Page 52 of Heartless Sinner

He shot me a final warning glare and then exited, his two bodyguards following. Toby, face screwed up in sympathy, exited afterwards, closing the door quietly behind him.

Exhaling heavily, I sat down on the couch and scrubbed at my face. “I’m sorry. I thought he would be glad I showed initiative. He didn’t seem to care who I married just as long as I fucking found someone as soon as possible. I was worried if I didn’t act quickly he’d pick someone out for me.”

Marla walked over and sat down next to me, her hand rubbing my back. “It was stupid of you not to tell him before taking me to a Petrov dinner, you know that.”

I nodded. I hated to admit it, but she was right.

“But for what it’s worth, I meant what I said,” Marla said quietly, genuinely. “I think he should trust you more.”

I turned my head to look at her. Marla had a soft look on her face, one that I wanted to drown in.

This… this was what I’d wanted, the thing I had never even admitted to myself I was looking for. Underneath the need for a smart wife, a strong wife, a wife who kept me in line… I wanted someone I felt… safe with. A harbor to rest in.

I pulled Marla into my lap and kissed her, holding onto her tightly. She made a noise of surprise against my mouth but didn’t move away, pressing into my body as I wrapped my arms around her completely.

My fingers slid through her soft dark hair, and I buried my face in the juncture between her neck and shoulder. She smelled like the bed, like me, like home.

I never wanted to move.

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Chapter Twenty-Two

Marla

* * *

To say I was surprised that Vince was like this was an understatement. I never would’ve expected him to want or need comfort, and certainly not from me.

My blood still boiled at his father’s attitude, as if Vince couldn’t be trusted. I knew it was stupid of me. Carlo Russo had a good point. Vince should’ve talked to him before publicly announcing his engagement to me. But I would’ve thought that the elder Russo would have more damn trust in the son that everyone knew was the most reliable.

All right, I was biased. But the look of frustration and hurt on Vince’s face and the way he had willingly defended me—how could I not want to defend him in return? And the way he held me now, burying his face in my shoulder like I was his anchor.

Vince pulled back at last, resting our foreheads together. “I’m sorry. I should’ve handled this better with my father. You shouldn’t have been blindsided like that.”

“Apology accepted.” If he thought I was going to let him get away with mistakes in our relationship he was wrong, and that was clearly why he’d chosen me, as he’d said to his father.

I swallowed. “Vince?”

He looked up at me. He looked so vulnerable like this, young, not at all like someone who had killed and would kill again, someone who was a heartless sinner.

Why did you choose me? Do you have feelings for me?

The question stuck in my throat as I realized how devastated I’d be if he said he felt nothing for me. That I was a good partner for him to keep him in line and nothing more, and a warm body in bed and some good brains to help run things since goodness knew, he couldn’t exactly rely on his brothers.

I realized that I wanted him to say that he had feelings for me.

Which meant I had feelings for him.

I swallowed back those questions. “I should talk to my brother about the marriage and we should arrange for our parents to have some kind of… meeting. I don’t want them to meet for the first time at the wedding.”

Vince looked at me, puzzled, as if that wasn’t at all what he’d expected me to say. “Of course. I think we should work to avoid any more of these… family conflicts.”

“Putting my father and your father in a room together is probably going to lead to more conflict but I’m not sure we have a choice,” I added, trying for a laugh and failing miserably.

Vince still stared at me like he was trying to figure me out. Had I given myself away? Revealed too much about my feelings? Was it plain on my face, the realization that I was quickly falling for him and I wasn’t able to completely hide it?

Panic set it and I scrambled away. “I’m sorry, I think I need to—go on a walk. Get some fresh air. I’m sorry.”

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