Page 71 of The Arrangement

“Not so bad if it’s a woman, then, huh?” she asked, jokingly.

As she looked up, she caught the fleeting sadness in his eyes that usually looked so happy whenever he was holding on to her. That was the very last thing she expected to see. Especially after the day they had, and considering how well his party was going, Anton should have been radiating his usual calm, pleased attitude.

“What’s wrong?”

When his blue eyes glanced down again, the brief emotion she witnessed was all but gone. “Nothing, baby.”

“Anton, did something happen?”

A tick in his jaw caught her notice before he shook his head. “Nope. Nothing.”

“So everything is good, then?”

“Yeah, of course. Why?”

He was deflecting. Now, Viviana was positive there was something wrong.

“I just thought—”

“Boss!”

“Where’s the prince of the hour?”

Anton’s head turned at the voices calling from behind them, but she didn’t miss the frown that pulled at his mouth. With a nod over his shoulder, his gaze was back on her with a soft smile. His thumbs stroked the apples of her cheeks as he held her face up to meet his eyes. Viviana found herself forgetting what she was worried about all of the sudden.

“I’ll be right back, okay? Don’t go too far. Maybe we’ll sneak out of here sooner if that’s who I think it is.”

Just the fact that he didn’t want her to join him in greeting whoever was demanding his presence told Viviana it was likely a conversation he didn’t want her to be a part of. Or one she probably wouldn’t want to hear. Either way, it didn’t offend her. She hadn’t been given much of a chance to sit down and relax since they’d arrived at the club and her feet were already sore.

“Sure. I’m in need of a refill, so go say hello … or yeah.”

“No business,” Anton said, turning quieter. “I made it clear I wasn’t talking business tonight with anybody.”

Viviana shrugged, leaning up to kiss his jaw. “Whatever, Boss. Go.”

With another squeeze of his hands and a warning under his breath that had her body spiking up to a fever again, Anton was gone. At the bar, Jen was waiting for Viviana with a glass of ice water and a smirk. Viviana perched herself up on a stool, crossed her legs, and searched across the darkened room through the mass of people to see if she could find her lover.

When she couldn’t right away, she turned back to Jen.

“I was told to cut you off.”

“Wow, thanks. Wasn’t like it was me who was buying those drinks.”

“You don’t sign my pay check,” Jen joked.

“Ah, true that. He’s probably just worried.”

The older woman wiped the bar down as she asked, “Why?”

Viviana shrugged. “I drank a lot while I was in Canada. It was becoming more of a habit than a social thing. This is the first time I’ve really partied, or had the chance to, since being back.”

“It’s good he watches out, though, right?”

“Yeah, it is.”

And it was. Viviana didn’t mind a bit. After all, it had been her that morning who’d questioned his behavior with alcohol. It wasn’t all too surprising that he’d be keeping an eye out on her drinking, too, considering the fiasco her life had turned into back in Toronto. Sure it’d seemed great at the time, but now she could tell she’d been spiralling out of control, partying more than she studied. Like Anton had said, he’d been watching … somehow.

“Hey, I’ll be right back,” Jen muttered, her eyes narrowing on someone reaching over the bar at the other end. “Ugh, fucking guys thinking they own the place sometimes because Anton owns it.”