Page 94 of Kissing Games
The ceilidh had already been goingfor an hour when Valentina walked down the main stairs with Shauna.
Her new personal assistant was trying to keep her excitement in check, but it kept bubbling out. ‘Do you think all the local men will be in kilts? Have you checked out the castle website? The earl is just so…’ She sighed. ‘Manly.’
Valentina smiled despite herself. Rory did seem to have quite the effect on the women in the crew. And half the men too. As did Charlie. She bit back a sigh. She’d seen the way people looked at him, even if he appeared oblivious to the attention.
Valentina slowed as they approached the main doors to the great hall. The sound of music and people celebrating was already deafening. Shauna was bouncing on the balls of her feet. Valentina wanted to run away.
Inside, there was a bar at one end, with the band at the other and people standing around the edges. The middle of the room was given over to dancing. They had arrived mid-dance and Valentina watched the couples whirling each other around, choreographed by a man barking orders into a microphone. Rory and Zoe were in the middle, taller than everyone else, with Rory’s wild blond hair and Zoe’s crazy red curls standing out like torches. She felt a tug in her chest. They looked so happy. Shauna had told her they’d got engaged that morning, and she could see the enormous ring glinting in the light on Zoe’s finger.
‘Do you want me to get you a drink?’ Shauna yelled.
Valentina shook her head. ‘Not right now, thank you. You go ahead.’
The music came to an end with a flourish, and the dancers stayed put or dispersed back to the sides. One of the crew’s junior electricians approached them. He was wearing a kilt and Valentina saw Shauna’s eyes widen.
He bowed before them. ‘Shauna, would you give me the honour of the next dance?’
Shauna looked at Valentina, her eyes bugging like a child facing a bowl of ice cream larger than their own head.
Valentina pushed her forward. ‘Go! Enjoy yourself. I’m not sure I’ll stay that long anyway.’
Shauna squeezed her hand and was led off into the middle of the floor. Valentina shrank back. She’d had years of practice making herself unapproachable and easily slipped back into the role. She scanned the room.Was he here?Charlie was so tall, almost as big as Rory. He couldn’t hide, even in a crowd this large. As the next dance got underway, she kept looking, pushing to the edge of the onlookers for a better view.
She heard a voice in her ear. ‘Earth to Valentina?’
She whipped around to see Peter, the head of hair and make-up. ‘Do you fancy a drink, a dance, or a smoking hot Englishman who’s licensed to thrill?’
She blushed. ‘Is it that obvious?’
Peter pulled her in for a hug. ‘He’s not here, sweetie. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.’
She hugged him back, an overwhelming wave of sadness moving through her. She was so tired. She needed to sleep before she embarrassed herself and cried on Peter’s shoulder. ‘I think I’m going to go to bed. I’ve got an early start tomorrow anyway.’
He released her. ‘Well, if you change your mind, we’ll be here until the early hours.’
She thanked him and darted through the crowds, desperate to get away.
Outside, the corridor was cooler and quieter. She walked back to her room and stopped outside her door. Before she could talk herself out of it, she continued to Charlie’s room and knocked. She couldn’t hear anything inside and was about to turn away when the door opened.
The room was lit by a small lamp by the bedside. Charlie was naked, except for a towel tied around his hips. Valentina’s body roared to life. Her heart sprinted off the blocks and fire whipped across her cheeks and down into her belly. His hair was damp from the shower, water still dripping off the muscles of his torso. She saw her own name still scrawled across his chest.
‘Hey,’ he said softly.
‘Were you about to go to be-sleep?’ she stuttered.
He nodded. ‘I didn’t go to bed after we got back this morning, so I’ve been awake for over forty hours.’
‘Oh.’ Now embarrassment was adding to her internal heat. Why had she come? She was so desperate to see him again, but it was unfair. She was taking and not giving.
He stepped back into the room. ‘Would you like to come in?’
She followed him and shut the door behind her.
32
They stood facing each other. She wanted him so badly, but was too full of shame to ask.
Charlie reached for her hand. ‘You know, Valentina. You can ask me for anything. If this is a booty call, then just say so. I’m not going to turn you down. Ever.’
