“And what’ll the cocktails be?” I grinned, cocking my head and resting an arm on the bar, keeping my face hidden from her bodyguards.
“Watermelon margaritas, please,” she smiled, and I nodded at Marek, getting him to put in the order. Thank god she ordered cocktails. Those things take time, which I need a significant amount of right about now.
“Oh no!” She looked mortified. “You didn’t order anything? Wait, let’s bring back the waiter!”
“That’s alright.” I shook my head. “I just needed some water to clear my head anyway.”
“How responsible.” She beamed at me. “Honestly? Hangovers are the worst.”
“Especially if you’re working tomorrow, as I am.” I put on a sad, disgruntled look that made her laugh. God, I didn’t expecther to be this at ease. This fucking open to the world around her, to danger, to me.
“Have I seen you before, by the way?” She inched close to be heard. “You look really familiar.”
Fuck. If she recognized me as Arko Pavlov, head of a rival Bratva family, this little interaction would end very differently.
“My mother used to tell me I look like Brad Pitt,” I lied smoothly, winking.
She laughed and threw back her head, one hand playfully smacking at my chest. “Well, you’re certainly handsome, but I don’t think it’s that.”
She called me handsome and flirted back. In the plans I ran through in my head, I was hoping for friendly at best. This night was coming along better than I expected.
“Maybe we’ve crossed paths.” I kept my voice casual. “Around here, perhaps?”
Her eyes lit up. “That could be it. My brothers drag me here all the time.” She extended her hand. “I’m Beatrice.”
I took her hand. Her skin was soft, her fingers delicate. For a moment, I imagined those hands fighting to break free, and something agonizing curled in my gut.
But it was just business.
“Viktor,” I said, giving her a false name. “Pleasure to meet you, Beatrice.”
Chapter 2 - Beatrice
I found myself standing so close to him that our chests almost brushed. He was leaning up against the bar, devastatingly handsome in how confident he looked, and I? I found myself in no hurry to leave.
Viktor’s eyes caught on mine, lingering just a second too long to be casual. I couldn’t help the smile spreading across my face, my heart fluttering like I was sixteen again, not twenty-four.
There was something about him—the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes when he smiled, the slight silver at his temples—that made my stomach do somersaults.
“So, you mentioned your brothers drag you out here often?” he asked while we waited for my drinks. He remembered.
Of course, he remembered the little details.
I knew he wasn’t just some boy trying too hard to impress me by talking about himself. This was a real-ass, grown-up man who knew exactly who he was, and god help me, I was finding myself smitten.
“Yeah. They love family nights.” I smiled as I thought of them.
“But they aren’t here tonight?” he asked curiously.
“No. Tonight’s girls’ night!” I grinned. “They’re busy working.”
“How sad for them,” he chuckled. “So, how many siblings do you have?”
“Seven,” I admitted, waiting for the usual reaction of shock or disbelief.
But he did none of that. In fact, he looked pleasantly impressed. “Big family. Must be nice, always having people who have your back.”
“It’s… complicated,” I said, surprised by my own honesty. “They’re protective. Very protective.”
