Daniella remained silent, conflicted. He trusted her, but she had been deceiving him for weeks. And with their newfound intimacy, having a baby didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Maybe they could make their marriage work after all.
As they sat there talking with the O’Ryans, Cyrus impressed her with his ability to switch gears. One minute he was the affable husband making small talk and discussing how he looked forward to having a family of his own. The next he spoke Spanish to the waitress and translated the conversation to the rest of them so they could better understand what was offered in each dish. She was impressed and a little jealous, regretting that she’d never learned to speak her grandmother’s language.
He appeared to be quite relaxed, laughing and talking easily with the O’Ryans. He should take time off more often. The only other time she could remember seeing him like this was during their honeymoon. Perhaps the difference was because no one here knew who he was, and therefore had no expectations in regard to him. When they inquired about his business, he briefly mentioned the restaurants without giving the names, and avoided telling them about the beers. If they were curious, they didn’t pry, but it was obvious he wanted to maintain his anonymity.
All of a sudden she felt the need to connect with him, and she touched his thigh with her hand under the table. The muscle there flexed, but he didn’t miss a beat in the conversation. Across from her, the O’Ryans were none the wiser about what she’d done.
Feeling daring and mischievous, she squeezed his leg, wanting to unnerve him a little bit. He simply covered her hand and held it in place. She allowed him to do so for a little bit longer and joined the conversation. The O’Ryans did most of the talking, discussing their children and their antics.
Daniella slipped her hand from Cyrus’s and commented on something Sylvia said. At the same time, Daniella brushed her fingers over her husband’s crotch. He nodded his head at one of Rex’s remarks, but her action elicited an almost unnoticeable tightening of his hand on the table. His right hand, still resting on his thigh, swiped across her mons so unexpectedly she almost leaped from her chair. She moved suddenly, and to cover her reaction, she started coughing.
“You okay?” Cyrus asked, his face filled with false concern. He rested a hand at her back.
Continuing the charade, Daniella pressed her hand to her chest and cleared her throat. “The wine went down the wrong pipe,” she said, even though she hadn’t touched her wine in several minutes. “Excuse me. I need to run to the restroom.”
“Hurry back,” Cyrus said, his eyes filled with amusement.
Daniella knew exactly what to do to fix him. In the bathroom, she removed her underwear and balled it up in her hand. She checked her appearance briefly and smiled at the playful expression on her face. This trip had been good for them. She was actually feeling a little giddy.
She made her way back to the table and sat down.
“Feeling better now?” Cyrus asked.
“I’m feeling a bit flushed, but I’ll be fine,” she replied.
“Would you like some water?” Sylvia asked, already picking up the glass pitcher.
“Thank you. That would be nice.” Daniella accepted the glass and took several sips before rejoining the conversation.
They’d moved on to favorite vacation spots. Rex said their trip to Australia had been his favorite, but Sylvia said their honeymoon touring southern Italy had been hers.
“How about you two?” Sylvia asked.
“I work a lot, so we haven’t had much opportunity to travel together,” Cyrus said. “That will change in the near future.” He said it with such confidence, she didn’t doubt him for a minute.
“This region is my favorite,” Daniella said. “It’s where we spent our honeymoon and coming here again was a good idea to re-energize our marriage.”