Page 23 of Bearing Secrets
The joke was the exact thing needed to relax both of them as they shared a laugh.
“Are you certain I’m the best choice?” she asked him after another few bites of the bread.
“No,” he admitted. “But you adapt well to unexpected situations, and that’s all that I can ask for really.”
“What the hell is it you’re hiding?” she asked, leaning forward.
Kirell smiled but he didn’t answer. He had her now, he could feel it. Her curiosity was piqued, and there was no way she was going to back out now. Hopefully, when it came time, she would be a better actor than she was now.
Otherwise, they were all going to be in trouble.
10
“Your friend seems…interesting,” Kirell remarked as the waiter cleared their dishes.
Natalia laughed lightly. “Loren is one of a kind, that’s for sure. Hopefully she didn’t bother you.”
“Not at all. I admire her desire to protect you.”
“Protect me? She was the one who forced me to come talk to you last night, and then dialed the number on your card today. I’m not sure you can call itprotectingwhen she forced me into the situation!”
Truthfully, she was glad for it. On her own, Natalia would probably never have called Kirell back. She was too much of a wuss like that. Only Loren’s forceful intervention had ensured she went to dinner with him. A dinner that was absolutely delicious. The lobster had been amazing!
Now they were enjoying the last of their bottle of wine, while she waited to see where the night went next. She wasn’t too thrilled by the admission she’d have to spend most of the next two days with him, unable to talk to Loren or anyone else, but her curiosity was at a peak as well. Just what was he hiding, and how much more would she be able to find out about the reclusive Ursa family, she wondered?
“Well that’s just looking out for your well-being. She knows that you agreeing to this will work out for the better for both of us.”
“You seem so positive.”
“We both need something that the other can provide. It’s a perfect match, really. You have to admit that. It couldn’t be better if we’d designed it ourselves.” Kirell tilted his glass in her direction as if to saycheers to you, before taking a drink.
Behind him, half a dozen servers came out and started to move empty tables to the side, creating an open space on the floor, while the lights in the individual chandeliers above each table dimmed, creating a more intimate atmosphere.
“What’s going on?” she asked. Had something been spilled?
Before Kirell could answer, music spun up, piped into the area through hidden speakers. It was somewhat louder in the open area, but not enough that she would have to raise her voice to speak across the table.
“It’s a dancefloor,” he answered her, the first couples moving out into the space, swaying slowly to the sounds of a full symphony.
“Aww, that’s cute.” She watched as the dancers, mostly older couples, smiled and laughed with each other as they danced. It was nice to see them all still so happy with one another. That was what she wanted out of a relationship. Out of a marriage. Long term happiness.
Natalia had always assumed she would only ever marry once. For love. That she would find a man, and that they would spend the rest of their days together, the truehappily ever after. Never had she considered that she’d get married out of convenience.
Getting married drunkenly by accident in Las Vegas with a lustful fling? Regrettable, but an entertaining story in the long run. She would have accepted that. This, though, this was so businesslike that she felt awkward. Almost icky, despite it being the only solution to her current problem.
“May I have this dance?”
She looked back at the table, only to see Kirell’s seat empty. He was instead standing next to her, hand outstretched, ready for her to take it.
“Ohhhh, no,” she laughed, shaking her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Ohhhh, yes,” he mimicked, taking her hand anyway when she didn’t give it to him and gently pulling on it. “It’ll be fun.”
“I don’t know any formal dances.”
“Just follow my lead, and don’t grin on me. It’s not that type of place.”
She punched him lightly in the stomach as she stood, disguising the attack with her movements. “I’m not that dumb.”
