with Enzo's suggestion to go dancing.
Once inside the exclusive dance club - a place that would have been otherwise impossible to gain entrance to had Matthew not given the doorman a very sizeable tip - Enzo wasted little time in pulling Katya out on the dance floor. As they waited for their drinks to be served, Matthew let out a low whistle of admiration as he watched Sasha's parents more than keep up with the throngs of much younger couples out there dancing.