Page 79 of Wrapped in Perfection

Harper tilts her head up. "Viktor, can you tell me what time it is?"

He glances at his watch. In a thick Russian accent, he replies, "Twelve thirty."

She pats his arm. "Thank you."

We spin and go into the salon. As soon as we get several feet away from him, she whispers, "Viktor needs a good woman. He's got the sexy accent going on, too!"

I elbow her. "Shh."

"What?" She glances behind her then quickly turns her head back. "Some chicks dig the whole scary danger thing. I bet he gets a ton of ass."

"Harper!" But I can't help but wonder if I'm one of those chicks. Mitch was dangerous. Dmitri is dangerous. He still hasn't revealed anything else since the night we went to the boxing match, but I'm not oblivious to it.

But Dmitri wouldn't hurt me. Mitch did, and no one would ever say he was dangerous. Until he beat me up, I never considered him to be a threat. There's a big difference.

So what does that say about me?

A woman shoves a clipboard at me, pulling me out of my trance. "When you complete this, please bring it back."

"Thank you." I take the seat next to Harper, and we fill out the disclosure forms. "What are we having done today?"

"Hair, manicure, pedicure. Then we're going to the new store several shops down."

"Which one?"

"I forget the name, but Quinn and Piper were raving about it. They said Charlotte found it. And I just got my first paycheck, so I'm celebrating."

"I'm happy you got your job. I know you were stressing about money. I can't wait to get my first check. I'll be able to pay Chase back."

"You know he isn't going to take it."

"I don't like him paying for my stuff."

"Tell me about it. Preaching to the choir, girl."

I sigh. "I need to get a bank account opened, too."

"Can't believe Mitch took your money. He has no limit to his slimeball ways, does he?"

"It's my fault. I gave him control over everything."

"No, it isn't your fault. Even after Ian stole all my money, I would still have Steven manage my stuff in a heartbeat. He deals in numbers all day long, and that stuff gives me a headache. Mitch manages money for people. It made sense you trusted him. So don't beat yourself up."

"Would you really give Steven control after Ian stole everything before you even got divorced?"

She smiles. "Yep. I trust him. He's not Ian. No matter what happened between Steven and me, he would never hurt me like that. I know this about him. I'm sure most women would call me stupid. But I don't want my future to be dictated by the past. And it's not fair to hold Steven accountable for Ian's dirty actions."

"I guess that's a good point."

We fill out our forms, and she takes them to the counter, then comes back. "Say you and Dmitri got married. Would you really not share accounts with him?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I'm not sure. I haven't thought about it."

"Okay, but if you trusted him, wouldn't you let him?"

"I do trust him. I've just not had time to think about any of this. Can we change the subject?"

"Okay."

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