Page 58 of Bitter Secrets

“Ford should have snapped up Ariana when he had the chance,” Warren said darkly. “Don’t know why he chose you.”

“Maybe you should ask him,” she said sweetly.

“I did.”

“You did? What did he say?”

His watery, bloodshot eyes narrowed. “He said you suited him better.”

Her heart swelled impossibly large. If Ford were here, she would have hugged him. Maybe he couldn’t stand up to his brother, but he didn’t take flak from Warren. Ford defended her and wouldn’t be dissuaded from his choice, despite his father’s and others’ attempts to change his mind. “He’s a sweetheart.”

Warren scowled. “There’s no room for that garbage in our world.”

“Maybe there is,” she said dreamily.

“Doesn’t seem like he’s getting much out of the deal.” When she didn’t take the bait, he asked, “When’s the wedding?”

“After I graduate from Wharton’s.”

“Two years is a long engagement. Do you think that’s wise? Giving him that much time to change his mind?”

“Getting my degree is important to me, and he respects that.”

“You don’t need a master’s degree to pop out heirs.”

She gave him a brilliant smile that made his leer turn into a scowl.

“What's wrong with you, girl?” Warren demanded.

She shrugged. “I’m happy.”

"Why?"

She suspected that emotion wasn’t felt by many when in his presence.

“I don’t know,” she lied.

He leaned in. “You on something?”

“Nope.”

His lip curled. “Has Maximus ever gotten your head checked?”

She bit her lip to hold back her laughter. “Not yet.”

“I think you’re overdue. It’s not like you come from good stock, either.”

The taunt bounced off her, as had everything else that normally would have ruined her night. She felt invincible and indestructible. Nothing could penetrate the invisible armor her fantasy world constructed around her. Her eyes slid beyond Warren and locked gazes with the man at the other end of the room. She nodded and waved as if he beckoned to her. She looked back at Warren with a regretful smile.

“Looks like I missed some people and Dad’s telling me to circulate,” she lied.

“For all the good that's going to do you,” Warren grumbled before he waved her away. “Off with you.”

She rarely dropped her dad’s name, but when she did, she always got instant results. No one, not even Warren, would stand in the way of a direct order from Maximus. Even the rich and influential tread lightly around her father.

She left Warren and made her way toward the stranger who was still watching her. Her curiosity mounted with each step. He was racially ambiguous, with beautiful dark skin and hair. Usually, she was quite good at pegging someone’s ethnicity, but she was totally at sea. He had strong features like the Greeks, but was dark like an Italian or Brazilian. She sensed the force of his personality from across the room, yet his stillness and distance from everyone seemed to contradict the confidence emanating from him. She ratcheted up her smile as she neared, expecting him to exhibit some of the social cues she was used to, and got nothing. His impassive expression didn’t ease into a look of welcome, but neither did he look away, meet her halfway, or extend his hand as she stopped in front of him. With her family being so tall, she was used to having people tower over her, but this guy was built like a bodybuilder—a far cry from the waif-like men and women in the room.

Up close, his features were even more striking… and distracting. He had the darkest eyes she’d ever seen, and facial scars that made her writer’s mind race. He had a scar on his jaw and an intriguing one on his upper lip that she was trying not to stare at. A lesser woman might have been intimidated by his piercing stare, but she had grown up under a tyrant. If she could withstand her father and men like Warren, then she could take on anyone, including this… warrior? Her mind wandered to the mysterious stranger she had yet to unmask in her book.He should have scars, she decided on the spot. And maybe fathomless black eyes as well. Who knew such eyes could be so beautiful.

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