“If you need help, you’ll have the nanny there, of course.”
I didn’t want a nanny, but I didn’t say anything and instead began eating the meal that tasted like something out of a suburban backyard.
***
By the time we were finished eating, I was over the entire ordeal. My eyes felt itchy, and my nose burned. I wanted nothing more than to take a long soak in the massive bathtub in my bathroom back at home and maybe cry a little bit.
When we both stood up once the check was paid, my eyes scanned the room, but Ivan was nowhere to be seen. The table he’d previously been sitting at was now empty, and I found the emptiness inside of my chest only getting worse with his absence. He couldn’t even save me from this misery that was going to be my life.
“I let your dog off of his leash,” Donovan placed his hand at the small of my back, and it took everything in me to not physically recoil from him.
My dog?
I took another deep breath and thought of Jane. This was all for Jane.
Jane.
Jane.
Jane.
“Don’t worry, you won’t be coming home with me tonight, but it might be sooner than you think,” he said as the blacked-out SUV I’ve been riding around in came to a stop at the curb. “I thought about it though. I would love nothing more than to peel these clothes from your body and see how wellyou fit with me.”
I looked up into his soulless eyes and tried not to flinch. He wouldn’t be a gentle lover, I knew that in my gut.
He leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to my cheek before he opened my door for me. “I look forward to getting to know you, goodnight, Poppy.”
“Goodnight,” I whispered as I climbed into the car and finally let the tears fall from my eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ivan
Poppy didn’t eat salad,and she loved dessert. It was the smallest details that I shouldn’t have known. The way her head tilted to the side when she was suspicious. How she liked her coffee—mostly sugar, a lot of cream, and hardly any coffee.
I didn’t know if it was because I was staring holes into both of them all night or another reason, but when the waitress told me it was time for me to leave, I looked over at Audrey and let her ground me.
She drove quietly through the bright city as I watched the lights blur past us. “Are you going to tell me why you’re doing all of this?”
Audrey was the only one I could trust. I knew she wouldn’t go blabbing to my brothers about my current predicament and also… I knew she would be the right choice for company. She distracted me well. If she hadn’t been there, I would have flown across the room many times. Thank God I was seated behind Poppy, or I wouldn’t have been able to contain myself. It was enough that the asshole was on his phone most of the night, but then her shoulders kept going tight; I knew whatever conversation they were having wasn’t a good one.
“I wish I could tell you, at this point, I don’t even know.”
It was a lie, but I’d never admit it to myself or anyone else. I wouldn’t be able to say it out loud. For whatever reason, I was obsessed with Poppy Fairchild. It was bad. It was maddening, but I was too far gone to care at this point. I just needed to keep her safe.
I also needed to know why she was going on a date with Donovan Madden. His parents owned the other part of the docks that my family couldn’t buy, no matter how hard they tried.
“What do you know about him?” I changed the subject, and she laughed as she shook her head.
“Donovan Madden, New York’s hottest bachelor. Irish Mafia. Hard ass. He goes to Alexei’s gym. I would say not to worry about him, but I’ve seen him in the ring and he fights dirty. It sucks that he’s just so good-looking.”
I nodded. I knew all of these things already, even though I hadn’t seen him fight in the ring.
“He’s looking for a wife.”
Poppy’s brother's words came slamming back to me.She’s saved for bigger and better things.
“What the fuck did you just say?”
