“I love you very much, Beatrice. I’m very fortunate to have you.”
She blushed and bumped his arm with her shoulder.
“Yeah, you are. I love you, too.” She paused for a moment, then pulled him down for a quick kiss. “You’re getting sentimental in your old age, Gio.”
He chuckled and bent down to kiss the top of her head.
“Must be the weddings.”
“So-” She grinned as they walked toward the house. “-how are you feeling? Your oldest is finally married off. Soon Ben will be dating…”
He clutched his chest dramatically. “I shudder to think.”
“You’re going to be an empty-nester soon.”
He snorted. “They grow up so fast.”
“They do,” she said with solemn nod.
He could feel her laughing at him for a moment before they both started chuckling.
“Is Carwyn going to be pissed off they didn’t wait for him?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think so. He’s fairly busy at the moment.”
“Back in Ireland?”
He nodded. “Deirdre is…coping. But he needs to be there right now.”
They walked in silence, strolling hand in hand through the gardens lit with tiny lights. Giovanni could see the gathering of friends through the French doors, spilling out across the patio. The scent of honeysuckle and roses hung in the air.
His eyes found Ben as the boy gave Isadora a hug and a sweet smile. Caspar leaned over them both to place a kiss on his new wife’s cheek. More than ever, Giovanni felt the weight of responsibility to keep them all safe. He wouldn’t be able to remain in Houston for long. He felt Beatrice squeeze his waist, and his heart thumped again. At least, he would no longer travel alone.
“‘You have stolen my heart, my darling, my bride,’” he whispered again as he pulled her closer.
Beatrice was also watching the group inside. Ben darted through the adults, who were all laughing and enjoying the plentiful wine that Caspar poured for the well-wishers.
“How are we going to keep them all safe?” she asked in a small voice.
“We’ll figure something out.”
She looked up at him, steely determination in her eyes. “We have to.”
He found her reading later that night, half asleep in the library as she studied one of Stephen’s journals in front of the cold fireplace. Their company had left hours before, but the house still hummed with quiet activity. Caspar and Isadora were in the kitchen, finishing the wine and enjoying their time together after a busy day. Ben had finally collapsed on the couch in the den, and Giovanni had carried him to his room before making a call to Carwyn on the phone in the study.
“Beatrice,” he whispered, picking her up and setting her on his lap. “Why don’t you go to bed?”
She looked at the clock over the mantle. “But it’s only one a.m.”
He smiled, amused by her convenient habit of keeping vampire hours. “It’s been a long day. You should get some rest.”
“Is Ben in bed?”
“Mmmhmm.” He ran his lips along her temple.
She paused, and he could feel her head nodding against his chest. “Maybe I will.”
“Or just stay here. I could probably find a way to distract you.”
He felt her shoulders shake with quiet laughter. “I’m sure you could. How is Carwyn?”
“Doing well. He says hello, and he won’t hold it against Isadora and Caspar for too long that they got married without him.”
“I’m sure they’re relieved.”
“He also said that we had better not pull something like that.”
She snorted and raised an eyebrow. Giovanni just shrugged. She snuggled back into his chest.
“Have we heard from Tenzin yet?”
“Not yet.”
“How about…what’s his name?”
“That could take some time. Zhang Guo and his court operate on their own timetable.”
“He’s older than Tenzin?”
He chuckled. “Oh yes.”
“Wow.”
“I don’t want to go to China until we know more. It’s not in our best interests to arrive without some sort of introduction.”
“But we will go.”
“Yes, I think we must.”
“What are we going to do about Ben?”
He sighed and shifted on the couch. “I don’t know. I don’t like leaving him, but the safest place for him to be is away from us. Lorenzo has already discovered him; I don’t like the idea of leaving Caspar and Isadora here alone with him when we know he’s a target. Then there’s Dez and Kirby in L.A. I think we should speak to your Grandfather Alvarez and-”
She pulled him down and stopped the rambling list with a kiss. Slowly shifting on his lap, she continued kissing him until he forgot about the worries swirling in his mind and all he could think of was her soft skin, sweet mouth, and the feel of her hips under his hands. She ran her fingers through his hair and along the back of his neck, searching for his heated skin as her hands slipped under his collar.
“Tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll worry about it tomorrow.”
“Beatrice,” he groaned. “Careful,
He broke off with a groan and his eyes rolled back as Beatrice’s teeth found his ear and bit the lobe between her teeth.
“Gio,” she whispered. “I need…”
“What do you need?”
He pulled her closer as she murmured in his ear and rocked against him.
“You guys are so gross.”
They both froze when they heard Ben at the door.
“Benjamin, why aren’t you in bed?”
“Are you guys going to be doing that stuff all the time now? ‘Cause I really don’t need to see that.”
“Benjamin,” they said in unison. Beatrice moved to crawl off Giovanni’s lap, but he held her in place, shifting and clearing his throat with a meaningful glance.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Ben whined before stretching into one of the armchairs. “I think I drank too much Coke at the party.”
“Remind me to forbid that beverage when we get home,” he muttered.
Beatrice curled up against his chest again, and he tried to distract himself as he played with the ends of her hair.
“Are we going home soon? I miss L.A.”
“You miss your basketball hoop,” Giovanni said.
“And the neighborhood girls,” Beatrice added.
“Well,” Ben thought for a moment. “Yeah. I miss those. But I missed you guys, too.”
Giovanni smiled at the sleepy boy stretched out in the chair next to them. Ben had a happy, contented look on his face, and he immediately began nodding off again.
“I think he missed his Uncle Gio,” Beatrice whispered.
He smiled and kissed her forehead. “I missed him, too.”
They sat for a few more minutes, enjoying the quiet.
“Benjamin?” he asked. “Are you asleep?”
“No, what’s up?” The boy sat up in his chair.
“We should talk.”
