Kane glances at me, his fork stilling. “You bought that car for Nicole?”
“Yep, she didn’t have a car, thanks to her asshole dad taking hers back, so I bought her one.”
A small smile graces Kane’s face. “That was very nice of you.”
He takes a bite of his food, and I balk at him in confusion.
“That’s it? That’s all you’re going to say? That was nice of me? I spent a quarter of a million on a car, and you’re not upset?”
“Princess,” he drawls, “I’m a rich man. I don’t give a shit what you spend my money on. If the credit card company hadn’t contacted me, I wouldn’t have even noticed. But the fact that you bought it for your friend, who needed a vehicle, instead of yourself shows me the type of person you are. You’re a good friend to Nicole.”
Uncomfortable with his compliment, I simply nod and start eating, unsure how to respond to him. He’s acting different tonight, and I don’t know what to make of it.
“Did you do anything else today?” he asks between bites.
“We, um … we looked at a wedding venue, at Nicole’s insistence, and then we went to Pilates.”
“One day, I’ll have to tag along and see what Pilates is all about,” Kane says conversationally.
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why?” Kane tilts his head to the side. “You attend classes almost daily and clearly love it, so I’d like to know what it entails.”
I swallow a large sip of my wine, taken aback. Theodore never once took an interest in my love of Pilates. He just thought it was something rich, bored women did during the day.
“I have actually thought about owning my own studio,” I admit, unsure why I’m confiding in Kane. But since he’s here and—from what my brothers have mentioned—a good businessman, maybe he can help guide me in the right direction. “The Pilates studio Igo to is for sale. When I reached out to the management company this morning, they told me they were accepting offers, so I had my attorney draw up a contract, not wanting to chance someone else buying it first. But this afternoon, they called to tell me it was no longer available.”
Sure, I can open my own, but having two Pilates studios in the same town would make it difficult, especially since the one I go to has such a good reputation.
“Did they counter?” Kane asks.
“No.” I take a bite of my filet, and it practically melts in my mouth. I wash it down with a sip of the wine, which is equally good. “They just said that they were no longer interested in selling it to me. I looked, and it’s still on the market, so maybe they realized who I was—that I was related to the Antonov brothers—and changed their mind.” As much as I love my brothers, sometimes, being linked to them kind of sucks.
“Have you spoken to them?”
“I was trying to buy it on my own, without their help.”
Kane hums and then says, “Can you forward me the info? I’ll look at it for you. See if there are any red flags.”
“Really?” I ask. “Why would you do that?”
Kane locks eyes with me. “I could be wrong, but part of being married means having each other’s back. Besides, if that body is from Pilates, the last thing I want is for you to give it up.”
I roll my eyes, but deep down, butterflies attack my belly. I love that Kane sees the hard work I’ve put into making a healthier version of myself.
“Now, about that venue,” he says. “Is it available for Valentine’s Day?”
“Yes, it’s available, and it has been booked.”
“Good.” He nods. “I’ll handle the engagement party.”
The rest of the meal is spent enjoying our food. And afterward, Kane insists the housekeeper will do the dishes, so I go upstairs to shower.
I’m looking for my leave-in conditioner in the cabinet under the sink when I notice a pharmacy bag. I open it and find my birth control refills in there.
“Huh.” I don’t remember picking these up, but it’s been a crazy month, so I’m not surprised that my brain is foggy.
Since my pills are set to run out tomorrow, I grab a packet from the bag and set it on the counter, then take two more packets and stow them away in my makeup bag. I close the pharmacy bag that contains the other four months’ worth of birth control pills and place them in the cabinet.
