Page 170 of Captivated

The cheeky bastard.

Now, his missing calls had made a hell of a lot more sense. He didn’t like to lie to her, or even omit things in their conversations. She bet he had been ignoring her calls to avoid having to do just that.

It wasn’t Joe’s style.

“Time to move,” she heard someone call behind the curtain.

Shit.

No, what she wanted to do was stand right there, and keep staring at the love of her life. She hadn’t gotten to look at him for so long, and now he was there.

The rest of the night could wait.

Surely.

Apparently not.

Liliana let the ballerina next to her drag her off the stage. God knew if she didn’t let her do it, Liliana was never going to go willingly. As usual, the dancers were flooded by the crew and people from the studio the moment they stepped behind the curtains. Flowers were handed out, and compliments given.

Another successful show.

And Liliana felt like it was her last, too.

She wasn’t really thinking too hard on that if only because her mind was somewhere else entirely. Overwhelmed, spinning, and fucking reeling. Thinking about a man she hadn’t seen face-to-face in months who was only just a few feet away separated by nothing more than a—

“Tesoro.”

Oh, his voice.

Liliana spun around to find Joe standing right behind her still wearing that grin of his. And a fucking tailored three-piece suit that made him look like every woman’s walking wet dream. Like sin in the flesh, but covered by five-thousand dollar Armani. His blue gaze drifted over her features like he was waiting for her to say something.

To say anything.

She didn’t know what to say, or where to begin.

Behind him, her parents waited patiently.

But they let him go first.

They let her see him first.

Liliana didn’t even think about it before she launched herself at him. Joe’s arms were already open and ready to catch her. With a laugh, she grabbed his jaw, and pulled him in for a fast, burning kiss that had her heart rate picking up speed all over again.

And tight …

God, he held her so tight.

Dragged her so close.

The world drifted away when he was kissing her. The now-familiar dance of their lips melding together while he coaxed her mouth open for him was as comforting as the way she dragged in a heavy, ragged breath.

The ache in her chest …

The happiness in her heart …

All for him.

Joe pulled back just enough to gaze at her again as his thumbs stroked her cheekbones. “You look beautiful, and you were amazing.”