What the fuck?
A rush of irritation ran down my spine. “Who, exactly,ison your dream list of people to marry?”
“Seriously?” Exasperation bled into her voice. “That’syour takeaway from what I just said?”
“How long is the list?”
It didn’t matter that I was forced into the engagement. My fiancée shouldn’t have a list of other men she’d rather marry. Period.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It sure as hell does.”
“I don’t—” Vivian’s sentence cut off when a drunken guest passed by and accidentally knocked into her.
She stumbled, and my hand instinctively shot out before she crashed into a nearby table of champagne.
We both froze, our eyes locked on where our bodies touched.
The surrounding noise dulled into a muted roar, overpowered by the heavy thuds of my heartbeat and the sudden hum of electricity in the air.
Even in heels, Vivian stood a full six inches shorter than me, and I could see the downward sweep of her lashes as her gaze honed in on where my fingers encircled her wrist.
It was so delicate I could’ve snapped it without trying.
Her pulse quickened, tempting me to prolong my hold before I came to my senses and dropped her hand like it was a hot coal.
The spell splintered at the loss of contact, and the sounds from the rest of the party burst through the cracks until it shattered into nothing.
Vivian pulled back and rubbed her wrist, her cheeks pink.
“What I was trying to say before we got off track is, we should attempt to get along,” she said breathlessly. “Get to know each other. Maybe go on a date or two.”
Some of the earlier tension dissipated.
“Are you asking me out,mia cara?” A smile touched my lips at her glare.
“I told you to stop calling me that.”
“Yes, you did.”
I was going to call hermia caraevery chance I got.
Vivian closed her eyes and looked like she was praying for patience before she opened them again a few seconds later.
“Fine, let’s compromise. You can call memia cara,sparingly,if you agree to the truce.”
“I wasn’t aware we were at war,” I drawled.
I rubbed a thumb over my bottom lip, contemplating her offer. Originally, I’d planned on ignoring Vivian until I ended the engagement. Out of sight, out of mind.
But her little flashes of defiance intrigued me, as did the insights she inadvertently shared about her family.
Perhaps keeping her at arm’s length was the wrong strategy.
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
I made my final decision in a split second.