“Sabrina, meet my brothers Raphael,” he introduced, “and Adriano.”
Raphael smiled politely at Sabrina and then cocked an eyebrow questioningly at Luca.
He ignored Raphael and addressed all his relations in general. “Are you sure we’re all seated in one table?”
“Pretty sure,” Wolf answered, drumming his fingers on the table. He was eyeing Sabrina assessingly.
Luca wanted to take him by the collar of his white shirt and toss him out of a French window. Come to think of it, he wanted to upend the table and send all his male relatives scurrying off to beleaguer other guests. Wolf noted his baleful glare and flashed him an innocent smile that was all white, gleaming teeth.
“I hope they open the bar soon,” Johann quipped. “God, I hope they have beer.”
“I wouldn’t mind sitting at that table.” Adriano tilted his head at a table filled with women without dates. The women tittered when they saw Adriano’s interest.
“They all seem to be older than you, cuz,” Johann observed.
“I don’t discriminate,” Adriano retorted, leaning back against his chair and flashing his admirers a wicked smile.
“How egalitarian of you,” Wolf said slyly.
“Hey,” Adriano cried. He turned to his brothers and then pointed a finger at Wolf. “He’s using big words!”
Luca smiled apologetically at Sabrina. Without bothering to lower his voice, he said, “Adriano’s music teacher whacked him pretty hard with the bow of his violin when he was little. He hasn’t been the same since.”
The rest of the table snickered.
Luca’s ribbing glided like oil on an otter’s skin. Adriano rose to his magnificent height and adjusted his coat. “I would hate to disappoint those lovely ladies so if you gentlemen and Ms. Connelly would excuse me,” he said gallantly, “my audience awaits.”
Everyone watched in fascination as Adriano strode to the women-only table and procured himself a seat. Within seconds, he had the women giggling.
“Unbelievable,” Johann muttered under his breath. He looked envious.
“I thought you weren’t attending the reception,” he said in aside to Raphael.
“Mother’s tired. I had to represent.” He shrugged. “How’s the preparation for the launch coming along?”
They had changed seats after Adriano left. Raphael was now seated on one side of Luca while Wolf moved in on his brother’s vacated seat, ending up at Sabrina’s side.
Wolf was engaging Sabrina in small talk. She looked at ease with him, so he discussed business with Raphael while keeping one ear on their conversation.
It was a sit-down affair. Conversation flowed freely while plate after plate of delicious food was served.
Luca pretended to eat. As each dish was served, his tension began to ratchet up. He had spotted the Konstantinos twins two tables to their left, but there was no sign of Markos himself nor the other brother Mikhalis.
Sabrina was not faring any better. She seemed to be drinking wine more than eating. She was smiling at Wolf’s chitchat, but Luca noted it never quite reached all the way to her eyes.
Dinner ended at last. The lights dimmed and an emcee appeared onstage. The newlywed couple would be opening the dancing to their special song.
Amid applause, the couple took to the dance floor. The band struck the first few chords of music. Sabrina tried to figure out what romantic song it was. Princess Lexie broke into a surprised-looking grin when the singer crooned the first few words. Nic Fernandez nodded laughingly, kissed his wife on the lips, and enfolded her in his arms. They seemed to float and glide gracefully under the spotlight.
“Oh my God. Am I really hearing that Britney Spears song?” It took a few minutes for Sabrina to place the song since it wasn’t the pop version she was used to. She recognized it by the number of “oh baby’s” in the intro.
“I suspect there’s an interesting story behind that song,” Luca murmured, gazing with a fondly amused smile at the couple.
“I’m sure there is.” She hoped she didn’t sound too wistful. She dared a peek at Luca and found he was staring at her intently. She averted her gaze and gulped her wine. She was so tempted to abandon her plan and just whisk Luca away somewhere they could be alone.
The song changed to something else, still a slow one, and now people were joining the couple on the dance floor.
Luca stood with one smooth motion and extended his hand. “Shall we?”
Mutely, she followed him to the center of the ballroom.
She sighed in relief when he placed his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Heaven was a place in Luca’s arms, and she wanted to stay there forever. She couldn’t recall how many songs they danced to. Or what songs they were. She only wished they could’ve stayed on that dance floor all night.