Page 12 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride
I wanted that to be the end of it, but he clearly wasn’t fooled.
“Sure…or you’re busy thinking about someone. You’ve been this way ever since that gala—or maybe even after you turned down that deal with Andrey and have been struggling to find someone suitable to take his place,” Yuri deduced, letting the look of realization move through his eyes then. A smug grin settled on his lips. “This is about that girl, isn’t it—Tia, right?”
My jaw tightened almost instinctively to keep my mouth shut, and it took everything in my power not to glare at him.
Of course, he managed to sniff it out. He would.
When I didn’t say anything, his smirk only grew, and he chuckled to himself. “So I’m right after all…you saw her at the gala, didn’t you?”
Squeezing the armrest to anchor myself, I murmured, “Just drop it, Yuri.”
Noticing my irritation, Yuri continued to find great amusement at my expense. He certainly wasn’t one to let things go easily.
“Come on, Val…I know your tells likely even better than you do by now. If it was any other woman, you would’ve made your move and had her out of your head already. But you’re hung up on her, hm?”
Inwardly grumbling to myself, I wanted the conversation to be over, but it wasn’t going to be that easy.
I hated being called out that way—especially by Yuri, of all people.
As my brother, he obviously knew me too well, and it was infuriating sometimes.
Of course, he wasn’t wrong, either; I never usually let anyone preoccupy my mind like that, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t shut her out, regardless of how badly I wanted to—needed to.
Those other fleeting thoughts had been nothing before,
The women I usually charmed weren’t much of a challenge, and they filled a need at the time, but after the fact, I was always left feeling empty and unfulfilled. They would leave my head as quickly as they entered it, and their names were long forgotten.
But Tia was different. She seemed so unlike what I usually went for, and that only made it harder for me to keep my head on straight.
She didn’t fawn over me, and she seemed braver than most. I couldn’t get enough.
“Alright, fine,” I muttered, tone sharp, scrubbing a hand down my face. “I’m still thinking about her…happy?”
Yuri’s grin was immediate. “Something like that. It’s about time you realized you can’t hide anything from me.”
With a roll of my eyes, I sighed. A vague, uncharacteristic embarrassment lingered beneath my skin. “Yeah, yeah, I get it…I can’t.”
“She must’ve left some kind of impression if you can’t get her out of your head…does that mean you managed to skip the event with her?” he asked, with the clear suggestion in his words.
“No, I didn’t—we didn’t. Unlike you, I have class,” I returned, vaguely irritated by the fact that he was still talking about it. “Besides…her dad was there.”
“What, he wasn’t playing wingman for you? He sounded more than willing to hand his daughter over during our meeting not long ago.”
Scoffing, I shook my head. “I didn’t care what Andrey was doing…I was too caught up talking to her.”
More amusement filtered into his features before he lounged back carelessly in the chair. “Then why haven’t you committed to Andrey’s deal?”
The deal.
Of course.
The realization hit me at once, thanks to Yuri’s reminder, and every circulating thought froze for half a beat.
My brother chuckled with a hint of mischief in his eyes. “It only makes sense…if you’re obviously attracted to her, then why not have both? Have her and the strip club. I don’t see how that’s a bad deal in the slightest.”
Damn it…he was right.
It would be the simplest way to get what I wanted, in more ways than one. I’d have Tia and her dad managing the finicky parts of the business I couldn’t be bothered with.
