Page 18 of A Linton Scandal

Mihai walked around the table, my coffee cup in his hand. “Good, we’ll be meeting my parent’s tonight.”

That distracted me from his theft of my coffee. “I can’t meet your family.”

A sickening feeling of dread filled me. I wasn’t the best at meeting new people. Especially not people who’d been referred to by Forbes as business royalty.

“You have to, our story is that I fell madly in love with you.” He set the coffee cup down and walked over to my side and leaned down slightly. His gaze slowly drew along my face, I swear it felt like a finger drawing along my skin.

“You’re the woman Mihai Linton loves. I would not hide her away, that would make people think I wasn’t telling the truth. And we want them to all believe I’m telling the truth.”

I shuddered. “O… kay, I get it,” I said, slightly turning my body away from him. “I’ll meet them.”

He didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t move either. And after a time, I realized he didn’t plan on moving anytime soon. “I said I’d come, you can move now.”

Tilting his head, he looked me over. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

I touched under my eyes. I knew they were slightly puffy. It’s what usually happened when I spent the night trying to design. “I had a lot on my mind. I couldn’t settle down and sleep.”

He straightened and glanced at the door. “Nao, come in.”

“Wait, the door’s locked,” I protested.

In stunned silence I watched as Nao entered my apartment and placed what was obviously a replica of my key into his back pocket. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As he walked over. “Yes, sir.”

“Call her doctor. It appears that I need to explain to my future wife what she can and can’t do while pregnant.”

I glared at him. “Hey, I know what I need to do, it’s just been a bit hectic around here. Example A,” I said, waving at him. “I’m usually an early to bed and early to rise person.”

“His earliest appointment available is tomorrow at six,” Nao continued as if I hadn’t spoken at all. I could feel my irritation growing.

Mihai frowned. “Too late.”

Nao put his tablet aside and pulled a cell phone from his pocket. He turned his back to us, as he called someone.

Deciding I had better things to do than sit here and be ignored in my own apartment. I started picking up the drafts off the floor and stacking them on my desk. At least I had control over whether or not there was a mess in my apartment.

“Juliette, go get ready. Nao’s gotten you an appointment in two hours.”

I rolled my eyes, before turning to face the two overbearing men. “You know, you don’t have to call me Juliette, I prefer Jul’s.”

The corners of Mihai’s mouth kicked up. “And I prefer Juliette.”

I couldn’t kill the man. One, he was the father of my child. And two, if I killed him, his family would hunt me down. I took a deep breath. “Okay, do what you want.” With that, I stomped back into my bedroom and slammed the door. Shit, I’d reverted to being a moody teenager.

Counting mentally to ten, I started getting ready to go out.

Mihai

I leaned against her kitchen counter, waiting for Juliette to finish getting ready. The sound of her moving around in her bedroom felt like a bell calling me but I’d already invaded her space once before.

This was my first time having the leisure to look around her apartment. It was clean, and well organized aside from her work desk. The living room and kitchen ran together, but she’d placed a dinner table and bar in between so it appeared to be two rooms rather than one.

Her couches were a dark grey, and white. I could see her artistic sense in everything. I wondered how she’d adapt to a world that was completely different from the whimsical and creative world she was used to.

The door to her bedroom opened, and she stepped out. “I didn’t know how formal you wanted me to be, therefore I put on something semi formal and semi comfortable. Mihai.” She said my name so easily. I found myself meeting her gaze in surprise. “Well, what do you think?”

She turned in a circle, and I slowly let my gaze run over her. She looked nothing like the woman I’d met in the park, who’d been wearing her college sweater and a trench coat. She wore a shell pink dress that stopped at her thighs, giving me a small glimpse of her smooth skin before her legs were covered up by tan suede thigh high boots.

The hair I’d always seen twisted back, was out in well-arranged curls around her head. For the first time, I found myself fully aware of why I allowed her in my drugged induced haze to drag me into her room.

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