Page 72 of The Beauty Who Loved Him

“You said to buy a new dress.”

“Did I?”

He even had the nerve to cock a brow.

Vera refused to play his word game. “Just say you were at the funeral today, and Kiril probably passed along the message where we were going for lunch.”

“Conversations are less fun that way,” Vaslav returned.

She didn’t get the chance to reply because Kiril swept past the table again to return to his own with a wave. The man who followed behind the teenager, however, stopped at their table. Also dressed in a black three-piece suit, although his shirt, vest and tie underneath were the same dark hue, Igor folded his hands at his back and cleared his throat.

Vaslav didn’t look away from Vera. She, on the other hand, stared up at Igor.

“You good?” Igor asked.

Vaslav shrugged, asking Vera, “Are you?”

What did the question have anything to do with her?

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

The man across the table tipped his head toward Igor, saying only, “We’re fine.”

“I could run over to pick up the bags, save us the trouble later, no?”

Vera had clearly missed something in the conversation, but the two continued with their back and forth as if she hadn’t even been brought into it in the first place.

“The pup is right there,” Vaslav said with a gesture toward the quiet teenager a couple of tables away. “I’m sure he can manage.”

“Next time,” Igor drawled out as he turned to walk away, giving Vera a wink as he went, “just let me know we’re going for lunch.”

Vaslav graced the retreating man with an annoyed wave, and loudly muttered, “I thought you had figured it out!”

“Are you?” Vera asked him, then.

Vaslav pushed his aviator’s high on the crown of his head, and the hard squint of his brow gave away the truth; his pain. “Am I what?”

“Having lunch?”

“Not sure I can keep down what I might eat, but I knew I could get a few minutes with you.” As he spoke, Vaslav reached across the table for her. Vera couldn’t stop herself from letting her hands slip into his over the plates between them. He twisted her large engagement ring between two fingers before flipping over her hand, palm up, and kissed every one of her fingertips. As unexpected as it was sweet, she was helpless to let him do it while she melted from the inside. “Even if it’s not a proper date, kisska,” he said.

Oh, she figured.

Vera didn’t mind, to be honest. She’d take a few minutes with him over food, too.

“Good,” came a familiar voice, but new to the conversation. “I really hate being a third wheel.”

Heat flushed through Vera’s whole body. Vaslav even chuckled at the sight of her blush creeping over her grinning cheeks at being interrupted by her friend, the bastard. She hadn’t heard Hannah’s approach from behind until she spoke.

“Ah,” Vaslav said, turning his pain-riddled scowl on Hannah as she moved to stand beside their table instead of behind Vera. “The friend. Hannah, is it?”

He even stuck out his hand for a shake.

Hannah never once broke Vaslav’s gaze as she lightly shook his hand, her red ringlets bouncing as she fixed him with a hard stare. “It is. Hannah Malone. Don’t bother with your name, I already know it. And you’re in my seat.”

That earned her a smirk.

Only a little one.