Page 18 of The Bratva's Plus-Size Bride

Viktor smirks. “Fair enough. Oh look,” he says, nodding over my shoulder. “Here comes Mrs. Kozlov, speak of the devil. I don’t think she was finished with you yet.”

I groan and scan for an exit, but it’s too late. She’s spotted me and she’s locked on. Ella is nowhere in sight, and I’m going to be pissed if I don’t even get the chance to talk to her this evening,especially when the only thing I want to do is tear that dress off of her.

This is going to be one long night.

Chapter 10 - Ella

My feet are killing me. The expensive shoes held out way longer than my usual stilettos do, but after an entire evening, there’s only so much even money can do. I’m ready to strip them off and stick my feet in my fluffy slippers back at home. After I make sure they’re rat-free.

I make my way out to the street to call for a car, realizing I’m probably one of the only people here, apart from the staff working the event, who doesn’t have a private car already waiting. Valets trot back and forth on the sidewalk, and I’m careful to stay out of their way.Tonight offered a glimpse into a world where I’ll never belong: the world of the elite, the wealthy, the powerful. I might be Mr. Milov’s assistant, able to tag along into his world like a dutiful pet, but I’ll never truly be part of it, no matter what dress or shoes I’m wearing.On top of that, Mr. Milov didn’t even bother to seek me out tonight. We spent the evening orbiting each other, and I was forced to stand around watching him flirt, unable to resist the magnetic pull toward him, unable to tear my eyes away. I was jealous—stupidly, foolishly jealous. He’s just my boss; I’m determined to keep it that way, so why does the sight of him with another woman make me want to hurl?

At least Anya was there to keep me company. She is so warm and friendly, so unlike her brothers, that it’s hard to believe they are even related. Then there is Viktor, Mr. Milov’s twin. Similar good looks, similar charm, but I feel none of that inescapable draw toward him like I do toward Mr. Milov. Clearly, my attraction is more than just physical, which spells trouble.

I check my phone. The car is still ten minutes away, moving slowly through the evening traffic, and I watch its yellowdot come to a standstill a few streets away. All I want is to be home. Something about Mr. Milov insisting I come tonight just to not spend a minute of it with me is humiliating in a way that has to do more with my pride and my heart than with anything professional. He must be embarrassed by me. That’s the only explanation I can think of. Maybe he thought with the dress and the shoes I’d look more presentable, that I’d be worth showing up with, but when he actually caught a glimpse of me realized that was a mistake.

Maybe when it’s just the two of us, he’s happy to be all over me, happy to want me, but in public, it’s another story altogether. I’ve known a few men like that. Attracted to plus-sized women in the bedroom but unwilling to take one on a date. Cowards. I’d thought better of Mr. Milov somehow, but now I know better.

Standing here in this extravagant dress, watching everyone else pass by and get into their cars, only adds to my humiliation. If the ground were to open up right now, I’d leap in without a second thought and let it swallow me whole.

A car pulls up, flashy and low to the ground, with blacked-out windows and a purring engine. It stops right in front of me, and I cluck my tongue against the roof of my mouth, wondering which playboy it belongs to. I wrap my arms around myself and step to one side, wishing I could make myself even smaller, when the driver’s side door swings open and Mr. Milov gets out.

“There you are, Ella. I’ve been looking for you. Then Anya said you’d left and I was worried I’d missed you completely.” He approaches, hand outstretched toward mine, and I take a step away from him. His face falls like he actually gives a crap about me, but I know that’s all an act. “Can I give you a ride home, please?”

I squeeze my arms tighter around myself, starting to shiver. “I’m fine. I’ve got a car coming any minute now. You’re probably in the way of it, actually.” And in the way of everyone else waiting along this strip, but he doesn’t seem to care about that at all.

“Cancel it,” he says, stalking toward me. “Let me take you home.”

Scoffing, I shake my head. The audacity of this man. “First, you ignore me all night, and then you show up at the last minute and expect to take me home?”

His brow wrinkles, and I try not to stare at the way he looks with his suit unbuttoned, tie gone, a little disheveled. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to spend the evening with you like I’d planned. I promise you, I would’ve preferred to spend every minute of it by your side, but it turned into one thing after another, and by the time I came up for air, you were gone.”

I don’t believe him. It’s an easy lie, an excuse he can make now when there’s no going back to fix things. The truth is, he insisted I come to this stupid event and then decided I was too embarrassing to be seen with.

“Just admit you’re ashamed of me,” I demand, my voice low, not wanting to attract the attention of any bystanders. “Admit that you saw me and realized you don’t want to be seen with me in public when there are women like… like that out there you could be with instead.”

“First of all,” he says, holding up his hand to forestall any more words from me, “I couldn’t be more proud to be seen with a woman as gorgeous as you, Ella. Second of all, I thought you’d made it clear that you’re my assistant and only my assistant, that anything more between us is impossible.”

Shoot. He’s got me there. This night has me so turned around that I let my real feelings slip through for a moment, and I can’t snatch them back now.Come on, sidewalk, open up, please.

“I mean, as your assistant. You had me come out here for what, just to humiliate me by avoiding me all night? If Anya hadn’t been there, I’d have felt like a complete fool.”

My voice is rising now, but I can’t stop the words spilling out of my mouth or the hot flush rising to my cheeks.

He closes the distance between us and wraps his hand around my waist in front of everyone, waiting for their cars. Shock keeps me from pulling away. It’s nothing to do with how safe I feel in his arms, how it halts my runaway emotions in their tracks. When he holds me, my mind goes still.

“Ella,” he says, catching my chin between his forefinger and thumb and gently tilting it upward so I have no choice but to look up, “I wanted to spend the evening with you, more than anything. Business kept me away, nothing more. I’m sorry.”

This close, I can’t spot a lie in his green eyes, can’t catch it in the tone of his voice. He looks earnest. Dare I believe him? I shake my head, but I don’t know if I’m denying his words or my own gut feeling that I can trust him.

“Let me take you home.” He strokes his thumb softly over my cheek. “It’s not enough to make it up to you, but maybe it’s a start.”

“I have a car coming,” I protest, but it sounds lame even to my own ears.

“And mine is already here. It’s just more efficient.” Hand on my lower back, he guides me to his car and opens the door forme, revealing an interior that looks more like a spaceship than any car I’ve ever been in.

I lower myself in, mindful of my gown, and catch a flash of a smile from him as he shuts my door. Whenever I’m with him, it seems so simple. It’s in the space between where my mind has time to think and worry that all the trouble starts.

He settles himself into the driver seat and we’re silent as he pulls out onto the road, the roar of the engine the only sound as he navigates us through the congested streets. I can’t help staring at the way his long fingers wrap around the steering wheel, can’t help remembering how they felt inside of me. His touch is everything.

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