Page 109 of Sinful Promise

I’m growing tired of having to sit across from my girl while her mother tries her best to arrange a union between her and a fuckwit who will never be good enough for her.

I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to shatter his façade, and after what just happened with Emily in the restaurant bathroom, I think it’s about time to show that I was the one who got to sit beside her at the table.

I tilt my head to the side. “How are you planning on paying back your gambling debts?”

Tom’s eyes widen, and the table falls silent.

I fight the urge to smile as all eyes move to Tom.

Charlotte looks between me and Tom as if we are playing a riveting game of tennis. Then her eyes settle on me. “What are you talking about, Danil?”

“Why don’t you let Tom tell you?” I shrug and turn my eyes back to him. “Go ahead, Tom. Tell everyone how you sold your company shares in order to finance your gambling addiction and then when you couldn’t pay your debt, you decided to steal more shares from some coworkers, and you are now facing a lawsuit and bankruptcy.”

It didn’t take long for Rurik to find out about Tom’s dirty little secret. It was the reason I was late to the dinner. I was waiting for him to get back to me, but I didn’t want to ruin the dinner from the start.

I wanted to save it for when it had the most impact.

Tom looks panicked as he glances at Charlotte and Andrew. “I…uh…”

“Are you going to finish any of those sentences or…”

Dimitri glares at me. “Danil.”

“What? I’m just making conversation.”

Emily looks like she wants to laugh, and Charlotte’s mouth is hanging open as she looks between Tom and me.

Tom gets to his feet. “I-I should go.”

I smile at him. “Don’t worry about the check, Tom. I’ll cover your portion.”

Emily chokes on her water, and I flash her a wink as Tom scurries away from the table with his tail between his legs.

Andrew sets his empty espresso cup down. “What the hell was that about? Charlotte, were you trying to set our daughter up with a gambling addict?”

“I had no idea! He seemed like such a lovely man.”

I shake my head. “Don’t blame yourself, Charlotte. He’s a very skilled liar. You often are when you’re consumed by addiction.”

Her hands go to her chest. “To think I was trying to set him up with my Emily!”

Zara narrows her eyes at me. “How did you find this out?”

“Rurik.”

She nods.

Emily sighs. “I’m just devastated. He could have been the one, and now I’m destined to die alone. How could you do this to me, Mom?”

I fight the urge to laugh.

“You’re terrible,” I mouth, and Emily grins.

Dimitri leans over to me. “What the hell are you doing, Danil?”

“Emily is like family. I thought you, of all people, would be happy that I vetted the guy.”

“You and I both know there’s only one reason that you did that, so you should just come clean, Danil.”

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