“Okay, okay,” I cut in, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.
“Okay,” he conceded, a knowing smile on his face. “For now.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
We ate in silence for another minute before he asked, “Why do you live alone? I mean, did.”
“Where did that come from?” I inquired, unable to hold in my surprise at his random question.
“I’m trying to know every facet of my wife,” he answered, eating another forkful of french fries.
There was that heart-softening thing I felt whenever he called my name, again.
His wife.
“Your father surely has a fleet of cars at his disposal; assigning a driver to your daily movement should be the least of his expenses,” he continued.
“I wanted to live alone. You know, out of the house. He was against the idea in the beginning, but he eventually came to terms with it.”
“Then he could have gone for an upscale apartment in the heart of the city. Despite him being my debtor, I know he can afford to buy you a more-than-decent house,” he remarked. “Besides, I believe the usual thing is for a young lady to want every bit of her father’s fortune. Acquiring clothes and jewelry and showing it off to the world in tongue-revealing, eye-squinting, uncanny pictures.”
I was glad there was currently nothing in my mouth as I giggled. Then he joined in, and his deep laughter fired mine up.
“The whole glamor and… I don’t suppose it’s glitch and glamor, is it?” he asked amidst receding giggles.
“Jeez! Glitz and glamor, Viktor!”
I spiraled into another round of laughter. Only when I descended my laughter-induced high did I notice his was now down to a smile. A full smile.
His face was bright with a boyish charm that made him look much younger.
“You’re fucking beautiful,” he remarked, his voice just above a whisper.
“I was going to say the same to you,” I confessed, picking one of my fries.
“That I’m beautiful?”
The surprise on his face was both endearing and funny.
“You’re…good-looking,” I admitted, wondering how I was embarrassed when I wasn’t the one being complimented.
“It’s nice to know you noticed,” he teased, his eyes glinting mischievously.
“I didn’t…well, it’s not a mystery or anything,” I let out. “I’m sure you hear it a lot.”
“No,” he answered. “No, I don’t.”
I turned to completely face him with a questioning brow and was met with a look that was totally devoid of humor.
“I know I’m not repulsive, but I have brothers that women chase for their bodies. I’m, at best, in the middle of the scale-whatever the scale is comprised of,” he explained with a chuckle before going on. “And my men and I have more crucial things to talk about besides my looks.”
“Right,” I breathed.
“But you think I’m good-looking, nothing can supersede that. Ever.”
The tone of finality in his voice did something to my chest. My desire to change the subject made me remember the question that led to the subject of looks.
“I never wanted my dad’s fame and power to be the highlight of my life. I tried, I really tried to live the senator’s daughter, but…it’s not me. It’s an unchangeable fact. I’m not the girl who live streams luxury shopping trips or dresses loudly to make statements. And I can’t ever be. I learnt that since I was just a teenager.”
