Page 73 of The Arrangement

“Oh my God.”

“What?”

There wasn’t a thing about their conversation—if you could call it that—that was funny.

“You don’t know?”

Viviana exhaled through her nose, turning on her heel to stare with open hatred. “What are you going on about?”

“You don’t know!”

“Again, what—”

“I didn’t believe it, you know? When my father told me why the marriage had been arranged all those years ago, I just couldn’t believe it. Such a stupid mistake for a woman of your mother’s status to make, and with a Russian mob boss no less. She was lucky her husband didn’t put a bullet through her fucking brain. And Anton … my God, he loved Nicoli so much it wasn’t such a big shock to see him following along with whatever plans he made. But I was so sure you would have known … I thought they must have told you …”

Viviana’s heart was pounding, blood rushing her ears. Nothing the woman said made much sense, but that dreadful feeling was back with a vengeance, eating away what patience and rationale she had left.

“Oh my God,” Tatiana said again though her tinkling bouts of sardonic laughter. “It makes so much sense, now. It isn’t any wonder why you think he loves you. How could you possibly think any different, you stupid, ridiculous girl? You don’t even know why he’s marrying you.”

Yeah, all of the patience and calm she had remaining left her body in one fell swoop. Viviana turned to grab her own clutch off the bar top before making her move to leave. Tatiana’s painful grip to her wrist stopped the desire up short.

A harsh exhale shuddered from Viviana’s lungs as she stared at the hand on her body. “Remove your goddamn hand before I cut it off, Tatiana.”

“You really don’t know …”

Something a little softer had colored the woman’s tone, like she may have felt badly. Viviana wasn’t having it.

“I said—”

Tatiana’s fingers squeezed harder, her nails cutting into Viviana’s skin with enough force to make her bleed, but she refused to flinch or show proof of the pain the woman was causing her. For a split second, her brown eyes met steel-blue, a fire raging behind both women’s orbs as they openly glared.

Pretty, yes, it was no wonder Tatiana caught Anton’s eye. She might have had the looks, money, and father to back her up, but so did Viviana, and not once did she feel the least bit frightened or unworthy standing next to the man she wanted to marry.

“Let me go.”

“Jersey Girl … hey!”

Oh, for fuck sakes. She was from Jersey? Viviana never had any luck making friends from Jersey. No wonder they were like oil and water … or better yet, gasoline and fire.

Boom.

Jen’s cheery voice, though Viviana was sure she heard the tension hidden in there as well, had Tatiana letting her death grip go. “You shouldn’t be here, chica. You know what the boss said the last time you swayed your pretty ass up in here.”

“Jen.” A radiant smile curved her red lips, but it wasn’t meant to be sweet. “Daddy came to wish Anton a happy birthday, and insisted I come along to meet the soon-to-be wife. We were just getting acquainted, right, Viviana?”

“It’s Vine,” Viviana spat.

Jen sucked air through her teeth, scowling. “Okay, so Sergei was your ticket in, and I’m your cue to get gone. If Anton sees you in here, he’ll have a righteous fit. It’s his birthday; you really want to ruin this party they threw for him by being a jealous bitch again?”

“Ouch,” Tatiana said, pouting with wide eyes. “And I thought we were friends.”

“Yeah, like a snake with a mouse, honey. Now, out.”

Viviana assumed Jen had the situation handled, so she chose that moment to make herself scarce without bashing the blonde’s teeth in. Once again, Tatiana wasn’t having it because her fingers curled into the side of Viviana’s black dress and pulled roughly to stop her from leaving.

She’d taken just about all she could. Viviana swung around and hit the arm holding her with an opened palm, smacking it away from her frame with a painful slap. Jen made a noise behind the bar and jogged to the partition where she could get out from behind the space keeping her confined.

“If you touch me one more time, I will ruin your face.”