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His attention slips back to me, the friendliness in them from earlier dimming. “Are we playing house?”

I glare at him, grab the tongs, and open and close them in front of him. “Don’t ruin this night.”

He rears back, cocking his head to the side, and pushes the tongs away from his face. “Just asking a question, Gen.”

“What would you do if I said yes?”

He rests his elbow on the counter and runs his thumb over his strong chin. “Then, I’ll repeat what I told you last night. If I get this every night, coming home won’t be a problem.”

My cheeks burn as I not only remember his words from last night but also what happened. It takes everything in me not to beg him to say those words again.

Some might not consider them romantic, but they’re like a love song in my ears.

Cherished words I want to remember forever.

Julian might not realize it, but his response doesn’t come out as cold or indifferent as he thinks it does.

It’s brimmed with emotion and evidence that even though he’s fighting it, this is more than just an arrangement for him too.

He can try to deny it all he wants, but he was waiting for a moment to claim me without having to admit his feelings. He wanted me before he learned about what my father did and the plan for me to marry Dima.

Julian was waiting for an excuse to make me his.

“When did you get more butterflies?” he asks out of nowhere. “From what I remember, you only had one.”

I hold up my arm, displaying the three purple butterfly tattoos along my right forearm.

“How’d you know I only had one?” I ask, a self-satisfied smile on my face. “Did you secretly check me out all those years you pretended I didn’t exist?”

He stares at me, stone-faced, not as entertained by my joke. “What do the butterflies stand for?”

“They’re for people I’ve loved and lost.” I point at a butterfly. “This first one is for my nanny.”

He raises a brow. “The one who taught you how to illegally count cards?”

“Hey,” I say with full offense. “I never did it illegally until the night at Lucky Kings with you.”

“Smart. You can get in a lot of trouble for that.”

I know this, which iswhyI never did it before. Sonya’s nephew died as a result of card counting. Though he did it with an illegal gambling ring with the Chicago Mafia, which was just asking for trouble.

“We only did it for fun … when I couldn’t sleep,” I explain. “After her death, I got my first butterflyfor her. She was obsessed with butterflies and would always take me to butterfly gardens. I gained a love for them too. We always said, one day, we’d have a beautiful butterfly garden.”

“Did you get one?”

I shake my head. “I asked my mom, and she said no. According to her, she doesn’t likebugs.” I roll my eyes.

His full attention is on me. “If you had a garden, what butterflies would you put in there?”

“Allof them.”

“Do you have a favorite?”

“Monarchs.” I sigh, a hint of sadness hitting me. “But sadly, their population is in decline.” I scrunch up my face. “I wish I could save them.”

“You’d save the entire planet if you could, it seems.” He takes a drink of wine.

“Yeah, well, minus the bad guys, obvi.”