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She groaned, dropping onto one of the stools by the kitchen island. “Sounds yummy. How did you learn how to cook?”
I shrugged. “I just did.” My brothers and I used to take turns cooking when we were younger. The older we got, the better we became at it. And our father being boss only meant there were lots of people after our lives. When our mother wasn’t home to inspect the food, we made them ourselves.
“Nice. I’m a horrible cook. Christy’s the good cook.” She propped her elbow on the island and rested her head on her hand. “Your house is nice by the way.”
“Do you like it?”
“I love it. I’m pretty sure you spent a lot on the décor. Everything looks so expensive.”
“I can get you a penthouse and have it set up if you want.” Money wasn’t a problem. I’d bought houses and cars for some of the women I’d been with—the ones who knew just how to please me.
Mariana was not like that in any way. She was much more. So much more. I could do a lot more than buy a house and car for her.
She chuckled, her face lighting up. She was beautiful in and intoxicating way.
This woman will be the death of you, Vlad.
“Thank you, but you’ve forgotten I’m not broke. I can afford a penthouse if I want.”
I had Alexei look her up. After some digging, he’d returned to me with the information he found about her. Her father died years back, her mother suffered a second stroke that left her paralyzed … Mariana was the strongest woman I’d ever seen.
She was able to start up her own gallery after seeing herself through college. Four years after she had opened her gallery, she’d already made a name for herself.
“I know, I just want to make your life easy in whatever way I can.”
She opened her mouth to say something but got cut off when my phone rang from the top of the cabinet. Sergey’s number flashed on my screen.
My muscles twitched. It was unlike Sergey to call me this late at night unless something happened. “Brother.”
“Meet me in the casino right away.” He dropped the call before I could ask any questions. I clenched my phone around my fist.
Mariana must’ve noticed because her smile melted off her face and her brows knitted with concern. “Is there a problem?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll need to go to my brother. Will you be alright until I get back?”
She nodded. “Yes. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Good.” I removed my apron, pressed a kiss to the crown of her hair and ran upstairs. Changing into a pair of black sweatpants and a shirt, I opted for my motorcycle and sped off to the casino.
Sergey and Nikolai were the only ones in my office when I barged in. I scanned their faces for a sign of trouble, but they were both oddly calm. That wasn’t a good thing. “Why did you call me here?”
Sergey swirled a glass of alcohol in his hand. He sighed, taking his time to glance up at me. “Vincent was here a while ago?”
I closed the door behind me. It wasn’t a surprise that Vincent would visit considering the pending alliance, so why was my heart pounding so hard in my chest? “Did he refuse the alliance?”
“On the contrary, he agreed, but on one condition,” Nikolai said quietly.
“And that is?”
“He wants you to marry his daughter, Vlad.”
Chapter 11 - Mariana
Vlad didn’t come back home that night, and he didn’t answer my calls either. I woke up alone the next morning, wrote him a note to call me, but he didn’t.
I spent the whole morning thinking of him and wondering if something had happened to him. I couldn’t just walk into the casino whenever I wanted, but I would have no choice but to go there if I didn’t hear from him by tomorrow.
I was staring blankly at a paper on my table at the office when Christy’s call came in. I answered. “Hey, babe.”
