Page 27 of Forging Caine

“I’d like that,” I whispered.

He spun me lazily and pulled me against him, folding our joined hands to his chest. I slid my free hand to his neck and he wrapped his around my waist. “Maybe some quiet time will help quiet your brain.”

“Quiet and you don’t go together very well.”

“Sometimes they do.” He scrunched up his face and scanned the area, as though searching for ideas. “Come to think of it, perhaps they don’t.”

I squeezed his hand and let my head fall against his neck. “Maybe we can try. Just this once.”

He kissed the side of my head, his gentle thumb sweeping over my knuckles. “Did you notice the flowers?”

“Only after the lights were on.”

He inhaled deeply. “Seriously? The lilies are quite strong.”

“I thought it was something you pumped into the air up here.”

“You did not.”

I pulled back to look at him, biting down on my lip to hold back my laugh. “It’s the sort of thing you’d do.”

“Someday, bella, you’ll spot the romantic gesture before it smacks you in the face.”

“Maybe.” I ran my fingers into the short hair at the nape of his neck, as soft as velvet.

“Don’t you dare say you’ll become numb to it.”

I shrugged. “Just oblivious.”

His teasing smile faded. “Your investigator’s eye spends too much time looking for deception and not enough looking for joy.”

“That’s what you’re for, isn’t it?” Whether that was to look for the joy for me or to provide my joy, it was hard to tell. Probably both.

“As long as you need me for something.”

A new song started—“Perfect Symphony” by Ed Sheeran—its deep notes invading my chest. “It’s our song.”

Antonio remained silent through the opening lines, his thumb continuing to sweep over my knuckles. “Are you ready for your distraction yet?”

Since the day I landed on his doorstep in Naples at the end of August, there hadn’t been a single day when we didn’t talk or text for at least a half hour. We’d shared each other’s beds, lives, and adventures. He knew me better than anyone in my life.

But the way he looked at me in that moment sent my heart skittering through my chest. It joined with a kaleidoscope of butterflies and all the crazy energy pinging inside me, swirling so quickly I was going to be sick.

I was as nervous as the first time I danced with him.

It was ridiculous. That was our first real date and we lived together now.

But we danced to this same song that night.

The flowers. The lights. The music. Was this it? Was I crazy or would he really propose to me after only ten months?

I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m not entirely sure if I’m ready or not.”

“We’ve been on quite the adventure, you and I. I wanted to come home and just be with you. No crimes, no thieves, no danger. And yet—”

“Is reminding me of who we were just visiting your idea of a distraction?”

He kissed my nose, continuing without answering my question. “And yet, this evening reminds me of who you truly are. Not a woman who craves a quiet life.”

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