Chances to talk dwindled to none as Lucian played the consummate politician and the speeches and presentations began. Lucian had no idea what food was served, but he memorized the way Shea managed a fork all over again, watched the way Shea’s mouth and throat moved in the chew and swallow.
Lucian noticed when Shea grew restless with the games of wealth, toying with his plate and shifting in his chair. Lucian wanted to squeeze Shea’s thigh or offer some other gesture of comfort, but he didn’t dare. It felt like pushing, graduating from arm to leg in the space of a mere hour and in front of witnesses. Shea’s talk of slow, his worried tone about taking things one step at a time, the way he wouldn’t quite meet Lucian’s gaze, they all added up to the need for care.
For anyone else, maybe that
