Page 31 of Savage Little Lies

She likes him. I do too but I don’t care for her positive assessment.

I draw Cara closer to me until our chests graze, our faces only inches apart. “Even so, I think you would be better suited with someone else. Someone who wants to settle down.”

Cara lifts her eyes to mine. “Have anyone in mind?”

Heat coils low in my stomach as she peers at me through her lashes, looking damn right delectable.

“Dmitri?”

I snap out of my thoughts. “Hm?”

“People are watching us,” Cara whispers to me.

I glance around and see a handful of people scattered around the dance floor staring at us with raised eyebrows. I shouldn’t be dancing with another woman while my bride-to-be sits at the bar.

What the hell was I thinking?

“Right. I should get back to Annika,” I tell Cara as the song finishes, and I release her.

She nods her agreement. “I’m going to use the restroom.”

I watch her disappear into the crowd, hoping that she doesn’t end up sneaking away and leaving.

I shouldn’t have danced with her.

But I know I would do it again in a heartbeat.

12

Cara

After hours of cocktails, jazz, and fake smiles, we finally leave the gala.

I’m so ready to get back home and take these heels off that I could shed a tear. I won’t though, especially not in front of Annika, who has been pouncing on every chance to embarrass me.

If I weren’t protecting my cover, I probably would’ve torn some of her extensions out by now. I can only take so much before I explode, and I really don’t want to show that side of me in front of Dmitri.

I need to be as cool, calm, and collected as possible, even when his awful fiancée is terrorizing me.

“O-M-G, hi! I didn’t see you!” Annika gasps as she notices two of her friends in the lobby of the fancy hotel. She pulls away from Dmitri for once and rushes over to them.

Dmitri glances at two of his men, who have been scattered throughout the ballroom and out in the hallway to keep an eye on things. “Stick with her. I’m going to take Cara out to find a car.”

His men nod and venture closer to Annika and her friends.

Dmitri turns to me and holds his arm out. “I’ll have one of my drivers take you home.”

I nod my thanks and let him lead me out of the hotel, the chill of nighttime sweeping over me. I instinctively move closer to him.

“Sorry, it’s a little chilly tonight.”

Dmitri pulls off his suit jacket and wraps it around my shoulders as we pause in front of the line of cars picking people up. Other guests linger on the sidewalk and talk as they wait for their rides, a muffled drone of chatter filling the air.

“Don’t worry, milaya. I won’t torture you with another gala again,” Dmitri promises me with a subtle smile on his face as he adjusts the collar of the jacket, his fingers brushing my hair. I nearly shiver, goosebumps moving up the back of my arms. Whenever he touches me, my body reacts before my brain can stop it.

It’s a little annoying when I’m trying to focus on playing my role.

“It wasn’t that bad,” I assure him. “The best part was the dance, though.”