Page 31 of Fix You

I shook my head. “No, no. It’s not like that. He’s just ridiculously overprotective.”

“Trust me, I get it.”

“You do?”

Rafe nodded. “Even though you’re Irish, we’re really not that different. Many families like ours want their women untouched. Even something as simple as a dance with a strange man can be seen as tainting them.” He grimaced. “The last thing I would ever want to do is taint your honor, Maeve.”

I stared intently into his face. There was no pity. No disgust. He still saw me as honorable, not soiled or broken. Was it possible that Raphael had no idea what I’d been through?

Shaking my head, I shook myself from my thoughts. “You haven’t tainted me,” I argued. At Rafe’s continuing look of concern, I smiled. “Besides, you aren’t a stranger–you’re my inlaw.”

He returned my smile. “I suppose you’re right.”

More than anything, I wanted somehow to convey to him how much I wanted to be in his arms at that moment. “Despite what you might’ve thought about my posture, I really am glad to be dancing with you.”

His smile broadened to reach his eyes, causing my stomach to flutter. He was even more handsome when he smiled. Maybe it was because it changed his whole demeanor. “I’m so glad to hear you say that.”

He stared intently into my eyes. For a moment, I saw a storm of indecision swirling in them. And then he appeared to override whatever hesitation he’d had. “When I saw how much you wanted to dance, I couldn’t get to you fast enough to ask you to dance.”

His words caused a dizzying flurry of emotions to crash over me. How could he have possibly known I wanted to dance? I thought he had come over just to be polite. Or maybe to get back at Callum for the kiss he’d shared with Caterina.

Slowly, I shook my head back and forth. “But how could you have possibly known that’s what I was feeling?”

“I saw the longing in your eyes.”

Once again, my head swam with his words. Men were supposed to be clueless creatures who never fully grasped what their significant others were saying, least of all what they were feeling. How was it possible someone I’d just met could know me so well?

In a whisper, I replied, “You saw that from all the way across the terrace?”

He nodded. “Since the moment Caterina pointed you out to me, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you.”

Blinking at him in disbelief, I blurted, “But you were looking at Careen.”

Raphael’s dark brows furrowed. “Who?”

“The girl with the really big boobs falling out of her dress that was sitting in front of me.” At the description I’d painted for him, I inwardly groaned. Mortification flushed my cheeks when Rafe gave me an amused smile.

“I don’t recall anyone with that description. But that’s probably because I was focused on you.”

“Youwere focused onme?”

“I was.”

“Oh,” I murmured.

As we followed the beat of the music, my body became used to his. My fingertips resting on his broad back feathered over his taut muscles. At the same time, I fought to keep my nervousness from making my hand sweaty.

“I have a confession to make,” Rafe said, his deep voice rumbling through me.

“Oh?”

An impish glint flashed in his eyes. “I’ve never danced with an Irish girl before.”

Feeling more comfortable and more confident, I tilted my head at him. “Do Irish girls dance differently than Italian ones?”

Nodding, a grin curved on Rafe’s lips. “Italian girls don’t hop around.”

An easy laugh tumbled from my lips. “We don’t hop,” I countered amusedly.

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