Page 36

“I do. I was just about to leave.”

“Right.” Why does that disappoint me? I don’t want to spend the day with him.

“Yes, unfortunately, but I’m glad I saw you. We have dinner tonight with my business partners.”

“What time?”

“Seven-thirty. It’s upstairs in Sev’s penthouse. Depending on how long our meeting runs, you might have to meet me up there.”

“Okay.”

“You can handle that?”

I snort in disbelief. “Are you seriously asking if I can walk upstairs by myself?”

Piotr shakes his head. “No, I meant…”

“Yeah, I get it,” I interrupt him. I know what he meant. He wondered if I had the nerve to walk into a virtual stranger’s apartment and enter a room full of people I don’t know by myself. It’s not as if arriving alone at an event is new to me. Piotr seems to have forgotten who the fuck I am, though. That’s my fault for allowing him to see me during moments of weakness. Now he’s questioning if I can handle basic socializing without him there to hold my hand. “I’m a big girl, Piotr, used to big, scary men. I can cope with anything that’s thrown at me.”

“Of course.” He nods, then kisses my cheek. “Wear something stunning.”

“Show off your prize to full effect,” I snipe. “Got it.”

Piotr doesn’t react to the vitriol in my voice. He simply nods curtly before turning and walking away. Moments later, the front door closes, signaling his departure.

“He won’t play your game,” Jimmy says as I join him at the table.

“What game?”

“The one that feeds your victim complex.”

I scowl at that. I do not have a victim complex. “What do you mean?”

“You provoke a fight so the other person will come down hard on you and you can play the injured party. It’s the game you’ve played with your brothers your whole life.”

I pout as I reach for a piece of bread from the plate at the center of the table. I am guilty of doing exactly what he said, but I’m not happy about being called out on it and by Jimmy of all people.

“You’re meant to be on my side.”

“I am on your side, Livvy, always will be, but that doesn’t mean I won’t speak up when I think you’re going to blow it. You get away with this act with your brothers. Reznov won’t allow it.”

“So I should let him insult me and say nothing?”

“When did he insult you?” Jimmy asks. “Were you really so offended he checked you’d be okay with arriving at the dinner alone, or is it because he asked you to dress up because he’s proud of his new wife?”

“He isn’t proud of me.”

Jimmy arches his thin gray eyebrow. “You’re not giving him much reason to be right now, are you?” He reaches across the table to pat the back of my hand. “Look, Livvy, I know it’s not my place to say, but you’re a remarkable young woman, strong and capable. But you love to revel in self-pity.” He affects a pout and mimics my voice. “Poor me, I’m so hard done by. The men in my life all think I’m useless.”

“The men in my life do think I’m useless.”

“You let them think that. Show Reznov you can be an asset, not a petulant brat who’s a drain on his energy.”

“Fuck, Jimmy, tell it like it is, why don’t you?”

He’s never spoken so bluntly before and I hate to admit it but I need to hear it. He tilts his head and smiles fondly at me. The corners of his mouth don’t quite meet since he was injured while protecting me. Even now, I feel a pang of regret over what happened that day.

“Your whole life you’ve got in your own way with your bratty behavior. Now’s the time to grow up. You know I’m right andyou know I love you, so stop looking at me like I shot your puppy in the face.”