Page 128 of Sin & Sapphire

I closed my eyes against the embarrassment, terrified Valentin would find a way to turn this into a way to mock me, to drive home what a silly, spoiled rich girl I was.

“Princess,” he growled, and I didn’t dare delay any longer.

“I wanted to make dinner,” I whispered, keeping my eyes shut. “But I—” I took a deep, shuddering breath, gaining control of myself and my emotions, grateful.

“Open your eyes,” Valentin commanded. I met his gaze, finding no judgment, only patience.

“The pan started smoking, and then the alarm went off, and when I tried to put it out with water, the pan caught on fire.”

I waited for his amused cruelty. Instead, he searched my eyes, then tugged me back into his chest, wrapping his arms around me in a warm hug.

“I swear?—”

“I know, princess,” Valentin murmured against the top of my head, his hands rubbing up and down my back in soothing strokes.

“I’m sorry you had to leave whatever it is you were doing to handle this.” I waved my hand vaguely in the direction of the downtown area.

“Look at me,” he said, that edge of command back in his voice. “Don’t apologize for—” he cut himself off. What could he say? Don’t apologize for trying to make a home? Treat him? Do something sweet?

He sighed again. “What were you trying to cook?”

“Pasta and tomato sauce,” I muttered.

He hummed. “From scratch?”

“If there was a jar of tomato sauce in your kitchen, I’m going to murder you.”

He laughed, clear as fucking day, his face brightening. Valentin was gorgeous, and if I wasn’t careful, I was going to fall hard for this kind, compassionate version of him.

“Allons,” he said, taking my hand and leading me to his car. “Let’s get groceries, and I’ll teach you how to make a simple sauce.”

47

VALENTIN

Ana Costa didn’t knowhow to cook. She’d lived with us for almost a month, and somehow, that fact hadn’t come to light. How many days had we left her alone with nothing to eat? She hadn’t complained once.Merde.What else had I assumed about her that was wrong?

Certainly that Angelo and I were enough for her. Fuck!I squashed that bitter train of thought as we wound our way through the aisles of the grocery store, my fingers wrapped tightly around hers, refusing to examine my need to keep her close or my need to give her the comfort my touch provided.

Ana listened quietly as I explained the different types of pasta, then teasingly bumped me with her hip when I started in on tomatoes. “IamItalian, you know. And I did live on my own for three—” She stopped and flushed, then scoffed and said softly, “I lived on my own for three weeks.”

“Three weeks when you’d never done it before? You disappeared, princess, and nobody could find you until facial recognition software picked you up in that casino. That’s better than a lot of the men Angelo hunts.”

“So that’s how you found me.”

“Yes.”

Her smile was slow and rueful. “I bought vegetables in French markets and felt so grown up, but it was just playing pretend, wasn’t it?”

I wanted nothing more than to reassure this beautiful, brilliant woman that she could do anything. But I couldn’t. Her future was uncertain and would be until we’d rid the world of the plague that was Boris Tchérnov and married her to someone who could keep her safe.

I rubbed my hand over the pain in my chest, entirely unready to confront the maelstrom swirling through me. Angelolether fuck that Russo whelp. He said sheneededit. That she’d neededkindnessthat morning.

Kindness. Not order. Not control. Not the sweet emptiness that followed a painful session with me. Tenderness. Things I couldn’t provide, even if I wanted to. Maybe that meant she needed Luca in her life. The thought wasn’t as unpleasant as I expected it to be, not when it was accompanied by the idea of a future with this gorgeous, stubborn creature who continually astounded me.

We paid for our groceries in silence, the mood fraught with emotions I suspected she wanted to face as little as I did.

Fuck.

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