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“I am happy.” She relaxes against the wall. “School is great. Life’s giving me more than I ever thought possible.” Sophia eyes me. “What’s on your mind?”
“I think I’m falling in love.” I admit. Saying those words aloud gives them power. They flourish and grow in my heart, rooting deep.
“With Dimitri?”
A startled laugh leaves my throat. “Who else?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Just checking.”
“Yes, with Dimitri. The man who literally tattooed that I’m his property on my ring finger. Ugh, I hate him—or at least I used to hate him. He’s not the man I wanted at all, but…”
“But maybe he’s the right man for you. Maybe he’s everything that you need. I mean, Roman had horrible intentions towards me in the beginning. I was his puppet for revenge. Look how that turned out?” Her expression takes on a dreamy quality.
I sigh. “Why is life so weird?”
“No clue. But you deserve to be happy, Arianna. If Dimitri makes you happy then take a chance on a life with him. It might prove to be worth it.”
I’m already standing on that precipice. The other day I suggested adopting a daughter—that’s a whole other level of commitment. What am I thinking? Are we moving forward too fast?
“You’re going to drive Dimitri here later, right?” I ask Maks as we pull up in front of Leonidas. We’re early, but I have work to do and guests will start arriving in the next couple of hours.
“That’s right. Roman said his name’s on the guest list, so he’ll see you inside.” Maks comes around and opens the door for me. “Have fun in there tonight.”
I smile up at him. “See you later. Happy New Year.”
“Happy New Year.” He waits until I’m safely inside the club before driving away.
When I step through the doors my breath catches. I’ve seen all the decorations before, in bits and pieces during setup, but the final result is absolutely stunning.
Entering the club is like stepping into a winter wonderland. Enormous ice sculptures seem to grow out of the glassy marble, glittering in the chandelier glow. Overhead, a thousand crystals shimmer like icicles in the blue-tinted light, and the lobby floor is strewn with white and blue flower petals.
This is only the entrance, a moment unto itself, but the lavish decor continues through the many rooms, even flowing to the outdoors.
“I don’t often hand out compliments, but… well done, Miss Pontrelli.”
With a start, I turn around, coming face-to-face with the speaker and immediately struck speechless by a pair of steely grey-green eyes beneath styled jet black hair.
“My apologies, we haven’t formally met.” He extends his hand. “Grayson Hyde. I’m pleased to finally meet the new hire who Miss Ives has been raving about.”
Politely, I shake his hand. Tarina has been raving about me? The thought makes me giddy.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” I murmur. “And thank you for the compliment. Working for you and Tarina has been a wish come true.”
He offers me a tight smile. “I’m not in the business of granting wishes, Miss Pontrelli, so whatever you’ve accomplished here has been earned.”
“That’s even better, sir.”
Mr. Hyde’s assessing gaze sweeps up and down my dress. While I’ve caught glimpses of him around the club, we’ve never stood in such close proximity before, and we’ve certainly never engaged in conversation.
“You’re wearing a wedding band,” he notes.
“Yes, sir. I’m recently married. It’s Mrs. Kozlov now.”
“I see. I’m guessing it’s your husband you asked Miss Ives to add to this evening’s guest list.”
I blanch, knowing that he refused my request and I found another way to get what I wanted through Roman. Doing an end run around the boss doesn’t seem like such a good idea anymore. “Yes, sir.”
“He’s now coming as Roman De Luca’s special guest.”
