Page 55 of Koroleva

"Who are you, my mother?"

"Almost, your husband, and this smells nourishing."

The comment made my stomach clench. I grimaced, admitting he was right.

"You haven’t eaten much either."

"When I get something stuck between my eyebrows, I often forget to eat. Ana María always scolds me, saying I’ll shrink and become tiny. As if that could happen." I smiled.

"Those are very motherly phrases."

"Yes, you might have noticed she’s not a typical cook. She's been working at my father's house since she was young. When I bought this place, I took her with me. She knows me too well not to take liberties. So... do we eat, or would you rather go?" I evaluated him. His not imposing himself was curious, but also smart. Surely, my husband understood that if he tried to command me, he would achieve the opposite effect. He too had freshened up, wearing loose cream-colored sweatpants and a black shirt that clung to his torso. The kid was already asleep. The first thing Romeo did when we got home was to continue up the stairs while I stayed on the second floor to check on his son. "I don’t want to pressure you, if you prefer I eat alone, I will. The noodles with oyster sauce and Tai Pan’s Peking duck are the best, I'm starving, so if you don't stay, no hard feelings, more for me." I rolled my eyes.

Was he joking? Those were my favorite dishes. My intestines twisted, catching the delicious smell.

"Tell me you also ordered Chinese buns." My voice sounded like a plea.

Asian food was one of my weaknesses. Romeo nodded, looking like a mischievous child with an ace up his sleeve.

"And spring rolls." That couldn't be a coincidence. I narrowed my eyes.

"You've been investigating me..."

"Not exactly. Let's just say I got a tip. Your mother and my father spend a lot of time together, and my dad is one of those who believes that the way to a woman's heart is through her stomach, not just men's."

"And you want to win me over?"

"I won't deny that I'd like to bridge our positions and discuss certain matters with you. There's something you need to know, although I don't want to pressure you or disrupt your plans." *No, better to lay you down on top of me. "If you prefer, I can tell you tomorrow."

That piqued my curiosity, no denying it.

"Let's have dinner," I declared. His gaze was as intense as mine. I wasn't sure which I craved more, the Chinese food or him.

It was his fault, and the images that had haunted me since the night at the warehouse also. In addition, the outfit I had put on didn't help, because it made me feel exceedingly sexy and powerful.

It resembled lingerie more than a dress.

The mesh fabric allowed the imagination not to work too hard to capture the hardness of a nipple or my lack of underwear. Everything about me was exposed, wrapped in a pretentious spider's web.

Did Romeo want to fall into it? What did he want to tell me?

I followed him to the kitchen. He turned on just one light, giving the room a dim illumination. He asked me to take the food out of the bags while he poured us a couple of glasses of wine.

We occupied two high stools, and he rested his elbow on the polished surface, letting his head fall onto his hand.

"I'm still not sure what you want or if I can trust you, but you deserve to hear the truth." I was bringing the glass to my lips and stopped abruptly.

It couldn't be that easy, he couldn't just blurt out that he was behind all my misfortunes.

"Go ahead," I murmured, taking a long sip of the potent wine.

"It's about Adri and my paternity. I don't know if he's my son or your brother's." My glass lunged forward, soaking his pants.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" My tone exploded like a grenade. He seemed calm, not as if he had pulled the pin on an explosive.

He grabbed a napkin and pressed it against the stain covering his crotch.

"If you wanted me to take my pants off, I would have done it without you needing to ruin them by throwing a glass of wine worth over five hundred euros at me."

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