Page 117 of Indecent Lies

When she inhaled a big breath, the cold air stung her nose but fortunately her fingers clasped around the key.

“I’m good.”

He smiled and inclined his head.

He was dressed in a dark gray wool overcoat, a silver watch at his wrist and a ring on his pinky finger. With his hair scraped back in a neat cut, the man dripped money.

Poppy should know, she was always—until recently, around people who dripped money on their bodies. Now she was living a simpler life, she was even ashamed of her extravagance she’d been taught to live.

The money she’d wasted just to fit in with her crowd.

The same crowd who didn’t care where she was.

So yeah, they weren’t a crowd worth knowing.

The night Tait took her to a grocery store and let her push the cart, he got a kick out of her excitement for choosing things. He even teased her that it must be the first place she’d stepped inside where things didn’t cost the earth.

He’d been right, but she’d loved every second of it.

She needed money to live, but she wasn’t living for money anymore.

Not when she’d been happy for weeks without it.

This guy in front of her was from money. Whether he was born to it or he earned it and she didn’t want him at Tait’s door.

“I see that you are, Miss. Astor. We should have dinner some time.”

Oh. My. God. Was he hitting on her? Ew.

“I have a boyfriend.”

Well, maybe. Hopefully. But Russian man didn’t need to know the particulars of her and Tait’s maybe relationship.

“Da.” He grinned. “I meant you and Texas to join me.”

Yeah, right, buddy.

With the front door pushed open, she dropped all the bags inside and turned back to him. He was standing casually with both hands in his pockets like he was any person who dropped by for coffee, but now Poppy knew different.

Not all men were equal.

“I saw you, the other night in the bar. You were arguing with Rider.”

Though his smile didn’t drop, an inch of coldness entered his eyes. Coldness Poppy shivered at. “I don’t think … I don’t think Tait or myself want to have dinner with you, if you don’t mind. He’s trying to have a good life.”

Half turning, the man made to walk to his car, but glanced at her, a predatory smile cut over his mouth and once again she got the impression he was not being friendly at all.

More likely calculating with the veneer of normalcy. “This is what I wish too. But let me tell you, Miss. Astor.” How the frick did he know her name? That wasn’t creepy at all. “Leave business to men, your time is much better spent making yourself pretty for your man,da?”

Wow. This guy and his outdated misogyny would probably get on famously with her parents.

After she’d staggered up the flights of stairs, she stormed into the apartment and found Tait closing up the fridge.

He eyed her; he eyed the millions of bags.

“Did you leave anything behind at the stores?”

Poppy was too frantic to realize what he’d said at first, she was busy dumping the loot at her feet and shaking out of her puffy coat.

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