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Under the counter, my nails bite into my skin. “Yes, we’re together.” The lie tastes bitter on my tongue. If Kira wonders what I’m doing sleeping in another man’s home, she doesn’t ask, but to be safe, I change the subject. “So tell me what it was like growing up with three brothers. I imagine they were overprotective, no?”
A few heavy beats pass before she speaks. “I didn’t grow up with my brothers. I didn’t even know I had brothers until a year ago.” She chuckles at the surprised look on my face, but before she can say more, footsteps echo down the hall.
Daniil appears in the doorway, looking way too fresh for a guy who’d barely slept. He was hot as sin dressed in a tux last night but dressed casually in a fitted white T-shirt and worn-in jeans is too much for me to handle this morning. My attention is drawn to the expanse of his chest, the bulging muscles in his arms. He seems taller, more intimidating this morning. Or maybe it’s that I’m not wearing heels.
“Good morning.” His voice is a deep rumble, and out of nowhere, my core clenches. Or maybe not out of nowhere. Didn’t I just spend a full minute ogling him?
Luckily, he doesn’t seem to notice because he’s too busy wrapping his sister in a one-armed hug and laying a kiss on the side of her head. She playfully bats him away, as any little sister would do.
His attention slides towards me. “Bianca,” he says in acknowledgement. His deep baritone causes a little flutter in my belly. “How did you sleep?”
“Well. Thanks.” I stand and push away from the breakfast bar. Swooning over Daniil will get me nowhere. “We should probably leave soon. I need to get back to… my family.”
He nods but doesn’t look me in the eye. Kira collects her purse from the counter. Throwing it over her shoulder, she squeezes her brother's arm, and there’s an entire conversation in the look they share. Sibling stuff, I guess. I wouldn’t know. My sister didn’t live to see her teens.
Kira’s soft blue eyes flick my way. “Well, Bianca, it was nice meeting you. I hope our paths cross again.”
Daniil’s face looks tight as he shows his sister to the door. I hear him tell her Yuri is waiting downstairs to drive her back home. I wonder how it is that Kira didn’t grow up with her brothers, didn’t even know they existed. But it’s none of my business, and frankly, there’s no reason for us to get to know each other any better.
As I place my dish and mug in the sink, Daniil reenters the kitchen. “Have you reached out to Jorge yet?” I ask.
His lips flatten, but he nods. “There’s been contact,” he says vaguely. “I’ll be going to Miami with you today.”
“Really?” I run a restless hand through my still damp hair. I thought Jorge would still be in New York sleeping off his hangover, but maybe he headed home early. “You don’t need to escort me, if you would just drop me at the airport—”
“I’m flying you over in our jet,” Daniil interrupts. He won’t look me in the eye, which I think is strange.
“What are you not telling me?” I ask, panic rising. Tension clouds the room, but his face remains stoic. “What’s going on? Is it because I'm going back to Jorge? We talked about this last night—”
“That’s not it,” he sighs. “We can discuss it during the flight. Give me ten minutes to pack.”
“Okay,” I say, a sense of foreboding rising like a fog. “We can talk on the plane.”
* * *
“We are cruisingat an altitude of twenty-two thousand feet. We’ll be wheels-down in a little less than three hours, clear skies all the way. Enjoy your flight, Mr. Kozlov, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to the crew for anything you may need. We are stocked with all your favorite foods and beverages.”
The copilot salutes us and returns to the cockpit. Beside me, Daniil’s face is cut from stone. He’s not said one word since we left his penthouse.
Following in the copilot’s footsteps is the overzealous flight attendant who has been circling Daniil from the moment we boarded the plane. She looks like one of the Jenner sisters, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s been his in-flight entertainment in the past, judging by the way she’s throwing him hot and heavy glances.
“Can I get you anything, Mr. Kozlov?” she purrs. I don’t warrant a second look from her.
“Mineral water, please, for both of us.” And then he turns towards me. “Do you want anything else?”
I shake my head, and the Kendall look-alike saunters off, still eye-banging Daniil as she fetches our drinks.
“She seems friendly.”
Daniil’s lips tip up at the corner. “Sure. You can call it that.”
He drums his fingers on the armrests, his stare fixed straight ahead. God, I hope he hasn’t changed his mind. But that doesn’t make sense. We’re literally on the way back to my uncle’s compound.
I wait until our drinks are in front of us before I turn to him, preparing to ask what’s going on, but he beats me to it. “I’m not returning you to your uncle.”
“What?” My head snaps back. “What are you talking about?”
He wipes a hand down his face. Exhaustion finally catching up with him. “Your uncle found out about what happened. I don’t know who told him, but someone did, and he reached out to Andrei. The head of our family.” I hold my breath. I know I will not like what he says next. He looks at me for a long, long time. “He wants us to marry.”
