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“When do you think? You were at the party last night,” I grumble.
She elbows me again. “Yeah, I was. Which means I had to talk to dozens of women who thought the best way to you might be through me.” She turns to Cora. “I never sawyou, though.”
Cora tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. Her face blushes pink, matching the new color on her shoulders.
She spent hours outside. I watched her walking around the lawn and thought about going to join her.
But after my weakness in the shower, I decided that keeping my distance might be for the best.
Anya sighs when both of us remain awkwardly silent. “Really? Is this some big secret? I want to hear about your meet-cute. Now!”
“Don’t be a brat.”
Anya spins to elbow me again, but Cora interrupts. “She’s not being a brat. I think it’s nice that you care about what is going on in your brother’s life.”
Anya presses a hand to her chest for a stunned moment and then, before I can stop her, she pulls Cora into a bear hug. “I knew my brother would find the perfect woman for him some day. I just knew it.”
Cora meets my eyes over Anya’s shoulder for just a second before quickly looking away. She pats my sister on the back and manages a smile.
Anya whips out an arm to rope me into the hug. She squeals. “I’m so happy for you two!”
Cora is pressed against my arm. The warmth of her body sears into me. She smells like…likeme,actually. Like sandalwood. Niles must have stocked her shower with my body wash. It sparks some possessive part deep inside of me.
She is mine.
“Okay. That’s enough.” I slide out of the hug and put some distance between us. “Why are you here, Anya? I’m sure your husband misses you. You should be getting back.”
I start to steer her for the door, but she dodges me. “Are you trying to get rid of me already? I just got here.”
Exactly. Anya has only been here for three minutes and I’m already questioning everything.
This fake marriage plan seemed like a good idea before Cora shook my sister’s hand and introduced herself as my fiancée. Anya has always wanted me to get married for love. It’s been important to her since she got married.
“Lev and I are so happy. I want that for you, too,” she said on her wedding day. “Whatever it takes, I want you to be this happy, Ivan.”
She should know better than most that it isn’t possible for me, but she still held onto hope.
Now, I’m toying with those hopes. It’s for her own good—for the good of the Bratva—but it doesn’t make me feel any better.
I’m about to tell Anya that she should leave because Cora and I want to be alone, but then Cora swoops in and delicately loops her arm through Anya’s. “No one is trying to get rid of you. We’d love to have you. Niles made some snacks in the kitchen.”
Again, Anya’s mouth falls open. She turns to me, sheer delight written all over her face. “Do you see this hospitality? I can’t believe I’ve put up with your brutish ways for so long.”
I flip her off and she blows me a kiss in response.
“I don’t want to overload you,” Cora teases, “but I was thinking about making coffee, too.”
Anya groans. “Cora, you and I are going to get along famously.”
That’s what I’m worried about.
The two of them sashay into the kitchen. I trail along irritably. Cora gets plates down out of the cabinet and passes them out. Anya grabs a handful of cheese and crackers and then leans in, a grin on her face.
“Tell me everything. Full details of the meet-cute.”
I expect Cora to buckle under my sister’s insistence. When people aren’t used to Anya, she can be a lot. “TMI” is not part of her vocabulary.
Instead, Cora smiles with ease and doesn’t even look at me as she answers. “I know it probably sounds crazy, but we met for the first time last night.”
