“I had him. I don’t care for a repeat.”
“You lie.”
I applied a liberal coat of lip gloss. “You have nothing to worry about. Christian and I will never be a thing.”
“Now, that I believe. You are not what he needs.”
I felt an odd pang in my chest.
I raised a brow. “You know him so well?”
“He is not so complicated. He likes his privacy and his things the way he likes them. I won’t demand more from him, and neither will he from me.”
How could she not be curious? I didn’t even like him and still wanted to know everything about him. In truth, I was nosy beyond belief. I’d never be happy with a superficial relationship with him—the only thing I was sure he was capable of. We’d never work. But, for some reason, hearing that out in the open made me slightly uneasy.
She snapped her compact closed. “We will marry, and you won’t get in the way.”
“I don’t have any designs on him.”
“Good.” She headed to leave.
There was something on my mind I hadn’t been able to get rid of.
“Kak moya,” I said, smoothing the gloss on my lips and watching her in the mirror. “What does it mean?”
She stopped at the door, assessing me with a look.
“It means, like mine.”
DROPPING MY PURSE ON THE kitchen island, I kicked off my heels and stretched out my toes, wincing at the ache in my feet. I’d had too much on my mind to stay at the club, and while Van’s attentions weren’t unwelcome, I couldn’t find much interest after my conversation with Aleksandra.
I was glad to find Magdalena and her date had vacated my apartment, though I could see they’d enjoyed one of my expensive bottles of wine. Finding some left, I poured the remainder in a glass and leaned against the counter, taking a sip.
A heavy knock sounded at the door.
I sighed.
I’d been waiting for a visit from Luca—or, more likely, a check-in—now that I was a single woman. He was probably here to remind me about how not to go to jail. It’d been three years since my last felony offense—you would think they’d trust me now.
I finished off my wine and went to open the door.
My heart dropped to my toes.
Christian stood in the hall, his gaze lowered. He’d removed his jacket but otherwise wore his gray tie, pants, and white dress shirt he’d had at the club. When his eyes came up to me, I realized they were clouded with something dark and terrifying.
My pulse leapt.
On mere instinct, I tried to shut the door on him, but he kept it open with a hand. I took a step back as he entered my apartment. He shut the door, his eyes hot enough to set my skin on fire.
“You’ve been ignoring me.”
I shook my head.
He followed me as I walked backward, his tone demanding a response. “Tell me why.”
“You like me,” I breathed.
“Like?” His gaze flashed with something sardonic. “I don’t know if I’d call it that.”