Page 76 of Claimed At First Sight

Rory drops onto the sofa opposite mine, tucking one leg beneath herself.

“And escaping the party.”

“Escaping Maximo, more like it,” I mutter.

That earns me an immediate laugh.

“Oh, so you’re smart.”

I grin despite myself.

“That’s debatable, given I ventured outside without a coat and proper shoes, and nearly froze to death.”

“Good thing you found this place then.” Her gaze sweeps around the conservatory. “It’s pretty amazing, huh?”

“That’s an understatement.” I glance upward again at the towering glass ceiling disappearing into greenery and warm light. “I honestly thought I was hallucinating this place at first.”

“It does feel a little unreal, especially at night.”

I look around once more, my eyes catching on the citrus trees near the fireplace.

“The plants are all new,” I observe aloud.

Rory nods. “Yeah. The whole conservatory is. It got built super fast. Pretty much right after Don Maximo got back from Sicily. He must have gotten the inspiration there.”

My heart skips a beat.

No. Surely not.

He couldn’t possibly have built something like this because I love flowers and hate the cold.

That would be absurd.

Completely insane.

Wouldn’t it?

Rory’s brows lift as she studies me. “You’re from there, aren’t you?”

I nod. Not wanting to touch that particular coincidence, I gesture toward the camera resting against her hip.

“You’re a photographer?”

“Trying to be,” she says. “I came out here to take photos tonight while Dad’s working.”

“But you said he manages the grounds. Why would he be working during a party?”

Rory snorts. “Because there are hundreds of cars tonight that need to go somewhere without destroying my father’s precious lawns.”

I chuckle.

“I never considered the logistics before.”

“That’s because you’re one of the pretty guests, not the people trying to stop drunk men from driving over imported landscaping.”

She gets up and disappears toward a small kitchen nook I somehow hadn’t noticed tucked among the greenery.

“Tea?” she calls over her shoulder. “You still look half-frozen.”