“No worries.” I mustered a smile over the frantic beats of my heart. I felt like I’d run a marathon while sitting for the past minute. “The world is still spinning, I hope.”
“It depends on who you ask…”
I made it a point not to look at Dante again as I listened to Kai discuss the latest breaking news.
If he wanted to talk to me, he knew where I was.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the warmth of Dante’s attention or cage the butterflies it’d set free.
CHAPTER 13
Dante
“Asian share markets have risen, and Dow futures are up, but the risk appetite…”
I tuned Dominic out.
He was a markets savant who’d turned his fledgling company into a Wall Street powerhouse in less than two decades. I respected him, and I listened to anything he had to say regarding stocks, money, and finance.
Except for tonight.
My jaw tightened when another silvery peal of laughter floated over from the bar.
Vivian had been talking to Kai for the past seven minutes. Not just talking—she was smiling and laughing like he was an award-winning comedian when I knew for a fact he wasn’t that damn funny.
Irritation pierced my chest when she leaned closer to show him her phone. He said something, and she laughed again.
She’d never laughed that much with me, and I was her goddamned fiancé.
“Let’s finish this over lunch.” I cut Dominic off before he could go into detail about the impact of the Federal Reserve’s latest announcement. “I have to talk to Vivian.”
He took the interruption in stride. “I’ll have my assistant set something up.”
I was already halfway across the room before the last word left his mouth.
“Sorry that took so long.” I rested my hand on Vivian’s bare back and pinned Kai with a hard stare. “Thank you for keeping my fiancée company while I spoke with Dom, but I’m afraid I have to steal her away.” I placed a small emphasis on the word fiancée. “I haven’t had a chance to give her a proper tour of the club yet.”
“Of course.” Kai stood, the picture of British politeness. A whisper of mirth lurked at the corners of his mouth. “Vivian, it was a pleasure, as always. Dante, I’ll see you around, I’m sure.”
As always? What did he mean, as always?
“Next time you want to mark your ‘territory,’ you might as well urinate in a circle around me,” Vivian said after Kai left. “It’ll be more subtle.”
“I was not ‘marking my territory.’” The idea was absurd. I wasn’t a fucking dog. “I was saving you from Kai. Be careful around him. He’s not as gentlemanly as he appears.”
“Compared to you, who bulldozed into the middle of our conversation like a bull in a china shop?”
“Subtlety is overrated.”
“For you? Definitely.” Vivian rose, her dress shimmering like stars painted on her curves.
My entire body tightened.
That fucking dress. The sight of her appearing in the foyer, all red lips, smooth skin, and nude lace, was forever ingrained in my memory, and I hated her for it.
“I believe you offered a tour of the club?” She raised one elegant dark brow. “That’s why you sent Kai away, is it not?”
I offered a thin smile in response and held out my arm. She took it.
“What were you and Kai talking about?” I ignored the guests trying to catch my attention on our way out the door.
I’d reached my small talk quota for the night.
“Andromeda. The constellation,” Vivian clarified. She gestured at the hyper-realistic projection splashed across the glass dome. Different constellations twinkled down at us, including Andromeda.
The projection was scientifically inaccurate since many of the constellations depicted wouldn’t appear together in the same place, but fantasy trumped reality at Valhalla.
“Kai’s a fan of Greek mythology, and our discussion about Andromeda the myth turned into one about astronomy.”
“Kai pretends to like Greek mythology to pick up women,” I said stiffly. I led her out of the ballroom and toward the main staircase. “Don’t be fooled.”
I didn’t know if it was true, but it could be true. I wouldn’t be doing my due diligence if I didn’t share the possibility with Vivian, would I?
“Good to know.” Vivian looked like she was holding back a laugh. “There’s no bigger turn-on for a woman than the story of another woman being chained to a rock as a sacrifice.”
The echo of her sarcasm faded into silence as we took the stairs to the second floor.
I pointed out the Parisian-style lounge, the billiards room, and the beauty room, but my attention was split between the tour and the woman beside me.
I’d walked the halls of Valhalla countless times, but every interaction with Vivian was like our first. I noticed something new about her every day—the tiny beauty mark above her upper lip, the way she slid her pendant along its chain when she was uncomfortable, and the mildly crooked slant of her smile when she was genuinely amused.
It was infuriating. I didn’t want to notice these things about her, yet I inadvertently hoarded them the way dragons hoarded jewels.
“Our last stop of the night.” I halted in front of a pair of huge wooden doors.
They opened without a sound, but Vivian’s sharp inhale was audible.
Every chapter of the Valhalla Club possessed a unique element that set it apart. Cape Town was known for its wraparound aquarium, Tokyo for its three-hundred-sixty-degree views from atop one of the city’s highest buildings. New York had its helipad and secret underground tunnel system.
But the library was the heart and soul of almost every branch. It was where deals were brokered, confidences shared, and alliances forged or broken.
Tonight, for once, it was empty.
“Wow.” Vivian’s reverent whisper drifted through the still air as we stepped inside.
I closed the doors behind us, cocooning us in hushed silence.
Thousands of books stretched up and across three walls toward the cathedral ceiling like a leather-bound forest complete with rolling ladders and wooden handrails. Five larger-than-life stained-glass windows stood sentry over assorted seating areas and desks lit with vintage brass and emerald lamps. The ceiling itself was carved with the house crests of the club’s founding families, including the distinctive twin Russo dragons.
“This place is incredible.” Vivian brushed her fingers over an antique globe.
A small smile touched my mouth.
Vivian grew up in a world of wealth and fancy galas similar to tonight’s. Most people in her position would rather eat glass than express visible awe over something as common as a nice library, but she was never afraid to show how much she enjoyed something, whether it was one of Greta’s home-cooked meals or a globe from the nineteenth century.
It was one of my favorite things about her, even though I shouldn’t have a favorite anything about her.
She was still the daughter of the enemy.
But in that moment, I found it hard to care.
“There’s an entire astronomy section on the second level.” I leaned my shoulder against the wall and tucked a hand in my pocket, watching her examine an oil painting of Venice. “Coincidentally, it’s right next to the mythology section.”