Page 84 of Meet Cute or Your Money Back

“Mmm, that must be nice,” I chime in, my voice a playful lilt.Keep her talking. It’s a lot safer and more natural for me to have girl talk than be out there with a bunch of burly men speaking Russian.

I lean forward, the steam parting as if inviting me into their world. “What’s it like? Dating a man who fights for you? One who’s available and not hung up on an ex?”

“Well…he isn’t exactly available,” she says, throwing air quotes around the word. “But in some ways, that’s even better! I get all the best parts of Drake and his wife gets the tired, frustrated man. She gets vacuum cleaners as presents and I get diamonds!” She thrusts her hand out, showing me the sparkling tennis bracelet frosting her wrist.

“Drake…that’s such a sexy name, too!” I squeal, sliding down the bench to get closer to the girls.

“I know. So exotic, right?” she says in her own Southern drawl. “Drake Mikhailo?—”

“Paige,” the Russian friend says, with a slow side-eye to me. “We probably shouldn’t spill all our side-piece secrets, should we?”

“Oh.” I pull back, holding my hands up. Paige is the open book. This other girl is onto me, though. “Of course. Sorry if I was prying.”

Paige waves her friend off, though. “Oh, Serena is just protective. Besides, I only see Drake when he’s stateside.”

“Does he visit often?” I adjust my bathing suit strap as Serena sighs and shucks her robe off her body. I dart my gaze forward, avoiding staring at her naked body.

“Every couple of months, he’ll come for a week or two,” she drawls, sipping more of her champagne. “But I can do whatever I want in the meantime. And he covers my rent and everything! As long as I don’t date anyone while he’s gone. I learned that lesson the hard way when my date’s hand was on my doorstep the next day!”

“Paige!” Serena scolds, her eyes darting to me.

I immediately try to rearrange my face to be less horrified, smiling but I’m pretty sure it comes across as a grimace. “Wow, he uh…he really cares about you. The most I ever got on my doorstep was flowers!” My titter turns even more shrill.

Scoffing, Serena yanks her robe back on and storms out of the steam room.

Shit.“She seems upset,” I say.

But Paige just rolls her eyes. “She’s married to Drake’s second-in-command. They call him the Enforcer, but that’s so stupid. He’s freaking Ivan. Anyway, she’s just mad because they’re stuck in our country until they find some guy who murdered Drake’s brother. They only just pinpointed that he’s around here in South Carolina about a week ago! Something about some cell tower disrupter thing they discovered on the property or something.”

I nod. “They, uh…they probably miss Russia,” I say.

“Ugh, I can’t imagine why. Drake took me to St. Petersburg once and it was all beets this and borscht that. I couldn’t wait to get home for a fried green tomato, you know?”

I nod even though I don’t know. Not in the least bit.

“Look,” Paige slurs, swiping through her phone with a manicured nail. The screen flickers in the steamy haze, revealing a selfie of her and an older man smiling in front of a very old looking church. But the smile doesn’t reach Drakon’s eyes—they seem to be calculating your worth and finding you wanting. A chill creeps down my spine despite the sweltering heat of the sauna. “This is us in front of Savior of the Spilled Blood. Isn’t he handsome?” she says.

“Wow, you two are... You make a beautiful couple,” I reply, fighting to keep my voice steady as my heart does an anxious samba in my chest. She’s spilling more than champagne here and I have a feeling it’s going to catch up with both of us. Fast.

“We do, don’t we?!” She laughs and gives the photo one last adoring glance before tucking her phone away.

“The whole…severed hand on your door thing doesn’t bother you?” I whisper.

“It…did at first. I tried to run, but Ivan and Serena found me.” She leans closer, whispering, the scent of expensive perfume mingling with the eucalyptus steam. “That’s when Drake bought this place for me. My own bathhouse to steam at whenever I want!” Her gesture encompasses an imaginary empire and she nearly topples over before righting herself with a hiccup.

Just then, the sound of angry voices filter through the foggy air outside the steam room.

From outside the steam room, I hear Serena barking at the men. “She’s in there. Drunk as a skunk, spilling secrets.”

My nerves jangle like an alarm bell. They’re coming for me. Well, they’re actually coming for Paige. But they’ll get me too, no doubt.

Without a second thought, I lunge for the steam nozzleand twist it hard to the left. A hissing crescendo fills the room as visibility drops to zero, steam filling quickly around us.

“?????!” The harsh syllables of Russian cut through the billowing steam just as two shadows loom in the doorway. My breath hitches, caught in my throat as the door flies open.

“Where is she?” one of the burly figures growls, their Russian accent thick as the steam.

“I can’t see a fucking thing,” another man snaps. “Probably melted in all this heat.”

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