“I do.” He takes a breath and seems to steel himself before looking at me.
I blink.
“This isyourapartment?” I’m not quite understanding.
“The rooms upstairs were. They’re separated now. All the legal documents will be in order, don’t worry. And there’s this.” He points at a stack of white envelopes on a shelf, then flicks one into his hand and passes it to me.
I don’t have time to fully understand that he’s offering me part of his home, because as I accept the envelope from him, our fingers brush, and my heart does more of a lurch than my stomach did on the slide. It’s electric every time we touch.
I wonder if he feels it too?
“What’s this?” I ask.
“I think we’ve established I do not answer that sort of question,” he says wryly.
There’s no name on the envelope, but since the only way I’m going to find out is by opening it, I unfold it—it’s not sealed—and withdraw the card inside.
It’s one of those generic cards of a goofy dog. Something that could mean anything to anyone, and for a second, I’m almost disappointed. Thin card. Sort of cheap and inconsequential.
But I open it all the same, and inside is a credit card style gift voucher. For a lot of money. I glance over at the stack of envelopes. There has be a hundred there, at least.
“Is this a joke?” Because if they’re all the same, there’s enough to buy a house.
He sighs deeply. “I do not joke.”
I blink in disbelief at the serious bratva boss before me. He does joke, that’s the thing.
“I was told that’s a good store to buy books from, and it’s the largest voucher they do.”
I must continue to look as baffled as I feel, because Kon’s expression gets an excessively patient tinge. “To fill the bookshelves. I thought you’d like to fill the shelves yourself.”
He gazes at me with hard eyes, almost daring me to ask another question that doesn’t need an answer.
“You did all this for me?” I don’t ask that. Instead, I ask the question that I don’t know the answer to.
“Why?” I whisper.
His throat bobs as he swallows, and I remember the feel of that harsh black stubble on my skin. Heat flushes through me.
I have fears and hopes for what the answer is.
Because he cares for me? Or my fear… because he feels guilty about what was the best night of my life.
“Kon, why did you do this?”
19
KON
Because I love you. The answer is just there, in my heart, waiting to emerge from my mouth.
I swallow it down.
“You said you missed having fun.” I nod towards the slide.
I did test it multiple times, and it’s fun. And safe. That second part is crucial for me.
“You said you didn’t have privacy.” I spread my hands to indicate that this is an interior room, without windows. No one can spy on her here.
