“What’s that?” I ask as he slowly pages through whatever’s in the folder.
I get up so I can see as he says, “Photos of us at the academy.”
“What?” I move closer and then glance at the photos. There’s one of us jogging around the academy. Another is of us during training. There’s also one where Damien’s gaze is locked on me while I’m having dinner with Adrien.
“God, there’s so many,” I gasp as I take a couple, looking through them. My father had me watched while I was at St. Monarch’s. “Look.” I hold a photo of Damien carrying me. It must’ve been after Vince drugged me. “This was two days before the auction. My father said nothing of him knowing about the attack.”
Damien shows me one where I have my arm hooked through his, and we’re staring at each other. “The first night before dinner.”
I put down the photos and look at a printout of Damien’s accomplishments. There’s also correspondence between Madame Keller and my father where she tells him we have an unusual bond, and Dad makes his interest clear he wants to bid on Damien for me.
“The greatest gift he gave me,” I murmur.
DAMIEN
Carson called after he successfully completed his contract. It feels as if we haven’t seen each other in months, yet it’s only been four weeks.
I stand by the piers as I watch a boat approach the island, and then a smile forms on my face when I see Carson. He brings the boat to a stop next to the dock and tosses me a rope. I tie it to a pole and then hold my hand out to him. He takes it with a wide grin, and as soon as he steps onto the dock, we embrace each other.
“You got married,” Carson chuckles as he pulls back to grab his bag.
“Your brother’s doing,” I mutter. We stare at each other, then I ask, “You’ve been well?”
He nods as I gesture for him to walk. “The contract was successful. I had no problems.”
“Good.” I glance at him. “What’s next? Will you join Alexei?”
To my surprise, Carson shakes his head. “Not yet. I like being a lone wolf.” His gaze roams over the island, then he asks, “How’s married life?”
“Good.” Carson gives me a questioning look, and it has me elaborating, “It’s very good.” My words draw a chuckle from him.
As we near the house, Winter comes out the back door, and then I admit, “There’s no getting her out of my system. I love her.”
“I’m happy for you, brother,” Carson says, his words genuine.
“You’re not pissed off that I won’t be joining you?” I ask, not wanting there to be any bad blood between us.
“No. I’ll be fine on my own. Besides,” he gestures at the grounds surrounding the house, “I like having a place I can escape to between contracts.”
“You’ll always be welcome,” I say just before we reach Winter.
When Carson hugs her, Winter’s eyes widen, and she stands frozen. He lets her go, then laughs, “You’re family now.”
Her lips curve up. “So you don’t want to kill me for stealing your custodian.”
Carson lets out another burst of laughter. “I lost him the moment he laid eyes on you. I didn’t kill you then, so there’s no reason to worry now.”
“Carson Koslov,” Cillian says from the backdoor. “While you’re here, I want to hire you to take out Damien for marrying Winter behind my back.”
Carson’s eyes snap to me, and it has me chuckling. “He’s joking.”
“Don’t make jokes like that,” Winter chastises Cillian as she pushes him back into the house.
“Seems you got a father-in-law anyway,” Carson mutters.
“At least once a day, he wants to kick my ass,” I chuckle. Meeting Carson’s gaze, I explain, “It’s our way of bonding.”
“Come. Show me your house,” Carson says, throwing an arm around my shoulder.
Walking inside, I introduce Carson to Dana before I take him to the living room. Carson sets his bag down while I pour us each a shot of Vodka.
“Na zdoróv'je,” we toast before swallowing the shot down.
Carson glances around then his eyes meet mine again. “How’s the diamond business?”
We take a seat as I answer, “Good. We had a successful run, and the next one is on Thursday. I was hoping you’d come with.”
“Of course. I’d like to see what you do now,” he agrees.
“Are you sure you can only stay the week?” I ask.
“Yes, I want to visit Alexei before my next contract.”
I nod as Winter comes into the living room. She takes a seat next to me, then smiles at Carson. “Do you know who your next contract is?”
Carson shakes his head. “Not yet.”
We visit until it’s time for dinner, and then we move to the dining room.
When Dana places a feast on the table, Carson says, “God, it looks good. I’ve been living off junk.” Then he grins at me. “No wonder you’re picking up weight.”