Page 29 of The Bratva's Hostage

“I understand congratulations are in order for the newlyweds?” he said with a smile on his face.

“Ah, yes, thank you,” Maksim said, taking my hand in his.

I resisted the urge to jerk my hand out of his, fighting the tightness in my chest as I put on a well-practiced smile for the sake of the Phillips. The last thing they needed to know was that this was a union for the sake of business and survival.

“Thank you,” I added, wrapping my other hand around his lovingly.

His eyes darkened; a wry grin lifted the side of his lips as his massive physique towered close to me.

“Well, it would be terrible of me to not give you a wedding gift. As a token of our newfound friendship, I have made a dinner reservation at a top-tier restaurant here in Chicago. I certainly hope you both are not in a hurry to return home. The two of you should go there tonight if you have time,” David added.

I frowned. The idea of a romantic dinner with Maksim was not something I had ever considered even before we were married. It was quite clear for both of us, we were business partners and nothing more.

Other than the sex we had on our wedding night, there had been nothing else that signified that this was to be anything more than it really was. We had not gone on a honeymoon together, not that I expected that he would be taking me on one.

Maksim did not care for romance and that was fine with me. I couldn’t expect anything more from a man who was willing to doom himself to a loveless marriage just to get what he wanted.

“That is very generous of you, we will be sure to take you up on your offer.”

My eyes flashed to him in shock. He was smiling at David, shaking his hand with enthusiasm, a genuine smile on his face.

Does he really want to have dinner or is he just very good at faking?

If he could fake this level of excitement, I didn’t think I would ever be able to believe anything he had to say again. But if he isn’t, then why would he be so happy to have a romantic dinner with me?

We hadn’t even shared a meal in the time since we married, it almost seemed weird to have a seat opposite him to eat, especially at a place that made it glaringly obvious how much of a phony couple we were.

He turned to me and winked. I swallowed my gasp. It had been silly of me to think that he meant to have a romantic dinner. I frowned, not caring for the sudden tightness in my chest at the realization that he was doing this to maintain a good relationship with them and didn’t care for our romantic relationship.

Am I disappointed?

I scoffed inwardly. Of course not. He had only caught me off guard. Nothing to be disappointed about.

“We’ll be on our way now. Thank you for the dinner reservation,” Maksim said and held out his hand to me. I took it automatically and smiled at the men as I followed him out of the door. We had achieved what we had come for.

“So, how do you feel about dinner tonight?” he asked with a grin, the suggestive way his lips turned up as he watched me with an intense gaze causing my mouth to dry up.

“Uh, I don’t have anything nice to wear. I didn’t realize we would be going to such a fancy restaurant for dinner,” I stuttered, turning away to hide my blush at the direction my thoughts had taken me.

“That can be easily taken care of. There is still time we’ll just buy you a dress and then we can be on our way. No point in wasting a good invitation, is there?”

Maksim asked the driver to take us to the mall and closed his eyes, slouching against the car seat. He hummed ever so often, the only sign that he had not fallen asleep.

The car rolled to a stop, and he took my hand in his, pulling me in the direction of a shop with a bright red dress on display.

He let go of my hand while we walked around, and I took in the sights around me. I looked around at the exquisite and expensive stores, following Maksim. I stopped and smiled when I saw a toddler waddling as he tried to run after another kid.

I looked to find Maksim again, but he was nowhere in sight. My heart began to race in a panic as I spun around, trying to see if I could find him anywhere. I had left my phone in the car and there was no way to contact him and ask him where he went to.

A hand grabbed mine just as I turned around to head back in the direction of the car to get my phone and I jerked, pulling my hand back.

“It’s me. Don’t let a little kiddo distract you,” his deep voice said, smiling at me.

I frowned. What the hell is wrong with me? Why did I suddenly miss him?

“Stay close to me,” he said, threading his fingers between mine as he pulled me along with him.

I walked alongside him, my heart beating faster and harder. I wriggled my fingers to pull my hands away from his, to stop this feeling that was going off in my chest, but he only gripped me tighter, shooting me a sharp look.

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