Page 82 of Dirty Hot Valentine
Beauty and the Beast.
A people’s pleaser?
No. The look she was giving me told me it wasn’t just that.
That song was for us. She was my Beauty, and I was her Beast.
I, Tino, nothe.
I’ll take it.
People started to dance, and she was no longer nervous. She stood there like she owned that stage. Like it was where she belonged. Like everything that was mine was hers. The way it should be.
Nicole clasped her hands and grinned. “Isn’t she awesome?”
“Stupenda,” I said, mesmerized, happy, and that was rare and almost impossible.
Her eyes wandered around the dancing guests. “Everybody seems to be enjoying the music.”
The sheepish smile on her face reminded me Nicole, too, despite her strength and confidence, was a young girl who had never had a decent father to give her a proper dance or leave her unscarred to have a date on Valentine’s Day.
I stood, buttoned my jacket and offered her my hand. “There’s no reason we can’t enjoy it, too.”
Stunned, she stared at my hand.
“Would you do me the honors?”
Her lashes fluttered as she giggled, and the she nodded, taking my hand. “Thank you so much for this, Tino.”
“No need to thank me. I told you, you’re like a daughter to me.” I twirled her, and she flowed to my lead smoothly. “And if my son wasn’t a total jerk or taken, I wouldn’t want anyone better than you to be his wife so you’d be my daughter for real.”
She giggled again. “I appreciate that you know how much of a jerk Leo is. That means you really are a good father. I’d have been honored if you’d been mine.”
I pressed her to my embrace. I really liked this girl. For everything she was, for everything she’d done to protect my Angel.
The song was coming to an end, so I bent her back for the finale, and missing Angel already, I smirked at her with a wink.
She didn’t return the smile. She looked away and wrapped the song, and only when the guests applauded her, a quick smile landed on her lips.
A server brought her the requests, and she sifted through them. Then she lifted her chin as if she’d just accepted a challenge.
Once she started the melody, I recognized it with ease. Caprice No. 24 by Paganini. Wow. One of the hardest pieces ever. I had no doubt she’d nail it.
Her eyes wandered among the busy tables, and so did mine. People weren’t listening while they ate now. They stopped their scrumptious meals to listen with full attention to the music.
To my Angel.
I led Nicole back to our table. I wanted to listen with full attention. Angel wouldn’t look my way still, as if she no longer needed the support or my attention wasn’t the only kind she was seeking.
With the angry notes, she closed her eyes. Then as she opened them again, they fell on my son. He just stood there, watching her with a fixation I was pretty familiar with. Gritting my teeth, I rolled my eyes toward her, and she was fucking smiling at him.
.
4. Tino
You can’t give what’s not yours, Angel. Not even your smile. It belongs to me.
Not him. Never him.
