Page 17 of Sinful Lies

“Pcholka? It means ‘little bee’ because all you do is sting me. And it hurts.” I wink at her.

“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes. Her cheeks flush a beautiful shade of pink. “Well, your bachelor days are about to be behind you. If we’re going to make this convincing, we’re going to need to start acting like a proper couple.”

“If that’s your way of asking for sex…” A smirk tugs at my lips.

“Oh, my god…” She groans, running her hands through her hair, but amusement flickers in her eyes.

There’s the Zara I know.

“I’m sorry, you walked right into that one.” I chuckle.

“Be serious for a moment, Dimitri.”

I let out a breath and move to rest my hands on the table. “Why don’t you invite your family over to our penthouse, and we can throw a little engagement party.”

“I told you, I want to keep this a secret from my family.”

“They’ll find out eventually, Zara. Might as well rip off the band-aid.” I take a sip of my vodka. “Plus, it’ll make this seem more believable if your family is there.”

“My father can be a difficult man, and he’s ridiculously overprotective. If he finds out about our marriage…” Zara shudders, and I almost laugh at her lack of faith in me.

I’ve taken down Mario Gilanto for fuck’s sake, I think I can manage an overbearing father.

She shakes her head. “The less my parents know about all of this, the better.”

“If that’s what you want.” I shrug. “I just hate the idea of you having to lie to your family because of this.”

“I could always tell my sister… She’s pretty good at keeping secrets from our parents. That way I’m not lying toeveryone.”

“I think that sounds like a great idea.”

Zara bites her lip, a crease forming between her eyebrows.

I frown. “What is it?”

She glances up at me under her lashes, her green eyes filled with sorrow.

“You’ll have to lie to your family too.”

“It’s a small price to pay, Zara.”

“Maybe we should just come clean and tell your brothers the truth. Maybe if we explain the situation, Alexei would understand.”

I huff a laugh.

“Ifmy brother learns the truth, I have no doubt that he would chop off my dick and send it first class to Massimo himself as an apology.”

I don’t miss the way her cheeks heat at the mention of my cock. I shift in my seat as I try not to think about Zara getting turned on.

I need to focus.

“Alexei’s not giving me much time. The sooner we announce our engagement, the better.”

“How soon?”

“This weekend.”

Zara lets out a long breath, her eyes looking anywhere but at me.

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