Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
I roll my eyes, punch his arm, and he laughs at me as I walk inside. He follows then pours himself a drink.
“I asked her about your mother,” I say, accepting a glass of wine. “She didn’t really say much.”
He takes a long sip. “What’s there to say?”
“Evander.”
“You don’t have to worry about my mother.”
“She clearly hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you. Sophia and Aunt Anissa, they hate you. But my mother—she’s simply hard to please.”
I sip my wine and stalk away, thinking. “I don’t even know what that means,” I say finally.
“I’m her oldest son. I’m the last male in the Kazan line, aside from some random cousins we have stashed away in the closet. She understands that my role is extremely important, but there have also been… complications.”
I slowly meet his gaze and hold it. “Complications that involve how you came to power?”
His expression doesn’t change. He keeps staring at me, studying me, looking at me like he wants to push me down and strip me naked purely so he can keep on looking. I shiver and finally tear my gaze away, unable to hold that intensity for long.
“Yes, that is part of it,” he says finally. “But the truth is, my mother will never accept any woman I decide to marry, Greek or otherwise. She’ll come around eventually. You’ll have to be patient.”
“Right. Patient.” I nod slowly as I rub my face. An ugly headache begins to blossom between my eyes. “Am I silly for caring? Does it really even matter? This whole marriage thing isn’t even real.”
“It’s real,” he says. “Only temporary.”
“So I shouldn’t care. I can handle your mom hating me, right? Since she won’t be my mother-in-law forever.”
“That’s one way of thinking about it.” But he doesn’t sound happy about that.
“At dinner, your mom seemed close with Anissa and Sophia. But those two supposedly hate you, right?”
“Anissa and my mother are sisters. They used to be closer, but certain events complicated things. Truthfully, they don’t blame my mother for what happened. If you knew—” He hesitates and shakes his head. “Well, if you knew, you wouldn’t either.”
I want to ask what he means by that. Curiosity tears at me, but Evander doesn’t seem like he wants to go into detail about what happened with his family when he became the lord, and there’s some part of me that doesn’t want to know the details.
It was a violent mob coup. I can imagine how that went down.
And I’m terrified that if I heard the ugly particulars, I might ever be able to look at him the same.
Would that be so bad?
I stifle and a yawn and finish my wine. “I’m exhausted. I think I’m going to take a shower and turn in early. Are you coming to bed tonight, or are you going to hide out again?”
His eyes widen slightly. He stares at me for a moment, his jaw working, and I can tell I pissed him off, but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. Like usual.
“I have work to do,” he says finally.
“Right. Like usual. And I guess you’re still letting me get used to everything?”
He walks toward me suddenly. “Are you saying you want me in your bed tonight?”
“I’m saying I’ve been sleeping in your bed, without you, for days now. That’s all I’m saying.”
He stops inches away from me, staring down into my eyes. “I am not avoiding you.” His gaze drifts to the ring on my finger. “And you will be my wife soon.”
“How soon?”
“My friend Gareth is drawing up the papers. They’ll be ready tomorrow.”
Fear suddenly jolts through me. Fear and anxiety war for control, but I force myself to stay still as he stands inches away from me, looking beautiful. He smells like whiskey and pine, a heady cologne.
“Tomorrow we’ll make it official then,” I whisper.
“Which means tonight, I’m coming to bed.”
“Prove it.” I force myself to move and brush past him. “For a big, bad mafia man, you sure do like to talk a lot.”
I open the bedroom door and I expect an ugly retort from him—but instead, he chuckles softly, sounding genuinely amused, and a quick pulse runs through my heart.
Tomorrow, it’s official. And tonight, he’s coming to bed.
I don’t know if I’m happy or terrified, but I think it might be a mixture of both.
Chapter 28
Camille
I’m a nervous wreck all the next day at the diner. I keep thinking about Evander, the paperwork, becoming the Greek crime lord’s wife, everything that goes along with my new position in the world—and it scares me half to death.
But it’s better than being out on the street with nothing but a pair of expensive vintage sneakers to my name and a violent, angry ex-husband trying to hunt me down.
I keep catching looks from the made guys hanging around. I’m not sure if they know what’s happening tonight, but I keep wondering if they’re going to come up to congratulate me. Instead, they remain silent, keep their distance like always, and I’m left alone with my anxiety.