slowed the tempo to ballads and some old dance tunes. The crowd was thinning as guests either headed up to the rooms prepped for them in the big house—if they’d come in from out of town—or staggered off to waiting limos to go home if they were locals.
Callum tightened his hold on Eva. She fit against him perfectly, her head just topping his shoulders. He kept one hand on her trim waist and held her hand with his other hand.
Eva pulled back slightly. “You dance! You do know how to do everything!”
He grinned. “Prep school. They figure we’re going to end up dancing with debs so we get to learn to lead each other around a dance floor.”
“Debs?”
“Debutants. Rich girls who are too lazy to use their brains usually—born and bred to marry well and spend money.”
Eva frowned. “So that’s what you think I am?”
He shrugged. “A little. Or I used to. You’ve got a brain—it just works a little differently than most folks. If you don’t know why something works the way it does, you don’t get it. I can see that now.”
“And you don’t need to know why?”
He spun her in a turn. “Nope. I just memorize. You’ve been a good lesson for me.”
She leaned against him, her breasts pressing into his chest. His mouth dried and his pulse quickened. He spun her into another turn so he’d have an excuse for being light headed.
“How have I been a good lesson?” She sounded a little breathless. Callum was going to put that down to the dancing.
“I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. I had this great teacher in prep school—an amazing guy. He made me think there’s nothing better than opening up someone’s eyes to a love of learning. But I was ready to teach the way I liked to learn—read and memorize. You…you made me see I have to look at how others need to get inspired. I owe you for that.”
She smiled up at him. The fairy lights overhead and candlelight from the table winked off her dress and sparkled in her eyes—and Callum knew he was in trouble. He dropped her hand and stepped back.
She frowned. “The dance hasn’t ended.”
“Yeah. It did.” He turned and walked away. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he had to remember he wasn’t staying, and she was headed off to college. But dammit, he wanted to keep dancing with her, to kiss her under the moonlight, to sweep her into the garden and start undoing the bows on the back of her dress, to touch her skin and put his hands into her hair, and do everything he shouldn’t. But he was a paid tutor—and he damn well wasn’t taking advantage of an innocent.
Chapter 9
Eva watched Callum walk away, her heart pounding and her stomach knotted. He was walking away! She balled her hands into fists. No one walked away from her. She was a Rosso after all. How dare he…he dance with her like that and leave. Mouth pressed into a line, she headed for the bar, asked for champagne and downed it in one swallow. She stayed there as the party wound down and the band stopped playing and began to pack up. The night had chilled. Eva watched dawn begin to stain the sky and she began to think.
Callum must still think her a child—a spoilt, stupid child. Well, she would show him. Him and Antonio. She would make Callum regret that he had walked away from her.
Heading upstairs she changed, showered, and came right back down to coffee and breakfast. The staff were still up and cleaning up, so she helped herself to coffee and a slice of the flourless almond cake, filled with vanilla custard and fruit, that Gaia had made for the wedding.
She was deep in her books by the time Callum came into the library. She glanced up at him. He’d changed into jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt that brought out the blue in his eyes. He looked rumpled still, his hair standing up, and his eyes a little bloodshot. He looked great. She put her focus back on her book—she’d read the same paragraph three times and still didn’t get it. “Coffee’s in the
Learning to Kill: Stories