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I can feel him staring at me for a long moment before he says, “I don’t make it my business to pry into my employees’ affairs, but... This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with your family’s recent... business upheavals, would it?”
I clear my throat. “Er... only in a certain sense, Mr. Sterling.” I hesitate, and then add, “My husband, Lucas, is coming home from a business trip today.”
“That explains it, then.” He barks out a laugh. “Shit, Vivian. You didn’t tell me you were married tothatEmmerico.”
I blink in surprise. “You know him?”
Craig snorts. “Sure I do. He’s bought half a dozen paintings from me over the years. A proper bastard, that one. I feel for you, Vivian.”
Not the most reassuring comment coming from a guy like Craig Sterling. “Thank you,” I reply. “I think.”
“Take fifteen to get your head back in the game,” my boss says. “Hell, take half an hour.”
“I will,” I reply, listlessly getting up from my chair. “Thanks.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He waves me off, only to stop me as I turn toward the door. “And Vivian?”
“Hm?”
“Good luck.”
* * *
“I’m fucked,”I mutter as I pace back and forth in my living room later that night. “I’m so fuckingfucked.”
Theo is watching me from his place on the couch. His bags are all packed and waiting around him, and I can hardly look at them without being overwhelmed with heartache. Every time I do, it’s just a reminder that this is the last night he’ll be here, the last night I’ll get to pretend that I’m not married to his brother, the last night before I have to get over this stupid, fucking crush and grow up.
“Hey.” Theo shifts on the couch, still favoring the spot where he got shot. It’s not bad, all things considered, and once he got to the family doctor, they were able to take care of it, but it’s not totally healed yet. “Don’t talk like that.”
“How can you say that?” I demand, rounding on him, and I can see the agitation burning in his silver eyes. He’s as pissed as I am about this; he just hides it better. “Three weeks, he’s given me the silent treatment, and now he’s showing up unannounced? What if he’s still pissed about the gallery job? What if—”
But I don’t have time to finish my thought, because the next thing I know, the front door is flying open and Lucas is stalking into the apartment, flinging it closed behind him.
It’s amazing how someone can look so similar and so different at the same time. It’s only been a couple of months since the wedding, but it feels like it’s been a lifetime, and all pretenses of civility are gone from my husband’s face as he stares me down from across the room. Gone is the rehearsed, detached smile he wore at the wedding, replaced by a stone-faced, calculating glare.
“There you are,” he says, and then he’s crossing the room in a few brisk strides and pulling me in for a rough kiss. It’s nothing like the kiss at our wedding, and I’m so taken aback that it takes me a moment to realize what’s happening. He smells like aftershave and smoke, and his hands dig into my shoulders as he pushes his tongue into my mouth. I’m so shocked by his aggression that I only manage to whimper a protest as he drags me roughly against his body.
And from out of the corner of my eye, I’m aware that Theo has sprung to his feet.
Lucas finally lets me go, giving me a chilling look as he pulls away, his eyes raking over my body with irritation and desire. His fingers are still digging painfully into my shoulders. “What...” I manage. “What are you doing?”
“Greeting my wife,” Lucas growls, still looking over my body like I’m some piece of meat he’s just spotted at the market. “Mywife.”He repeats the phrase slowly, his eyes narrowing as he takes me in. “It’s funny,” he says, laughing. “I’ve been away so long I was starting to forget that you’re mine. Thanks for all your help, Theo,” he adds, hardly even glancing his brother’s way. “I think I can take it from here.”
I stare up at him with wide eyes, fear surging through me as I try to wriggle free of his grip. “Lucas, I—”
That’s when Theo loses it. Moving like a cat, he’s across the room in the blink of an eye, and my heart jumps into my throat as he grabs Lucas’s shoulder and drags him away from me with astonishing strength. “Let. Her. Go.”
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Lucas demands, rounding on him. “You think this is any of your business, Theo? Huh?” He shoves him away. “You were here to watch over her, and that’s it. You can go.”
“Like hell,” Theo growls, and there’s murder in his eyes. “You think she belongs to you? Huh?”
Lucas laughs. “Didn’t you get the memo, Theo?” he demands. “Shedoesbelong to me, and no amount of bullshit from you is going to change that. Now get the fuck out of here before I—”
Theo hits him. It happens so quickly that I don’t have time to react, and judging by the way Lucas staggers backward as his brother’s fist connects with his nose, he wasn’t expecting it, either. Blood streams from his nose as his hands fly to his face, curses falling from his mouth as he stares, uncomprehending, at Theo. “You...” he spits. “You broke my fucking nose!”
“Yeah,” Theo growls, staring at him with pure rage in his eyes. “I guess I did.”
“You fucking bastard…!”
