Page 252 of Legacy
Holy fucking hell. I don’t know whether I want to laugh or fall at her feet.
His voice comes out in a rushed breath.
“I—”
“You’re sorry?” she finishes smoothly, eyebrows raised like she already knows she’s right.
God, I love her mouth. Not just for what it does to me, but for how it destroys men like him.
There’s a beat, then a muffled shift. “Dea, it’s for you.”
In the background, I hear her, Vasilisa.
Her voice is light and amused, like spring breaking through winter. “See? That’s what happens when you’re rude.”
Another scuffle, definitely the phone being snatched and then Vasilisa comes on, sweet and genuine.
“Adriana! It’s so nice to hear your voice. I didn’t expect… I mean, it’s been forever!”
I glance back at Scarlet—no,Adriana. The woman who just verbally drop-kicked my brother without breaking a sweat.
Her spine straightens just a little, her expression smoothing with that grace she’s always had. The kind that doesn’t ask for permission to command a room, it just does.
“I was hoping you’d come to dinner tomorrow,” she says, tone steady, polite but warm. “At the penthouse. You can bring Santo if that’s easier.”
“Yes! I’d love to. I’ll be there. I was hoping we could spend time together.”
I can hear the smile in Vasilisa’s voice.
They speak a moment longer, sweet pleasantries I don’t interrupt, but I’m not listening to the words anymore.
I’m watching her.
The way her fingers tap the edge of the counter as she holds the phone. The little tilt of her chin when she listens, the effortless way she navigates everything—even my family—like she was made for it.
Made for this.
Made for me.
And I don’t know how the hell I ever lived without her.
How I managed to breathe, walk, rule anything without this brilliant, sharp, terrifyingly beautiful woman by my side.
I fed her a steak tip a few minutes ago, and now she’s commanding the respect of the most impossible man I know with nothing but her voice and a raised eyebrow.
She ends the call after another round of goodbyes and casual warmth and hands me the phone like nothing just happened.
But everything did.
“You,” I murmur, stepping close enough to breathe her in, brushing her hair back from her face, “are going to get whatever the fuck you want for the rest of your life.”
She arches a brow. “That so?”
I nod, once, reverent. “You made Santo stutter.”
She laughs, quiet, breathless, and it’s not just the sound that gets me.
It’s the lightness behind it. Like something inside her loosened. Like, just maybe, she’s not holding her breath anymore.
