Page 56 of Gloves Off

Her eyes narrow before they drop to my feet, where I’m still wearing my heels from when I got home. I can see her thoughts like they’re written in the air.No woman who wears shoes likethosewould be happy with a ring likethis.

I look to my silent husband.Play the fuck along. “Right, handsome?”

A muscle in his jaw twitches. “This is the one she wanted.”

“Where’d your dad go?” I ask, changing the subject again.

Maria sips her tea, still looking at my ugly ring. “He’s probably looking at your car.”

“What?” My spine straightens in alarm. “Why?”

“He’s a mechanic.” Volkov gives me a sharp, searching look. “Is that a problem?”

“No, but nothing’s wrong with my car.”

“He just wants to check it,” Maria says, waving me off.

I frown at Volkov, but he shrugs. “Don’t look at me. This is what he does.”

Heavy footsteps sound through the house and Nikita walks into the kitchen. He lights up at the sight of the food but Maria shakes her head.

“You’ve already had dinner,” she says kindly with laughter in her eyes as he stares longingly at the food.

He heads to the sink to wash his hands. “Your spark plugs will foul soon,” he says over his shoulder before looking to his son. “Bring Georgia’s car in when you can and I’ll replace them.”

“I can bring it in,” I cut in. Volkov wouldn’t be caught dead in my car. He’d probably place a brick on the gas pedal and run it off a cliff. “Thank you so much.”

“Nonsense.” Nikita shakes his head. “Alexei will bring it. We can put your winter tires on at the same time.”

“I’ll do it next week.” Volkov shifts, not looking at me.

“It’s fine?—”

“I saidI’ll do it.” His eyes meet mine, full of challenge.

“Let him,solnyshko. He’s your husband now.” Maria gives me a teasing smile. “Alexei takes care of the people he loves.”

I snort but catch myself, covering it with a cough while my pretend husband glares at me. She must know a different guy named Alexei.

“Okay.” I smile pretty at him. “Thanks,husband.”

“No problem,wife.”

“You can make it up to him in other ways,” Maria says with a cheeky wink, and I choke.

“Yeah, Hellfire. Why don’t you think of some ways you can make it up to me?” He puts his arm over the back of my chair. Even though he isn’t touching me, I can feel the heat from his skin. The challenging spark in his eyes makes my face burn.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Maria laughs. “We were young once, too.”

I make a humming noise of acknowledgment, forcing a smile. Our marriage isn’t anything like theirs, I can guarantee that.

Later, Volkov and I stand at the front windows as his parents pull out of the driveway. We watch as the taillights fade down the street.

“I expected evil troll people, but your parents are actually nice.” Something Maria said pops into my head. “What did she call me? Sol... something.”

“Solnyshko.”

“Right. That. What does that mean?”

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