Page 6
He lifts his vodka in a small toast. We both sip.
After a beat, he sets his glass down. “So what’s the story?”
I blink. “What?”
He tilts his head toward me slightly. “You’re either mourning a breakup, drowning your sorrows after getting fired, or hiding from a family dinner. My money’s on the first one.”
I let out a startled laugh, genuinely shocked. “Nope. None of the above.”
He quirks one dark brow, takes a slow sip of his vodka, eyes never leaving mine, like he’s waiting for me to crack. “Really?”
“What makes you think that?”
Another shrug, casual but deliberate. “Just a guess. And something tells me I’m right.”
“Are you a psychic or something?”
He smirks. “No. Just clairvoyant. So what did the idiot do?”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, idiot is definitely the right word for that guy.”
He smirks. Just the tiniest lift at the corner of his mouth. “So I’m right then.”
“Sort of,” I admit. “I’m not here mourning a breakup. I’m here to let off some steam. Big difference.”
He waits, patient, like he has all night.
I take a fortifying sip of wine, then the words spill out before I can overthink them. “My ex cheated on me with my stepsister. And this weekend they’re getting married. I’m the one planning the whole damn thing.”
He doesn’t offer pity. Just listens, jaw tightening once when I mention the cheating part.
When I finish, he exhales through his nose. “You dodged a bullet. Don’t let them live rent-free in your head.”
I nod, staring into my glass. “Trying not to.”
He goes on to tell me to fuck them, and a bunch of other stuff. But the truth is, sitting this close to him, I can barely hear what he’s saying anymore. All I can focus on is the shape of his mouth when he speaks, full lower lip, the faint shadow of stubble along his jaw.
The way his strong hands wrap around the glass, veins standing out against tanned skin. The heat radiated off him even from two stools away. My pulse is suddenly loud in my ears.
“—so fuck them,” he finishes.
Before my common sense can catch up, I blurt it out.
“How about you fuck me instead?”
Chapter Two
Andrei
Few Hours Ago
“I’m glad you made it, man,” Luke says into the phone, his voice bright with excitement. “Seriously. I’m so happy you’re able to come for the wedding.”
I step into the suite and drop my carry-on by the door, already loosening the knot of my tie.
“I promised I’d be here,” I reply, voice low.
He laughs, a little relieved. “Yeah, well… with your ever busy schedule, I sort of thought you might not make it,” he admits. “You’re always traveling, always working. Figured you’d send a gift and your regrets.”
