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“Perfect,” Yuri finally said, squinting up at us after studying the fine print for so long. “Both families seem to be in agreement, and everything is in excellent order.”
He clapped me on the shoulder and stuck out his hand for Roman to shake, which he did, all while looking at me as if I’d spit in his coffee while he wasn’t looking.
“Arewe all in agreement?” he asked seriously. “Because my daughter tells me you expressed some doubts to her the last time you were together. Are you going to disappoint her and start trouble between the families?”
I couldn’t believe Sofia threw me under the bus like that, when I was seriously thinking about her happiness at the time. Well, mostly mine, but it wasn’t as if I wanted her to be miserable, either. I had nothing against the woman. I just had nothing for her, either. Certainly not love and devotion.
“Sofia and I had a discussion, and it was resolved,” I said coldly. Yuri raised his eyebrows at me, and I hurried to reassure the old man. “I only have your daughter’s best interests at heart.”
Roman puffed up his chest. “And you think I don’t? Maybe you aren’t what’s best for her.”
“Wait just a minute,” Yuri said sharply. “Are you trying to back out of the contract? That sounds to me like you’re the one who’s starting trouble between the families.”
The fierceness in my younger brother’s eyes was amusing for about a half a second. Was he getting a taste for mafia life? Looking at contracts and offering tax advice all day starting to wear on him? I held up my hand.
“I’m sure that’s not what he’s saying, Yuri.” As much as I wanted this whole thing to fall apart, that wasn’t what Roman was after. I wasn’t that lucky. It was only posturing, trying to make himself seem more powerful than any of us.
“If you think I’d sacrifice my Sofia’s happiness for anything, you should think again,” Roman sneered. “I don’t want to hear about you trying to weasel out on her again, you hear me, Aleksei?”
If I weren’t so level-headed I would have popped him in the nose. I took a deep breath instead, forcing my fists to unclench.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” I told him, standing.
Yuri jumped up to follow me. “Make sure we don’t have to worry about you, old man,” he said menacingly.
Roman laughed at him and I had to grab his shirt and drag him out of the place before he started the war I was giving up my future to prevent. “What’s gotten into you?” I asked. “He’s going to be my father-in-law.” I nearly gagged at that, and Yuri snorted bitterly.
“He was angling for something with that display,” he said. “He knows the contract favors us and he wants to change it somehow.”
“How does the contract favor us?” I asked. It didn’t favor me, that was for sure. “The Pavlovs are getting a good chunk of our businesses once the deed is done.”
“He’s the sort of man who always wants more.”
I shrugged, shoving Yuri towards his car, parked a few spaces over from mine. “If he is, he’ll have to take it up with Ivan. If it puts a hold on things, I’m not going to complain about it.”
Still brooding, Yuri got in his car and I waited until he drove away to make sure he wasn’t going to sneak back and let Pavlov have it. As pleasant as it would be to knock someone out, particularly Roman Pavlov, it wasn’t a good idea.
I needed something to get my mind off my sordid, arranged marriage, and headed in the direction of Nikolai’s hotel on the beach, though not sure why. Because that was where Theresa had been staying and I might run into her? So what if I did? She made it clear by her silence she wanted nothing more to do with me, and the idea that it might be because of the man she was with, didn’t ease the urge to hit something. It only increased it, as I remembered the young upstart putting his hands on her. As if he had any right, since she belonged to me.
I laughed outright at how ridiculous I was being over a one night stand. I needed to get that sweet virgin out of my thoughts. Impossible task, but at least I changed direction and headed home instead of stalking her at Nik’s hotel, blasting the radio to drown out my thoughts.
Pulling into the underground parking garage in my apartment building, I heard my phone ringing as soon as I turned off the engine and the radio went silent. It was an unknown number and I stuffed it back in my pocket as I hurried toward the elevator, eager to pour myself a cold beer and start forgetting about this day. It kept buzzing away and at the last second, I decided to answer the damn thing.
“Aleksei?”
I was glad I did, because it was the same sweet virgin I’d been unable to stop obsessing over. She sounded ragged and breathless, as if she’d just been crying her beautiful eyes out. “What is it?” I asked urgently. “Are you all right?” The need to find her and make sure she was okay nearly knocked me on my ass.
“Were you serious when you said you wanted to buy more of my paintings?” She sniffled, tearing up my insides at the pitiful sound.
I didn’t think, just answered. “Yes. Absolutely. Tell me where you’re at.”
Chapter 8 - Theresa
Insistent pounding on my hotel room door dragged me out of a very pleasant daydream about a certain someone yanking my panties off. I blinked at my reflection in the mirror over the vanity and sighed when I heard Donny calling for me through the door.
He was definitely not the someone in the daydream, not even close.
It was lunchtime, so I couldn’t feign that I was still asleep, but maybe if I didn’t answer, he’d get bored and go away. He and my mother had become new best friends, sharing all the same interests, or at least he was doing a great job at sucking up to her to stay on her good side, so I was sure he wouldn’t miss me too much.
