Her brows creased. “You weren’t pretending?”
“Fuck no.”
“Oh,” she murmured.
In almost a daze, she walked past me to the SUV. Oleg had the door waiting for her, so she hopped inside. I quickly went to my side and got in.
After Oleg cranked up, she still remained staring forward with a disbelieving look.
“Are you okay?” I asked, as we pulled out of Sammy’s driveway.
She buried her head in her hands. “Actually, I’m mortified. I mean, I just accused you of being gay.”
“D-Don’t worry about it.”
Turning her head to look at me, she replied, “I’m so sorry.”
“Seriously, Sarah. It isn’t a b-big deal.”
“Trust me. It is. You don’t know how ridiculously neurotic I am. I’ll be reliving this all night.”
“It’s hard imagining you b-being neurotic. You seem to have everything so t-together.”
She gave me a shaky smile. “Oh, it’s all a facade. I’m a total mess as you’re well aware of.”
“No, I'm not.”
“You should. You know all about my dad’s dementia and how their savings were depleted because of Silas, my older brother.
Shaking my head, I argued, “What I saw on p-paper about you and your family doesn’t tell the whole story. You and your d-defy the idea that you’re a mess. What I see is a woman who g-gives everything she has and more to her family.”
I reached over to brush her hair out of her face. “If that’s what being a mess is, I wish I knew more people like t-that.”
A hesitant smile curved on Sarah’s lips. “Thanks, Maksim.”
“You’re welcome. Now will you stop b-beating yourself up?”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t make me g-go Bratva b-boss on you.”
Sarah pulled her head up and pinned me with a stare. “I can’t even imagine you acting scary or dominating.”
At the mention of me being dominating, a shudder ran through me.If only you knew how I’d dominated you more than once.“All joking aside, I haven’t wanted to show you my real dark side.
With an intense look, she nodded. “Me either.”
“So, can we forget about it now?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I wanted to know if I should wear my tux or just a suit to the dance?”
“Listen, you really don’t have to take Molly to the dance. I can find someone else to take her.”
“Of course I’m taking her.” Pinning Sarah with a look, I replied, “I’m a man of my word.”
With a soft smile, she said, “Yes, you are.”
