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He tenses at this, my neck hurting from having to look up at his extensive height. Something akin to curiosity makes its way across his rogue face and his beauty pisses me off even more. God, why am I like this? Why can’t I just be old, wild Sabrina and take my soon-to-be fiancé for a test ride in my best friend's childhood bedroom?
“Oh?”
“Our wedding day. Nothing more, nothing less. Termsyouagreed to, Mr. Giordano. I’ll see you downstairs.” I try to storm off but then he grabs me by my arm, swinging me around to face him and where the old, wild Sabrina would kiss him or slap him, I freeze.
“Let go of me now, Mr. Giordano,” I order, but his arms grip me tighter, the palm of his hand so warm against mine and my throat clogs up. “Now, please,” I say with a hoarse voice as calmly as I can manage. Dark eyes with hints of green search mine but when he sees I’m notgiving more, he releases his hold with a frustrated grunt, and I can breathe again. “Thank you.” I inhale sharply, exhaling deeply.
“Fix your face. I’ll wait for you here and we’ll go down together.”
Without another word I find myself in Raven’s bathroom, still feeling the burn of his palm on my skin, reliving the way it felt like a jolt of electricity shooting up and down my arm. I fix whatever I can with makeup Raven left behind, glad we’re still the same complexion, her with her aversion to the sun, and me with a freak compulsion to always wear sunscreen and limit any swims in my pool to nighttime.
I open the bathroom door, finding Maksim sitting on her bed, elbows propped on his knees, with his head bowed, and I plaster that smile on my face when he turns to me. Striking. Handsome. Dangerous.
I can’t help but compare how he looks like a ticking time bomb, and Ifeellike one.
“Ready?” I ask, as if I didn’t almost just have a breakdown fifteen minutes ago when he simply touched my arm. For a second, I let myself relive it. I let myself remember the way the warmth of him seemed to seep through my skin. It didn’t feel malicious. It felt likemore.
Too much more.
He stands, buttoning his suit jacket tailor-made to fit what I’m sure is a very chiseled body beneath it. I mean the man just screams ‘I’ll fuck you so hard you’ll forget both our names.’ But I’m not worried about that. I’llneverbe worried about that. No matter if every time I have to be near him, I get those feelings in my clit. You know, the need to have it licked and nibbled on. Because even if I want it, I'm scared to close my eyes and see Kane’ face instead. I’m scared Maksim’s touching me will make me have a full meltdown and I’ll be thrown into Lorne Wood.
I can’t have that.
I’ve just about perfected the strawberry-lemon cupcake recipe I’ve been working on forweeks.
New Years Eve
We didn’t exchange gifts for the holiday.
I spent it in Chelsea with Mama and Derek, only texting Maksim not to forget to pick up my ring from the jeweler.
Maksim proposes at a high-end restaurant with large windows so we can see the fireworks popping off at midnight. He bends the knee, holds out my ring in the velvet box and I excitedly squeal ayes, as tears bleed through my eye sockets.
They aren’t fake, either.
It’s a goodbye to my quiet peaceful life. All I’ve been able to think about, is the proper ingredients for that goddamned strawberry-lemon cupcake. The strawberry to lemon ratio is grating my nerves… oh, and my cousin Simon's funeral we need to attend on Saturday.
Maksim is officially my betrothed, which means he’ll need to be seen with me more frequently. It’s a death, really, to my former self. But haven’t I mourned me already?
Haven’t I said goodbye to the last of me?
Thank God I’ve already put the venue on hold since the ink dried on our contract. No way in hell I’d marry the Devil of New York in a chapel.
“Your glove,” he murmurs.
I slip it off reluctantly.
He slides my ring onto my finger, careful not to touch me and I sigh happily at how marvelous she looks, ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
He’s towering over me and when I look up, he looks… expectant? I almost snap at him to ask him what he wants but I remember we’re in a public place and there are people cheering us on. He wraps his arms around me and a shiver scatters all over my spine, straightening. “What are you doing?” I whisper, trying to calm my nerves, eyes bouncing from chocolate eye to chocolate eye, but I swear they darken even more as he bends lower, face only inches from mine.
“Everyone is watching,Amore. You should probably kiss me now.”
I hold my breath, watching his rugged face coming even closer to mine and when his firm but soft lips touch mine, I place my hands on his biceps. I pretend to let myself relax into the kiss, but when he licks the seam of my lips I pull away. I’m sure Mr. Giordano is a phenomenal kisser but all I can do is swallow down the bile. I jump up and down excitedly and point to my finger, knowing there’s a photographer in the restaurant catching this amazing moment for us because I set it up that way.
Because none of this is real.
Except the ring on my finger and the bile I’ve swallowed down.