Page 19

I was finally back at work, and about to face the music. I had no idea what everyone had been told about my sudden absence, and the new, giant diamond on my ring finger wasn’t going to put any rumors to rest if anyone had been speculating about Nik and me both disappearing at the same time.

Just that morning, he presented the wedding set to me, but I could barely notice how stunning the rings looked when he handed the small box to me with scraped-up hands. Again. It was probably perfectly normal for someone like him, but for someone like me, it was fairly alarming. As usual, he brushed it off and even looked proud of himself, eager to get me to put on the rings that signified I belonged to him.

Even now, as I worked the huge rock off my finger, along with the slim, matching wedding band, I admired the sparkling oval diamond, surrounded by emeralds and set in gleaming platinum. I blushed, wondering if the deep green stones were the same shade as my eyes, as Nik had said, and then wondered for the tenth time how he’d come up with such magnificent jewelry in the middle of the night. Better not to think about that.

“What are you doing?” Nik asked as I slipped the rings into my pocket.

“I can’t wear them in the kitchen,” I said. He stopped outside the swinging double doors and looked down at me. “It’s not sanitary,” I explained. “And it might be dangerous. You know this. No rings or bracelets in the kitchen.”

“New rule, then,” he said, a gleam in his eye to rival the shining white metal of my new rings. “We’re happily married, remember?”

“Yes, yes,” I grumbled. He’d already let me know that Arkadi might have spies keeping an eye on the place. If he suspected our marriage was a ruse, that might give him the excuse he needed to strike.

“Keep them on,” he commanded. “I want everyone to know you’re mine.”

He pulled me into the kitchen, where most of my staff was already hard at work. The servers and Jeremy, the host, would turn up in a little while, but my core people were flitting around getting everything prepped and doing last-minute cleaning for dinner service. I already breathed a sigh of relief. This was home, and soon, I’d lose myself in the madness and bustle.

No one looked up until Nik called for attention. All eyes were on me— on us, as he threw his arm around me and pulled me close to his side.

“I know I broke my own, most important rule,” he called out. “But Emerson and I ran off and got married, so it’s okay.”

A collective gasp filled the kitchen and everyone rushed over to congratulate us, with Kerri and some of the other female staff wanting to ogle the diamond. Nik gave me a smug look, as if he’d known all along that would happen. Everyone seemed genuinely happy for us, and it gave me a warm tingle. I was not used to so much attention. I still didn’t know who I could really trust from this group, but I watched everyone’s expressions carefully, beginning to feel them out. Anyone who was on Nik’s side wasn’t on mine.

As soon as Nik left to go to his office, I slipped the rings off and tucked them away in my pocket to keep them safe from splashes. I wasn’t about to let any bacteria that might get trapped between the delicate emeralds contaminate any food I sent out. And once, I’d seen someone’s arm catch fire in a grease blaze while wearing a gold bangle. That had been cheap costume jewelry and had half melted, causing a pretty grizzly injury. Nik could grumble all he wanted, but this was a rule I wasn’t going to break.

Despite my days off, the kitchen had been running smoothly, and dinner went off without a hitch. Halfway through, I worked up my gumption and greeted the diners like I’d promised myself I would. I had always been too shy before, but it was something Nik and Kerri both had encouraged. It made people feel important to have the head chef be friendly and express concern over whether the meal was satisfactory.

Turned out I was pretty good at it and enjoyed the interactions. Being up close and personal with people I’d seen on TV and in the movies was wild. Jeremy pulled me aside to brief me about who was who for the ones I didn’t immediately recognize. So far, I’d already come into contact with one high-powered lawyer and a judge. When Nik smiled proudly as he saw me coming back from one of those little trips to the dining room, I only nodded back at him. Let him be proud of my big escape when I found the right person to help me.

Still, it was nice that we seemed to be getting along again, and even though I figured he had other things to do, he was staying at the restaurant until it was time to take me home, just in case Arkadi got word that I was back.

Right before desserts started heading out, I decided to take one more quick visit out to the dining room. Seeing the smiles and hearing the accolades had already become a little bit addictive, and a small group of VIPs had come in at the last minute, important enough to scramble to get them a table without a reservation. Curiosity had me wanting to hear what my childhood favorite pop singer thought of my cooking.

If I ever got my phone back, I’d have so much to tell my friend Angela, back home. We’d just about killed ourselves doing odd jobs in order to buy concert tickets to see Waverly Jenkins live in concert. It would have been one of the best memories of my youth, except Angela got grounded. Her parents had been my ride, and my parents flatly refused to take me, citing Waverly’s music as frivolous and pop concerts in general as too loud and a waste of their time.

It was impossible not to fangirl over her and her sweet, shy music producer husband. They both gushed about the salmon dish we had on special that night and promised to be regulars from now on. I was glowing as I walked away from the interaction.

Maybe coming to LA hadn’t been the worst decision of my life, despite being trapped in a forced marriage to a crime boss. Maybe it would be Waverly herself who helped me escape.

