Page 32 of His Ruthless Queen

“I need to meet Corbin for dinner now. Will you drive me to the restaurant please?”

“Sure,” he says, slowly nodding his head. He places his hand at the small of my back, guiding me toward Sean’s apartment, where the car is parked.

“And stop watching me sleep.”

He snickers.

I suck in a breath, my entire body shaking, still on edge from our encounter.

Chapter Fifteen

Mynerveshavecalmedsignificantly on the car ride to dinner. Corbin selected an intimate restaurant that holds probably half of the amount of seating that our normal five-star places do. The hostess takes me to a table that’s seated for four, Corbin already sitting with a vodka in hand.

There’s a red wine beside him that I know he ordered for me. He stands to greet me, a welcoming smile on his face.

“Hey, honey,” he says, pulling me in for a hug. “How was work? I’m sorry I couldn’t pick you up.”

“Work was fine,” I say.

He kisses me quickly on the lips, then pulls my chair out. “I hope you don’t mind. An old work friend and his sister are in town, so I’ve invited them to join us.”

“Not at all,” I say. “I’m excited to meet some of your friends. I hope he has some embarrassing stories about you, Mr. Governor,” I tease.

Corbin grins. “I’m sure he will.”

Scotty takes a seat at the table behind us. Corbin reaches for the wineglass and offers it to me.

“I’ve ordered our appetizers already,” he says. “I got you some hummus.”

“That was thoughtful.” I grin, excited that somehow, without even communicating it, he’s stopped having me check the menu, and just doing it.

“There they are!” Corbin stands as a couple comes into the restaurant.

Both of them are extremely tall, both in suits. I stand with Corbin as they come in. “Saoirse, this is my friend, Jericho Vasiliev, and his sister, Yuliya.”

I freeze, recognizing the last name. My heart starts hammering, and I turn around to catch Scotty stiff as a board, glaring at them. I clear my throat, trying to maintain my composure. What the fuck is going on here? Scotty’s reaction is enough to tell me I might be in danger, but I force a smile and offer my hand to Jericho first.

Callum trusts Corbin, that has to mean something. I pull myself together. Jericho is taller than Corbin, but he holds that same mystical glint in his brown eyes as the governor.

“Jericho, this is my fiancé, Saoirse,” Corbin says.

I glance down at the ring on my finger, then back to the couple in front of me. “Nice to meet you,” I say.

“Cher—what?” Jericho shakes his head. “I swear, the Irish shouldn’t have been allowed to string together letters of the alphabet. Is there even anhin your name?”

“You should hear my aunt’s name,” I say, a grin plastered on my face. It’s not the first or the last time someone will butcher my name, and at least he’s approaching it with a sarcastic joke.

I pull my hand from Jericho and turn to Yuliya. She’s just about as tall as Jericho. Her blonde hair is tousled in a messy braid, and I pull her into a hug. “I wish I could say Corbin’s told me all about you, but he hasn’t.”

Yuliya grunts, and when I pull away, her face is in a tight scowl. My gaze drops to the end of her braid, and I stifle the shocked gasp threatening to escape. The end of her braid is tied off with a familiar baby blue hair tie. I turn, drawing a brow at Corbin. He shrugs.

“That’s expected. Pretty boy here likes to be the center of attention. He wouldn’t want anyone else to be painted better than him.” Jericho pulls Corbin into a hug, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Pretty boy?” I say behind a laugh. “I guess that’s a good description for his mug of a face.”

“Don’t encourage him, honey,” Corbin says. He clasps my hand, pulling me into my seat.

Corbin grabs the ends of my hair, twirling it in his hand.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com