Page 58 of Dark King Daddy

“Why does something have to have happened?”

“You look like you’re about to volunteer a kidney.”

The coffee arrived. So did the cake.

Chocolate. Thick frosting. Two forks.

I wrapped both hands around my cup.

“Well. Uncle Kostya proposed a solution to the alliance problem.”

Zoe picked up her fork. “Did it involve murdering someone?”

“No. Worse.”

“So no murder was discussed?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Mmhm. Thought so. I understand the general genre of your family.”

I looked into my coffee.

She stopped smiling.

“So what’s the solution?”

“Marriage.”

Her fork remained suspended over the cake.

“Whose?”

“Mine.”

The fork lowered.

“No. Fucking. Way.”

“That was Anton’s response.”

“Good. Your brother and I are finally aligned on something. To whom?”

“To Daniil.”

Zoe stared at me.

People spoke around us. Cups struck saucers. The espresso machine hissed behind the counter.

“To Daniil Sokolov,” she said.

“Yes.”

“The man you have wanted for years.”

I looked toward the window.

“That isn’t relevant.”