Page 30 of Stolen Bride for the Don

I glance at the back of Tanner’s head then back to Hudson. “Doesn’t that mean I shouldn’t have to put on a seatbelt either? Double standards much?” Tanner makes a rough noise that sounds distinctly like a laugh being disguised as a cough as Hudson narrows his eyes, then drags the belt across his chest.

I relax into my seat. “Walking that far isn’t ideal,” I continue replying to the second part of his sentence, “but I wouldn’t have taken you for a princess.” I’m trying to rile him up now but he simply arches up a disdainful brow.

“The problem isn’t so much the distance but the obstacles we might stumble upon. While I do have the city under tight control, I still have enemies. I’m not going to carelessly give them a shot at me…or you for that matter.”

I stiffen. “You have people trying to kill you?” And by default me? He shrugs in response. “Doesn’t that make this whole spectacle a foolhardy one? We’re driving now but we’ll eventually get out of the car. Does that mean we’re setting ourselves up as targets to anyone lucky enough to get a shot in?”

“The park we’re going to is one of mine. There are several cameras actively monitoring the area at all times and I have my men patrolling the land. We’ll be safe,” he assures me, but I find it hard to relax.

I blow out a breath. There’s no use stressing over it when I know I can’t make him take us back to his house. “How are we going to play this?” I ask, trying to distract myself. He raises a brow in question. “The walk,” I elaborate.

“We walk.”

“I know that, genius. What I mean is, are we just going to walk about random paths?”

“I have a route planned. We’ll arrive through the north gate and take a walk past the orchards toward the pond.”

“Are we going to feed the ducks, baby?” I blink at him flirtatiously, I think. It kind of just feels like I have something in my eye that I’m trying to blink out. Sexy.

“What are you doing? Stop that. Right now,” he orders, and I laugh under my breath.

“Why? You don’t like it when I wink at you?”

“That wasn’t winking, it was–” He trails off because the car starts to slow down. I glance out the window and realize that we’ve arrived at our destination. I inhale sharply, reminded of my nerves.

“Ready?” Hudson asks. No. I nod at him anyway. “Wait here,” he instructs as he gets out of the car. He walks to my side and opens the door. I blow out a breath. It’s showtime.

CHAPTER 19

HUDSON

I hold out my hand to Andrea; she grabs it tightly as she steps out of the Jeep, her black stilettos hitting the gravel. I should’ve warned her about the terrain, but those heels are sexy as hell, so I don’t regret it. She has impossibly long legs for someone of a petite stature. I have to check myself before she catches me staring. I give her hand a short squeeze and nod at Tanner as he gets out of the car and locks it. He’ll follow behind us discreetly.

“Oh, look at the colors,” Andrea breathes out, and I glance at where she’s looking: the orchard of cherry blossoms. She looks absolutely to die for–no, to kill for–in that cherry red dress. The full skirt conceals just enough of her curves to keep me from getting jealous of anyone walking behind us, but it displays a canvas of her impeccable decolletage for my personal enjoyment. Her hair is pulled up high on her head, revealing her slender neck. I have to restrain the urge to run my hands over it.

“You like them?”

“They’re beautiful,” she answers, drawing her neck back to admire the trees as we walk under the canopy that the drooping branches form. A soft breeze blows, pushing the loose strands of her hair out of her face. Gorgeous.

“Oh my,” she murmurs, raising the palm of her free hand up to catch a few petals of cherry blossoms as they flutter down.

“You know what they say happens when you catch cherry blossom petals before sunrise?” I ask.

“No, what?” She glances at me, her eyes brimming with curiosity. My brain momentarily goes blank. In this lighting, her skin looks pale and luminous, the blackness of her hair a phenomenal contrast with her deep blue eyes. She’s absolutely breathtaking. “What?” she repeats, nudging me with her shoulder.

I glance away from her, clearing my throat. “When you catch the petals before sunrise, you fall irrevocably in love with the person you’re with.”

She gasps quite dramatically. “No, that's not true.” She tosses the petals in her hand away as if they’ve personally offended her.

It isn’t true, but I smirk, “It is. You can google it.”

“I would, but I don’t have a phone.” She glares at me. That’s why I suggested it; antagonizing her is proving to be one of my favorite pastimes.

“Fix your expression, wife. You look like you want to punch me in the face,” I murmur, unable to resist dropping my face into her hair. It’s as soft as it looks. There’s a hitch in her steps and she glances up at me with a strange expression. “Fix your face,” I repeat.

The annoyed expression is wiped away and replaced with a soft smile, but fuck, her eyes blaze with a thousand fires. “This good enough for you, sweet cheeks?”

I grin and say, “You’re perfect.”

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