Page 140 of Ruined Vows
I’ve entered another timeline. But I take the iced tea Irina prepares for me, and we move to the living room where we catch up on the day’s events. I fill her in on the Radovan situation, our next shipment, and the gun deal with her brother. She listens attentively, and I learn she has a good head for business.
Later, we eat dinner in the glass dining room overlooking the back gardens. There’s no staff, or silver domes covering our entrees— just roast chicken and wine. Bianca is gorgeous no matter what she does with herself, but tonight, her hair is messy, and her bare legs stretch under the table like she already owns this house.
Maybe she does. And halfway through the meal, I pull a card from my pocket and slide my black Amex across the table. This causes her to raise a brow.
“What’s this?”
“Redecorate. Do whatever you want.”
“You trust me withthis?” She flips it like it’s dangerous.
“I trust you with far more dangerous things.”
She eyes me. “Like your heart?”
I smirk. “Like my house.”
She laughs. “You want me to soften the murder estate?”
“Call it what you want. Just make itours.”
The word slips out before I can second-guess it.
She hears it, and her face turns somber. She feels the weight of my words, and she doesn’t run. She places the card on the island, beside her cup of tea, and says, “I hope you like bold.”
“I like you,” I reply, and she knows it’s deeper than like because she doesn’t have a comeback. But her lips part slightly. After a few more bites, I shift the mood.
“There’s something you need to know.”
Her spine straightens.
“Radovan is ready to stage a coup.”
Her eyes narrow. “And your uncle?”
“He still thinks the title should’ve passed to him after my father. Nothing will ever change that. He’s quiet in public. But he’s making noise. I have no doubt they are in this together.”
“Is he a threat?”
“Not yet. But Radovan is.”
When she hears this, her jaw tenses.
“Don’t go anywhere without Luka or David. I mean that.”
She doesn’t argue. Instead, she accepts it and nods.
“Good girl,” I reply with smoldering eyes, remembering her underneath me last night.
“I’ll wear heels and the bodyguards can follow my lead,” she says flippantly.
I lean forward. “Bianca.”
“I heard you,” she says, softer this time. “I’ll be careful.”
And in that moment, watching her drink wine, and if I know her, she’s quietly preparing for war.
I know exactly who I gave the house to, and I’m not taking it back.
