Excerpt of My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris

"I thought I'd teach you a dance from where I come from," I tell him. "One that's much easier than that multi–step mess inside."

I place my left hand on Lorenzo's shoulder and slip my right one into his. I pause to listen to the music floating over the tinkling voices and bubbling fountain, and begin counting the three–beat tempo. "One, two, three. One, two, three."

I stand still, only my head moving, slowly nodding with my words so he can hear the rhythm.

When his head begins subtly bobbing with mine, I show him how to add his feet. He takes a tentative step forward with his left while I step back with my right, then we side step, close, and repeat the steps with our other feet, all while I lightly whisper the beat count.

The breeze picks up, blowing my skirt and skimming my veil across the back of my neck. Chills run down my spine, but the warmth coursing through my veins from being in his arms provides a delicious contradiction.

Lorenzo continues nervously darting his eyes to our feet, but he is dancing. As he relaxes into the movement, his shoulders rising and falling with the steps, the confidence he always seems to exude creeps back on his face, and he tightens the hold around me. Our faces are kissably close, our lips a hairs breadth away from touching. I stare into the chocolate depths of his eyes and the rest of the ball fades away. The only music guiding our steps is my light whisper and the erratic rhythm of our breathing. Time slows. Lorenzo grins.

"I think you got it," I say breathlessly, running my hand along the soft fabric of his shoulder, feeling the rock–hard muscles underneath.

My body curls inward, pressing against his. The proper form for the waltz is a straight spine and shoulders back, but if there was ever a time to break the rules, this is it.