“You can even pour if it’ll make you feel better,” she grins. “In the fridge,” she adds, nodding past me.
I walk around the corner of the loft and into the kitchen area. I find some Chardonnay in the fridge, and glasses in a cabinet. My brows knit as I set them on the regular height counter and pour the wine.
“How long have you had this place?” I call out.
“A bit more than a month,” she calls back. “Vaughn also found all these crazy doorman buildings with billionaire views. Don’t get me wrong, they'rebeautiful, and I like crashing at his place every now and then for those views. But I don’t know. I really liked this place.”
“Does he come by a lot?” I ask, walking back over and handing her some wine.
“Mr. Nonstop?” She rolls her eyes. “No. I’m actually not sure he ever has.”
I think about the counters in this apartment that she loves so much, and how Vaughn hasn’t everseenthose counters through her eyes.
A little light goes on in my head.
I think I know how to prove my good intentions to Sabine.
“Can I ask you something, Evie? How involved are you with the day-to-day stuff with your family's business?”
I snort. “What?”
She gives me a puzzled look. “Like, how does Roman balance your ideas with his own leadership?”
I give her a strange look. “Oh, I’m…I’m not involved at all.”
Her brow furrows. “Really?”
I shrug. “I mean, I understand what my family does, and sometimes Roman lets me know about stuff before it happens. But he's in charge.” I roll my eyes. “I’m just the kid sister.”
Sabine’s lips twist. “That’s…wow… “
“What?”
“No, it’s just…you’re obviously smart, and you’re really good at analyzing situations and reading between the lines. I guess I just imagined that would be something your brother would consider an asset to the family.”
“Oh, I dunno about that…” I shrug.
“Well, I do.” She sips her wine. “I’m just saying, once you’re in the Syndicate?” She gives me a sharp look. “Your intuition andsubtle understanding will be valued, and I’m not just blowing smoke up your ass.” She giggles. “Seriously.”
I stay for an hour, both of us chatting and laughing, until I decide I was wrong about her. Or maybe I was right when I first met her, and then wrong for a while.
Either way, I’m glad I came over.
“Hey, Evelina?” She smiles as she holds the door open for me as I'm leaving. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For having the guts to force this thing between us to a head. I never would have.” She grins. “And for what it’s worth, I think you might be really good for him.”
There’sa huge weight off my shoulders as I float into the restaurant on Vaughn’s arm. The food is amazing, the wine delicious. The company is hot and broody and orders me to take off my panties halfway through our appetizers and hand them to him.
After we get back to his penthouse he turns off the lights, chases me, pins me roughly to the glass overlooking the city with a knife to my throat, and fucks the living shit out of me as I come all over his thick cock again and again.
Later, I’m about to head to the guest room. But then, without a word, Vaughn grabs my hand and leads me to his bedroom.
He pulls back the covers of his bed.
…And tells me to “just shut up and get in already” when I arch a brow.