Did I really want to escape that much anymore? Cooking at Khoroshiy was a dream come true, and that big, mean husband of mine’s gorgeous ring was weighing down one side of my chef coat. I was only a couple hours away from going home to a luxurious mansion. I was as high as a kite on all the gushing reviews I’d gotten from people I could never have met if I stayed in Georgia and tried to please my parents.

As I glanced over to the host station to give Jeremy the thumbs up, I paused when I saw Nik coming out of the back hall with a smile on his face. It wasn’t aimed at me. In fact, he didn’t seem to notice me as he slipped behind the host’s desk. I followed his gaze to a voluptuous blonde woman decked out in full designer from head to toe. I could tell her clothes were tip-top quality, and it all clung to every curve.

Nik made a beeline toward her, and I came crashing down from my cloud. I watched as he pulled her into a hug that was way too tight, and even kissed her fondly. On the cheek, but it was more than an LA kiss-kiss. It was full of tenderness and in full view of everyone. Weren’t we supposed to be playing at being happily married? Smooching other women was going way off script.

And not just any other woman. One whose generous curves made me feel like an understuffed scarecrow, whose smooth, elegant blonde waves had me fruitlessly pushing my unruly red mop off my face and back into its ponytail.

Humiliated and at a loss I couldn’t explain, I ducked into the hall, wondering if this was Mila. Mila baby . Or worse, another woman altogether I had to worry about.

No, no, no. I wasn’t worried, and I certainly wasn’t jealous. If Nik had another woman or ten, that would work in my favor because maybe they’d revolt and force him to let me go. Despite not being worried or jealous, I hovered out of sight in the hall, trying to hear their conversation. Yep, there it was. I heard him call her Mila as plain as day, his voice dripping with affection.

“Sorry I didn’t make it until now,” she said to him, her voice musical and cultured. Did I sound like a hick in comparison? Of course, I did. I was a hick. A hick scarecrow with no refinement, no curves, no smooth blonde hair. Mila went on to say something else about a storefront getting sold and sounded a bit mournful about it.

Nik was quick to jump into white knight mode. “You’re going to be fine. You’re brilliant and beautiful and—”

Mila cut him off with a snort, and as I peeked around the corner, she pushed on her ample hips. “Hardly. I’m fatter than—”

“Stop it.” Nik cut her off in turn, a look of immense displeasure on his face as he pulled her in for another hug. “I’m not going to let you say another derogatory word about yourself. You know I’d break someone else’s jaw if they dared to talk about you that way.”

Okay, so he wasn’t just hugging another woman, but being just about the sweetest I’d ever seen him. Maybe I was a little bit jealous. And I completely hated Mila. Both emotions were unreasonable, leading to a surge of anger at myself. Turning abruptly so I wouldn’t have to see or hear any more of their sickening display, I stomped back to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Nik had the gall to come into my domain with that woman in tow. He made a beeline toward me, tugging her by the wrist.

“Come on,” he said to her. “It’s high time you met my wife.”

What the actual hell? I had to squash down the surge of rage that had me looking for the nearest carving knife as Nik looked at me expectantly. “This is Mila,” he told me without a hint of shame. “She’s going to do some accounting for us until I can replace Peterson.”

I forced a smile and managed to get out a few words that didn’t sound like they were laced with venom. Mila looked happy to meet me, chattering away.

“I hope I don’t cause you to get audited,” she said with a laugh.

It cut me to the bone that she didn’t seem to display the least bit of jealousy, as if she simply didn’t have anything to be jealous about. Was she so secure in Nik’s affection that nothing could shake it, especially not someone like me?

“Oh, I’m sure you’re brilliant,” I said, giving Nik a look.

Clueless, he pulled me close to his side and dipped his head to give me a peck on the lips. Oh, now he wanted to get back on script, did he? I’d show both of them an award-winning performance. I turned, wrapping my arms around his neck and splaying my fingers through his golden hair. Without a single glance at Mila, I raised up on my toes and pulled Nik’s head down to mine.

The quick peck turned into much more as I refused to let go, smashing my body against his. As his tongue swiped across my lower lip, I almost forgot the reason I was putting on this childish display. I melted against his chest and sighed into his mouth, only letting go when one of the busboys whooped from across the kitchen.

Completely shaken, I pulled away as much as I could with his hands now locked around my waist. He looked slightly shocked, but not displeased, either.

“Leave the others to finish up and meet me in my office later,” he whispered, nuzzling my neck before letting me go.

I stepped back, smoothing out my chef coat, suddenly remembering why I’d flung myself at Nik that way in the first place. Turning to see Mila’s reaction, she only laughed merrily and went about her business elsewhere. Maybe taking her turn in Nik’s office before I showed up.

As if I would. She didn’t even look betrayed at all. What had he told her to make her so confident? I mean, we were married, even if it was fake. If I cared about Nik, which I didn’t, even his pretending to marry someone else would tear me up inside.

Damn it, was I torn up inside right now?

Of course, I wasn’t. Not even a little bit. No, I was just pissed off and miserable. Big difference.