Page 46 of Of Oaths and Secrets

My wife… was too trusting.Wife—there it is again, that fucking strange sense of belonging, of longing, that I don’t want to feel. I stared at the screen, my gut twisting and being drawn to something I couldn’t understand. Then…

“What’s the emergency?”

Thank God for the interruption.

I look up to see Paolo standing in the doorway of my office at the club.

“Thanks for coming so fast, but I never said it was an emergency,” I reply, closing my laptop and pushing the unsettling thoughts away.

Paolo shakes his head. “I got it from the tone of your text.”

I raise an eyebrow. “I just said, ‘Can you come to the club, please? I need to talk to you.’”

“Exactly!” He drops into the seat across from my desk, grinning like a damn fool. “You never say please.”

I roll my eyes. “I need your help with something.”

“Did Alexei come back with names already?” Paolo jumps right in, his expression turning serious.

I sigh, feeling the conversation getting away from me. “No, it’s not about the Russians.”

“Is it that thing at your brother’s club a couple of nights ago? I thought that was already handled.”

I frown. Drama at Leo’s strip club? What the hell did I miss? “No, but we’ll circle back to that later.”

“Is it?—?”

“Would you let me finish?” I snap, irritation bubbling up. I’m starting to wonder if asking Paolo for help was an act of desperation more than anything else.

He raises his hands in surrender, but the amusement still dances in his eyes. “Alright, alright. I’m listening.”

“It’s about Nora. But,” I raise my hand to stop him before he can say anything, “I’d appreciate it if you toned down the sarcasm and the amusement. I’m not in the mood, and I swear you’ll leave this room with a few teeth missing—best friend or not.”

He gives me a mock-serious nod and makes a zipping motion across his mouth. I sigh internally, knowing this is probably the best I’m going to get with him.

“I think things are… shifting between us.”

“You and me, or you and her?” Paolo asks, barely keeping a straight face.

I scowl, the irritation rising more. “Can you not be an asshole for five minutes?”

He actually pauses as if considering the challenge, then sighs. “Fine. In what way?”

“I spent some time with her last night, and instead of shying away from me, she seemed to actually enjoy my company. She even told me she liked my voice.” I clear my throat, the compliment making me feel uncomfortable, and rub at my jaw. “She seems to… I don’t know.”

“Like you?” Paolo finishes, raising an eyebrow.

I nod, not sure what else to say.

“Do you like her?” His grin makes me narrow my eyes at him, but I can’t just give him half the story now.

“I respect her. She’s my wife, after all. But the more time I spend with her, the more it feels… physical. And it’s unsettling.”

The mocking disappears from his face, and I’m thankful for it. “I get it. It’s all new. You’ve never felt this way about anyonebefore, but she’s not just any woman. She’s your wife. The best person to take that plunge with.”

“I’m not about to force myself on her,” I grind out, unsure if it’s the fear talking. The idea that for the first time I feel something deeper for a woman, it might end in rejection.

Paolo leans back in his chair, giving me a look. “You’re making it very hard for me not to mock you, brother. You really are.” He rubs his chin for a moment. “But I think she’s lying to herself as much as she’s lying to you. I think she came that night with every intention to pick your brother.”

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