She wasn’t so pristine on the inside, though.
She approached Kai, and I saw him straighten, bracing himself. Holding out her hand, she smiled, her perfectly manicured eyebrows softening for him.
“Hello,” she said sweetly.
I did half an eye roll before catching myself. Two-headed snake.
“Hello.” He took her hand, shook it, and finally released it. A couple seconds too late in my opinion.
“Vanessa, this is Kai Mori.” Gabriel made the official introductions. “And his friends, William Grayson III and Erika Fane.”
Vanessa turned, her heels clacking as she stepped over to Will and shook his hand. Turning to Rika, though, she paused, clearly assessing her as the other reached a hand out with a tight smile.
“Rika is soon to be married to Michael Crist,” Gabriel explained. “Another friend of Kai’s. Unfortunately, he couldn’t be here today.”
Vanessa eased, the crack in her façade sealing up again as she shook Rika’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
The room fell silent as we all just stood there, and I could hear the dogs barking in the distance, probably hungry. Gabriel fed some and starved others, and while the experienced ones knew that barking only made it worse, he constantly had new blood coming in and learning the torture all over again.
“Well,” Vanessa finally spoke up, trying to make light. “We’ll have no trouble bonding like this.”
Gabriel laughed, Kai offered a smile, and I scowled.
Why was he smiling?
Why was he even still here? What was his game now? He wouldn’t actually marry her, for crying out loud, so why attempt to bond?
“I need some fresh air,” she told Kai. “How about you?”
His head turned like he was about to look at me, but then he nodded, stopping himself. “Sounds great.”
She smiled brighter, showing teeth, and led the way out the patio doors. “And don’t follow us,” she joked to Hanson who had moved to chaperone. “We need privacy.”
I shot the back of her head a glare as they disappeared outside. The grounds were extensive. They could be gone for an hour. Long enough for her to charm him any which way she wanted.
“Go check on dinner.”
I looked over, meeting Gabriel’s eyes. And now I was going to serve dinner to the man I was sleeping with and his bride. Fan-tastic.
Charging out of the room, I slammed the door closed, knowing full well my father knew I was angry. He wouldn’t care. He knew I’d do my duty anyway, no matter how much I pissed and moaned.
A dog yelped outside, and I didn’t know if it had been attacked by another dog or disciplined by a trainer, but then another one howled the most gut-wrenching sound like it was begging. For what, I didn’t know, but I walked into the kitchen feeling like I wanted to join him. Howl and scream and fight until I either escaped or someone put me out of my misery.
“Hey!” Marina exclaimed, seeing me enter as she washed her hands at the sink. Her delighted eyes took in my clothes. “You look great. When did this happen?”
I assumed she meant my “makeover” but I wasn’t in the mood. Seeing the steaks for dinner on the cutting board, I sauntered up and picked up a large chopping knife laying on the block.
And I started slicing.
“Those are the steaks—”
Marina stopped, watching me cut strips, slicing through the prime meat with the sharp knife like it was butter, and then chop the slices into chunks.
“Those are the steaks for dinner!” she said, rushing up to the island. “Banks, what are you doing?”
I looked
at her, feeling my heart race, and shot her a closed-mouth smile. She reared back, narrowing her eyes.