Phei looked down at her. "What's what you thought?"
"Nothing," Soraya said, and before he could question her further, she pulled him down into a deep kiss.
This one was not for Victoria.
Not really.
It began as victory, perhaps, but softened halfway through into something warmer, something that belonged only to her and the man holding her. When she pulled away, she tucked herself against his chest and simply hugged him, breathing him in with quiet happiness. Phei's hand rested at her back, and for a moment he allowed the silent wars behind him to fade. But he had heard the line beneath her teasing, the one she had aimed at Victoria but meant about him, and he pressed a slow kiss into her hair and murmured, low and only for her:
"You did not have to defend those eyes. But thank you."
He felt her go still against his chest, then hold him a fraction tighter, and understood that the barb at Victoria had cost her less than the truth underneath it.
The shopping continued.
