“No, I don’t think I will.” Jay moved close enough that I could feel the heat of his body at my front. “What’s the matter? Couldn’t convincingly lie about how attractive you find him?”
Fuck this man. My eyes flew open, and I shot him a venomous glare. “It’s a fact that he’s hot, and he respects me, which is more than I can say for you.”
Jay stepped even closer, his hard gaze locked on mine, pinning me in place. “You think I don’t respect you?” His voice was a low rasp. “You think he’shot?”
“I don’t think you don’t respect me. Iknowyou don’t respect me. If you did, you wouldn’t—” I cut myself off. “Yes, he’s hot. Very hot. And I’m going to marry him.”
With that, I shouldered past him, leaving him standing in the empty hallway. The coffee wasn’t important. I needed to get out of here.
After dropping my books in my tiny room in South Wing, I made my way down to the yard, taking a seat on one of the benches that had been set up alongside the chain-link fence. Tilting my head back to the grey skies, I exhaled a deep, shuddering breath.
“I’m here to save the day.”
Despite my low mood, a smile tugged at my lips at the sight of Vesper standing in front of me. I patted the free space on the bench. “Thanks for coming. How are you? It feels like we’ve barely seen each other since the beginning of the summer. You were gone for ages.”
“The Italian Riviera hits differently when you’re involved in the mafia. You don’t wanna know. Even Enzo was sick of it after a few days.” She sighed, sprawling out across the bench. “Something I discovered was how progressive our outfit is compared to some of the others. The whole…I don’t know, women being expected to stay home and pop out kids while the men run around doing all the shady shit, sticking their dicks into who knows how many other women. Like one of my distant cousins. Federico is such a fucking sleaze. It’s an open secret that he leaves his wife back in Italy while he shacks up with his London mistress. I’m ashamed to be related to him, but at least he’s not part of our outfit here in the UK. I’m pretty sure my brother would’ve stabbed him by now, if he was.”
“Um. Yeah. I’ll be one of those women soon, in case you haven’t forgotten,” I reminded her. “As much as I wish it wasn’t my future.”
“There’s no way Anton would cheat on you,” she said, and I shook my head.
“Really? Can it even be classed as cheating if we’re only in a forced arrangement? It’s not a relationship. I’m not interested in him—he’s cold and unapproachable, and Ihave no clue what he’s thinking. He barely speaks to me unless he has to. He’s?—”
“Hot.”
My eyes widened, and she clapped her hand over her mouth, her cheeks flushing. “Forget I said that. And especially don’t let my brother know.”
“I would never. We don’t need another excuse for fights when the Kings play the Flames. It’s the only time I’ve actually seen Anton show any emotion, now I think of it. When he’s on the ice, he’s a machine, but he’s also human.”
“Yeah.” Her cheeks were still flushed, and I smirked at her.
“It’s okay if you find him hot, you know. In fact, some of my friends were discussing that fact just before I texted you to come and rescue me. I…I don’t… I mean, he’s not my type—but I can see why people think he’s good-looking. But…”
“But he’s a cold, unfeeling bastard,” Vesper finished, nodding. “Just like your brother, and my brother too, I guess. No, actually, Enzo isn’t that bad. But the rest of my family…well, they don’t have role models to show them that it’s not a weakness to display their emotions. Who does, in our world?”
That was true. My dad rarely let his mask slip, even when it was just our family. I knew he had bonding time with my brother, but his version of bonding was to involve my brother in his shady dealings. My mother didn’t really seem to care, either. She wasn’t exactly the nurturing type, and that was putting it politely.
“Daniel’s different, though, isn’t he? More laid-back,” I mused.
“Yeah, but his family’s different. More…normal.”
“If such a thing exists in our world.” I pulled a face, and she laughed.
“Probably not. Okay. Change of subject.” She glanced around us. “I’ve only been here five minutes, and I’ve already had enough of these four walls. Want to get out of here for a bit?”
“Where? You know my phone’s got a tracker.”
“Hmmm.” She opened the front pocket of her bag, pulling out a shiny key fob. “How about we drop your phone in your room, find Liana, and then take my new wheels for a spin?”
“Yes, please.”
8
JAY
When we skated out onto the ice, music blasting from the speakers, my gaze should have been focused on the upcoming game. On my teammates. My coach. Anything but Nova fucking Thorpe, seated in the first row of the stands, right in my line of vision. Her blonde hair was loose, spilling over her shoulders, her lips curving into a tiny smile as she tracked the movements of her brother. She was beautiful. I couldn’t fucking focus on anything else.
“You got her in your jersey before the engagement’s locked in? Nice.”
