“Lizochka.” His voice holds no inflection. It’s the kind of voice sharks might have if they could talk. “Tell me what’s bothering you.”
Dominic. Dominic bothers me.
His anger. His pain. His intentions.
They all bother me.
It’s been ten years. He should over it by now. He’s done what he’s set out to do. I’m proud he made his dream come true, the one he told me all those years ago. But instead of finding satisfaction, he seems hungry for a pound of my flesh.
I take a surreptitious glance to my right. Tolyan stands motionless, waiting. He’ll kill Dominic without a moment of hesitation if that’s what he thinks I want—he doesn’t operate under most people’s moral code.
Raising the vodka, I say, “Nate offered to marry me.”
Eyebrows pulled tight, Tolyan walks over to the wet bar, dumps some ground beans and starts the fancy coffeemaker. It gurgles softly. “Did he?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Was the proposal romantic?”
“As romantic as it could be.” Given the circumstances.
Tolyan doesn’t speak, and I don’t volunteer any more information.
A few moments pass. The coffeemaker’s finished, and Tolyan pours the fresh brew into a mug. I reach for it. He shakes his head.
“No, you are not having this, Lizochka. You’re going to go to bed in the next hour before I decide to do something about the cause of your insomnia.”
He already knows, damn it. Feigning ignorance, I pout. Although I eye the coffee, nothing’s going to make him give it to me, and I’m not dumb enough to try to wrestle it from his hand.
So I drink my vodka instead.
Tolyan sips the coffee. “You should marry him. He’s a perfect candidate. Acceptable amount of assets. Clean record, no bad habits, good reputation, high enough IQ, even-tempered. Probably decent in bed.” He recites Nate’s selling points like an auctioneer.
I start to open my mouth, then stop as my heart aches.
I haven’t been able to say yes. I still can’t. I don’t know why, when the logical course of action is so obvious.
Nate is the kind of man who could give me what I want for my revised future—a good marriage, a couple of children, support for my charitable causes. Nobody would dare try to hurt him the way Grandma did Dominic. Nate’s too wealthy, too well connected, too influential.
Still…
I hesitated, wasn’t able to bring myself to say yes. I almost cried with relief when Dominic interrupted us, even though the moment was so awkward I wished I could have fainted dead away.
But once I got away from the two men, it became clear why I couldn’t just kiss Nate and tell him I’d be thrilled to marry him.
The least he deserves from me is my heart, but I no longer have it to give.
Pressing my lips together, I pour another vodka. I can’t tell Nate I reject him because I no longer have a heart. Dominic doesn’t want it. He doesn’t believe he’s gotten what matters to me the most because he doesn’t value my heart…or my soul.
“Nate knew everything,” I say instead.
“Explain ‘everything.’”
“He knew about Dad’s deal.”
Tolyan mutters a few terse Russian words.
“I denied it, but he said he’d heard from Justin.”