Page 67 of The Arrangement

“You told me to be late,” Anton muttered when Ivan released him. “And besides, I had things to do.”

“Oh yeah? Things, someone, same difference.”

“No, things.” Another disbelieving look crossed Ivan’s face before Anton chuckled. “Fine, asshole. That, too.”

Ivan’s finger ticked up under the boss’s chin as he regarded him with a cocked brow. “I called Rory, just to make sure everything was good at eight and guess what he told me? Not that it matters,” he said quickly with a sly smirk. “Because I can smell the smoke on your jacket and see it in your eyes. Zhopa. I’ve been asking him for months to give me some of that bud. Boss gets all nasty for a moment and he hands it right over like a scared boy.”

Anton glanced over Ivan’s shoulder, watching as the bull in question leaned over the bar to greet Jen. But, his bartender wasn’t having it, ignoring the man’s advances but offering him a wink instead. Viviana, on the other hand, was given a hug over the bar top, her chin picked up in Jen’s hand as she forced her to look in her eyes. Both women laughed. When Jen spotted Viviana’s new engagement ring, it was hard not to notice how fifteen other gazes turned to watch as the jewelry was appraised and shown off.

“Zaebis’. Can’t keep your eyes off of her for more than a minute, can you?” Ivan asked, shaking his head.

“No. No, I really can’t.”

Damn, he wasn’t even ashamed to admit it.

“You’ve had her at your side all day, Anton!”

A flippant, lazy shrug fell from his shoulders. His mind was still running high with a sizzling buzz while his body, blood, and heart were still singing with an awe-worthy tune. He was outright fucking exhausted, physically and emotionally. Even so, he was nearly revving and ready to go all over again, already wanting to take her back to the safe house and get her between soft sheets.

Only his girl could do that to him like she did. Only her.

Anton had kept his word to Viviana after all when it came to her first time trying anal. It only hurt a short time, and then she calmed, her body adjusted, and with her bottom lip caught between his teeth, fingers weaved with his, and her name in his mouth, she broke in the most beautiful way. They took their time cleaning up, getting dressed, and then making their way to the club.

Now, he just wanted to simply watch her.

His birthday. His party. His people.

Anton didn’t give a shit. All he wanted was Viviana.

He watched the seven spotlights that worked on a mechanical system above do their slow crawl over the club’s floor. White light pooled at her feet where she stood still chatting animatedly to Jen. The crystals embedded in her heels reflected colored prisms up the backs of her legs and she leaned a little farther in to hear what the other woman was saying. That only served to drive her tight-as-fuck dress higher around the curves of slightly swaying hips.

Oh God, she was so beautiful it hurt. Even though her makeup was all but gone from the rain, even with her hair mussed from his hands and the damp weather, and even in a club’s darkness, she was beautiful. From his spot in the corner, Anton had the perfect line of vision for her profile. High cheekbones, a straight-edge, tiny nose, pink lips with the top a little bit fuller than the bottom, and almond-shaped eyes pooled with a deep, chocolate brown. The plains of her face fit so well in the hold of his hands, too.

“I’m …”

Ivan’s brow furrowed at Anton’s loss of words. It wasn’t often he was rendered speechless, and given his status, he nearly always had to be saying something. And usually it had to be important. Anton’s best friend clapped his shoulder and his hand squeezed gently.

“You’re what, man?”

Anton swallowed the lump forming in his throat. “I’m so fucking in love with that girl.”

A cough covered the fleeting surprise in Ivan’s eyes. Anton had made the admission with the company of several other Bratva brothers close by. He’d said it without care, open and bared. It didn’t even matter because it was so damned true it hurt. Sometimes it wasn’t safe to admit where your heart and feelings lay, no matter who you were. Anton couldn’t help it.

“Yeah, just … crazy in love, Ivan. I’m not even here right now, not in my heart. I’m over there.”

“You smoked too much, clearly. You always said you loved her.”

Anton nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets to hide the slight tremble that rocked them. “I know, but I was remembering a different girl at a different time, you know? This girl … God, she’s mine. That’s all there is to it.”

“That’s … okay, Anton. More than, even. It’s great, especially for you. People grow up and shit changes, so you and she might not have clicked again like you did the first time. It just so happened that you two grew at the same pace again, even separated like you were. Maybe old Nicoli had seen something no one else did when you were four and she was two. God knows that fool had a knack for picking out gold in dirt and he did it more than once.”

“Did he ever tell you it was me who called her Vine first?” Anton asked quietly, blue eyes flitting up to stare at Viviana again.

“No, he didn’t.”

Anton sighed heavily, forcing himself to look at his friend.

“Yeah. When I asked about her name nine years ago, she told me the nickname came from her brother. Her brother, Ivan. They told her he couldn’t say it properly. They didn’t tell her it was really me. I couldn’t speak a word of English when I was four, and I guess when they told me her name, I couldn’t get it to roll off my tongue right. So Vine it was.