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“Everyone.” He places his hand between my legs. “Well. Almost everyone,” he says.
My face flames as I catch his meaning quickly. I push his hand away and cross my legs.
“You were very wet,moya nevesta.” He puts both hands on the wheel. “Perhaps we will have a real wedding night.”
“I was upset,” I lied. “And you took advantage.”
Andrei chuckles. “I took no advantage, Paige Geraldovna. You can’t hide how wet you were for your husband. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I was faking it,” I hiss. “Just like this marriage.”
“Of course.” The smirk never leaves his face. “I’ll tell you a secret. I want you too,moya nevesta.”
I scoot away from Andrei as he tries to help me out of the cart. I stumble on the train of the ridiculous dress, and when Dmitri tries to reach for me, I yank myself away from him too.
They must think I’m a brat. Let them.
None of them get it. They kidnapped me, and I have every right to be furious. I head toward the door, hurrying when I hear them chuckling behind my back.Assholes. But Andrei doesn’t let me go too far away. His arm rests gently on my elbow as he guides me back down the hall.
Dmitri opens the door to the banquet room and everything stops, including me. I stare into the crowded room, and the people stare back at me. Andrei’s hand moves possessively to my lower back.
I don’t move away. My knees shake under my dress as we become the center of attention.
Get with it, Paige. You’re the bride. Of course, everyone is staring at you.
We take a step into the room, and a wave of palpable relief hits me. It’s not only me who feels it. It’s everyone in the room. What did they think happened? I tremble, recalling Dmitri’s quip.Everyone is patiently waiting …Somewhere in the back of my brain, I knew we were all bait, but now I realize that they had expected the worst.
They thought I was dead.
My steps falter, and Andrei takes my hand as he leads me to the main table.
Natasha stands up from my chair, cool as a thief. She slinks toward me and plucks something out of my hair. A blade of grass? She holds it up for a second and smirks before tossing it away. Someone chuckles and then others join in. Relief changes to giddiness. The reception morphs into a fierce party as it becomes clear that no one is coming to spoil it by shooting half the guests.
The wedding cake is cut and served without us cutting it. Champagne flows like water, and laughter begins to erupt as the servers join in the festivities.
Natasha smirks at my skirt. I glance down at the grass stains on the back. I’m thankful there’s not a big wet spot too. I glance up at Andrei’s ruffled hair and then strictly avoid all eye contact.
My knees stop shaking, and I hurry toward my chair as the music starts.
Eva beams, a pleased smile on her face. Sighing, I let her fuss over me, pulling another blade of grass out of my hair. “I’m so happy,” she says, reaching for my hand. “Andrei has chosen well, my Paige.”
She continues to dote on me, motioning a bridesmaid over. Together, they discreetly fix my veil. I look straight ahead. These are all things I once used to believe my mother would do for me on my wedding day.
You shouldn’t be thankful. These people are the worst kind of crazy.
“My Andrushka will take care of you,” she continues. “He is not his father, no matter how hard he tries to be.”
I grimace and say nothing. If this is meant to reassure me, it’s doing the exact opposite. I glance over at Andrei, my gaze settling on his smile as he jokes with a guard standing in front of the table.
And slowly I realize the men in black have formed a semicircle around us. A human wall of protection. Finally, I exhale deeply and lean back in my chair. My gaze finds Andrei again, like it did the first time I saw him.
I know without looking when he’s near. He won’t leave my side.
He catches my gaze and looks back at me. The smile slips off his face for a moment and is replaced by an intense look. I’ve seen that look before. It’s as if he’s trying to figure something out. Or maybe he’s trying to figure out what to do with me now.
But then he turns back to his men, laughing, and the moment is lost. Natasha breaks into the circle and holds a hand out to him. Andrei nods and lets her lead him onto the dance floor. I guess we won’t be having the first dance.
“You look very beautiful, my dear,” Eva assures me with a squeeze of the hand.
