Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 89090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
“Make sure you’re doing this for Polina and not yourself.” It feels like a big-ass knife stabs me in the chest when she murmurs, “You didn’t want revenge stealing everything you’ve ever wanted. That’s why you went home, back to your girl.”
I can’t deny her claim that I returned to Russia for Polina, so I remain quiet.
It pleases Ana. Happiness flares through her eyes as she says, “Don’t let remorse steal her from you again. She’s worth more to you than any amount of revenge.”
With nothing more left to say, she smiles while telling me she will be in touch soon before she disconnects our call.
Polina enters my bedroom only half a second later.
“You came back for me?”
20
POLINA
Yev’s silence speaks volumes, and it adds to the somersaults in my stomach.
They’re not bad tumbles. Far from it.
Yev probably doubts that, though. He’s been quiet since my mini meltdown, and I realize why when he mutters, “Bet you’re wishing I didn’t.”
“Yev—”
“I shouldn’t have pushed. I just wanted you to see how beautiful you are. To see what I see when I look at you.”
His throat works through a hard swallow when I mutter, “I did. Why do you think I reacted the way I did?”
It takes him a few seconds to reply. “Because I hurt you.”
I brush off his worry with a wave of my hand. “You didn’t hurt me. You showed me what happened to me wasn’t my fault and that my scars can only be seen by me.”
He looks baffled. I understand why since I’m a little bewildered myself. I’ve always thought I was strong and independent, but in reality, I’ve never left the shadow of the little girl who was so frightened to move the night my father killed my mother, I drenched my nightie with more than tears.
I also always blamed myself, my body, and my family for what happened to me.
I should have blamed nobody but the perpetrators.
“I’ve never seen what I saw last night. Anytime I looked in the mirror, I saw…”
When my words trail off, Yev mutters, “A broken soul?”
I nod before I can stop myself.
With a look that exposes he understands me more than anyone, he pushes off his feet and moseys my way. His stalk is dangerous and edgy but oh so sexy. “Did you see something different last night?” A grin I’ve been dying to see for days tugs at his lips when I nod again. “And you liked what you saw?” Once again, I nod, which slackens the deep groove his brows haven’t been without for weeks. “Enough to do it again?”
He smiles his first true smile when I fold my arms in front of my chest and arch a brow. I’m not opposed to a second round, but I need to recover from round one first. I’m also too curious to discover how Alek found out about us to wait a second longer.
“Did you tell him?”
With his prey locked, Yev pays more attention to my hair than the worry bristling out of me when he stops in front of me. “Who?”
“Alek.” Now I’ve got his attention. “Did you tell him about us?”
He fixes his hair into place when he runs his fingers over his scalp before he shakes his head. “But…” I could kill him for the delay. “I may have accidentally mentioned Pavel spiking your drink.” He doesn’t give me the chance to get over my shock, let alone speak a word. “He was accusing me of skipping out on my obligations, so I hit him back with the same accusation. I didn’t mean to break my promise. I didn’t realize—”
I silence him by pressing my finger to his plump lips. “I don’t care about Pavel.” He can rot in hell as far as I am concerned. “I’m more interested in what obligation Alek thinks you skipped out on. He only ever uses those words for men who leave their women the instant they find out they’re pregnant.”
Yev’s eyes bulge. “What the fuck? I’m not like that. I wouldn’t do that. I am not a complete fucking tool…” His words trail off as his bug-eyed expression worsens.
When his eyes drop to my stomach, I take a step back. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“You’re the only one I was tapping back then.” I’m almost insulted until he adds, “You never consume scraps when you have filet mignon at your disposal.” He brings his eyes back to meet mine. They’re gleaming with a playfulness I’ve not seen since his return but are very much him. “Not even for the six months you closed the restaurant.”
He’s not saying what I think he is, is he? His grief was deep—it still mars his face now—but there’s no way he went that long without some form of intimacy.
When the truth is projected in his eyes, I enter his room fully and flop on his bed. I rationalized with myself for weeks that he had moved on. That’s why I only felt the littlest bit of guilt when I accepted Vasily’s offer of a date. He was visiting my boutique with his father. Leon has always flashed around his credentials, so even if I hadn’t recognized him on the website I’d been researching the week before, I would have eventually learned of his title.