Page 86 of Laced With Secrets

Victor resisted for maybe half a second. Then Sebastian appeared on Victor’s other side, his amber eyes dancing with mischief, and between the two of them—Penny pulling, Sebastian pushing—Victor surrendered.

The three of them dancing together should have been awkward. Should have looked forced or uncomfortable. But it was the farthest thing from awkward—Penny in the middle, Sebastian and Victor on either side, the three of them moving to the lively disco beat in such perfect synchronization that it looked choreographed. Intimate.

The song was winding down, fading into the final chorus. I watched as Sebastian leaned in close to Victor, close enough that their bodies were nearly touching, and murmured something in his husband’s ear. Penny was sandwiched between them and I saw his brow furrow slightly, though whatever was said seemed lost on him.

I watched Victor go completely still. Not the fluid freeze of someone caught off-guard, but the rigid lock of someone who’d just been struck. His body went taut in a way that was visible even from across the room, every muscle tensing beneath his burgundy silk shirt.

Then Victor’s hands moved, gripping Penny’s waist and pushing him directly into Sebastian’s arms. He turned and stalked off the dance floor.

Penny stood frozen in Sebastian’s arms, his wide eyes darting between Sebastian’s face and Victor’s retreating back, clearly trying to understand what he’d done wrong, what had just happened.

Sebastian’s expression was complicated in the fractured disco light—pain and frustration and something that looked like self-loathing. His amber eyes tracked Victor’s departure with an anguish that made my chest tighten, but his hands remained on Penny’s waist, holding him in place even as a new song started.

“That’s going to get significantly more complicated,” Dominic’s voice said from beside me. I hadn’t heard him return. He handed me a cup of sparkling cider, his eyes fixed on the scene unfolding across the dance floor. “If it wasn’t complicated enough already.”

I watched as Sebastian pulled Penny close as a new song started, their bodies swaying to the slower rhythm. Penny movedwith him uncertainly, still glancing toward where Victor had disappeared into the crowd.

“I’m worried about Penny,” I admitted. “He’s going to get hurt.”

“I could put a stop to it,” Dominic offered, his tone completely serious. “If you want me to.”

I turned to look at him, surprised. “How would you—” I stopped, reading his expression. The cold calculation there, the ruthless businessman who’d once planned to seduce me as a business strategy. “You know what, on second thought, I don’t want to know.”

“Probably best,” Dominic agreed without apology.

“It’s not right to intervene,” I said firmly. “Penny’s an adult. They all are. Whatever happens between them—good or bad—they need to figure it out themselves. All we can do is be there for Penny if and when he needs us.”

Dominic studied me for a moment, then nodded. “You’re a better person than I am. More forgiving, more willing to let people make their own mistakes.”

“I just hope I’m not watching him walk into heartbreak,” I murmured.

“Or maybe we’re watching something complicated work itself out.” Dominic said thoughtfully. “Either way, you’re right—it’s not our place to stop it.” His fingers pressed into my shoulder, warm and steady through the fabric. “But if anyone hurts him, all bets are off.”

Mrs. Henderson’s voice suddenly boomed over the microphone, cutting through the music.

“Ladies and gentlemen! As we approach midnight and prepare for tomorrow’s closing ceremony, we have a special tradition to mark the occasion—a romantic scavenger hunt!”

“Come collect your envelopes at the checkpoint stand,” she continued. “You can’t miss it—look right under that twinkling disco ball. White envelopes for couples, red ones for our singles!”

The crowd laughed and applauded, several people whooping with enthusiasm. I looked around for Penny, but he’d been swallowed by the crowd.

“Each envelope has clues leading to a romantic location in the mansion,” Mrs. Henderson continued, her voice bright with delight. “Your match will receive their own envelopes! Follow the clues—first couple to find each other wins a romantic dinner for two at Giardino Segreto!”

Volunteers began circulating through the crowd with small white and red envelopes. I saw several people already opening theirs, reading clues with varying expressions of amusement and confusion.

Dominic accepted his envelope from a volunteer, immediately opening it and scanning the contents. His brow furrowed slightly as he read. His eyes met mine, a flirtatious smile playing across his lips as he held up the card with a subtle wink.

A different volunteer approached me with an envelope. “Mr. Sterling-Hart?”

I nodded, accepting the envelope with my name sprawled across the front. Dominic’s name curled beneath mine in delicate calligraphic script, linking us together.

I opened it, finding a single card inside:

Where winter blooms in glass and green, find me where the lovers dream.

The greenhouse.

The greenhouse was where Richard had cultivated those rare winter trillium flowers—the ones that bloomed even in winter’s cold, persisting against all odds.