Page 4 of Ruthless Rustanovs

Alexei’s date Caroline was a sleek New York stage actress in her early twenties.

She wasn’t the type to complain of boredom but she didn’t seem thrilled to be at the wedding of Alexei’s business associate, Nathan Sinclair.

She wasn’t pouting or anything like that.

But her folded arms and the blank expression on her beautifully sculpted face made it plain there were other places she’d rather be.

Or maybe she was having a perfectly nice time.

Caroline wasn’t exactly an animated woman which might be why she’d had more success as a lover than an actress.

In any case, he knew she’d never suggest they leave or make any other attempt to put her needs before his.

When she attended events with him she always stayed as unobtrusive as possible.

That’s why Alexei liked her. She was a piece of arm candy that didn’t talk back and didn’t seem to have any needs of her own.

And most importantly, like all the other women Alexei had dated during the past seven years, Caroline was the complete opposite of Eva St. James.

Nevertheless, Alexei was ready to leave.

He’d accepted Sinclair’s invitation as a courtesy to the man who helped him make the right contacts when he began to expand his steel business into the United States.

Those contacts had proven incredibly lucrative and eventually, Alexei won enough business contracts that he’d was able to open his headquarters in New York City.

The least Alexei could do was attend the man’s wedding.

But he had not been prepared for how in love Nathan seemed with his pretty African-American bride.

Seeing them together reminded him of the naive hopes and dreams he’d had before Eva left him.

Though he’d tried to forget her with a string of women and business successes over the years, the old bitterness returned on Nathan’s wedding day and threatened to consume Alexei as he watched the happy couple slow dance to a fast song as if they were the only people in the Sinclair mansion’s ballroom.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked Caroline.

She nodded and stood, smoothing out invisible wrinkles in her black designer evening gown before asking, “Do you mind if I powder my nose before we leave?”

For a moment, Alexei marveled that he had gone from the thuggish offspring of a Russian crime family to a billionaire businessman who was so powerful and rich that beautiful women actually asked him if it was okay to go to the toilet.

“It’s on the way out,” he replied.

He’d already given his congratulations to Nathan so he guided Caroline toward one of the guest bathrooms on the main floor.

After she disappeared inside he looked around for a place to sit while he waited for her.

He knew from past experience that a bathroom break for most of the women he dated included touching up their make-up so they looked just as flawless on the way out as they did on the way in.

This meant Caroline would be in there for a while.

But Alexei couldn’t find any benches in the hallway.

He did, however, spot a darkened alcove at the other end of the hall.

It didn’t look like it was intended for the party guests but even so, he could just make out a figure within its dark shadows.

It was a woman, her face illuminated by the glow of her phone.

She was smiling fondly and appeared to be texting someone.

For a moment, the woman looked a lot like…

But no, it couldn’t be. Eva’s hair was thick and natural.

This woman’s hair was straight and fell past her shoulders.

Not to mention, why would Eva St. James, of all people, be here in Pittsburgh?

Then again, the woman had chosen to wear a yellow evening gown with bright red cowboy boots to a formal winter wedding. Who else but Eva would do that?

Alexei took a step toward the alcove as if pulled forward by an invisible string.

But before he’d finished that step, the mystery woman seemed to sense his presence. She looked to the left, then to the right, then directly at him. And that’s when he knew for sure it was Eva.

Eva St. James.

The gold-digging witch who tore out his heart eight years ago.