Page 28 of No Longer Safe

“Our whole lives.” She shrugged and I envied her. There were a few relationships I had outside of my brothers, but none stuck around that long. The closest friend I had was from boarding school but it seemed more like a business partnership now than an actual friendship. I’d never had an example of what true friendship looked like and my father was too terrifying to entice others to come around as children.

“I’m sure you’re going to miss her.”

Her eyes flashed and she looked back down at her wedding ring. “Yeah, it won’t be the same without her. It’s going to be pretty boring.”

I didn’t care. That was what I told myself over and over again in my head. I absolutely didn’t care but the questions came out anyway. “What do you like to do for fun?”

She looked at me as if I’d grown a second head. “What do you mean?”

I was finally able to look away from her and take in the scenery. “Do you have any hobbies? Do you like to do things for fun with or without Carina?”

“Coming from the man that has a huge family, I’m surprised you aren’t saying my only hobbies should be to pop out children and raise them.” Her words came out so scathing, they could have burned me.

I raised my eyebrows at her in surprise. “Oh? You think I would think that?” I crossed my arms over my chest and watched her cheeks turn pink again.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to project.”

“Does someone think you should only worry about children?”

She waved her hand and tried to dismiss it but I knew better and something about the conversation was burning me up. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this Brian fellow sucked ass.

I didn’t knowmany things but the one thing I knew without a shadow of a doubt was that I had to stay away from Audrey Wilde. I wanted her. I wanted her too badly and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure it out. I hated that she was all I could think about, especially knowing our rooms were right next to each other, but there was nothing I hated more than seeing her sad. I wanted to see her radiant. I wanted to see her smile. I wanted her joy and I didn’t deserve it. Hell, I would never have it but I could try my hardest to see it.

Carina was slipping out of her bedroom when I was going up the stairs. “Can I have a minute?”

She frowned. She hadn’t seen Audrey yet and that was probably where she was headed. My mother was too busy giving her the grand tour. It would take hours. We all knew better than to stop Mother when she was excited about something and when she saw Audrey’s sad eyes, she went full mom mode.

“Of course, is everything okay?” She brushed her black hair behind her ear and tilted her face up at me.

I couldn’t tell her that Audrey was engaged. I wouldn’t ruin that for them, but I would hint that Audrey was sad. “I think something is going on with Audrey. She looked really sad when I picked her up from the airport.”

“Was Brian with her?” She didn’t look so surprised when I shook my head. “Stupid, fucking, idiot.”

I nodded my head a few times. “He is.”

“Did she say anything?”

I shrugged. “Just be sure to do all the sightseeing with her. I know you’re here for Ace and all the wedding festivities but I think she needs you right now.”

And the last thing she needed was me. I couldn’t get involved or I was going to do something we would both regret.

“You’re a really good guy, Alexei.”

I didn’t bother with telling her that she was wrong. I was merely doing this for selfish reasons. I knew that if I kept pushing and I kept going after Audrey, I would ruin everything. I knew I would mess everything up. She didn’t need me coming into her life to fuck everything up. But she did need a wake-up call. She needed to see that she could have everything she could ever want. I would be damned if she married that stupid fuck. But I wouldn’t be the one to end it. I would just be the one waiting when it finally happened.

Chapter Twenty

Audrey

I didn’t knowhow it was possible but the villa was even more impressive than their upstate New York home. It was magnificent with its own wine vineyard. I swore my mouth hung open the entire tour Emeline gave me. My jaw was going to be sore the next day. I was already exhausted and jet lagged but there was just too much to take in. It didn’t help that I was hoping the tour would go on for a few more hours so I could keep avoiding Alexei and Carina. The conversation had been strange enough. I’d expected some kind of mocking from Alexei and instead, he’d been the most genuine I’d ever seen him since we met just a few short weeks ago.

When I entered the grand entry way I was stunned all over again. The home was nothing like their upstate New York mansion. It was remodeled into a modern dream. Grand arching doorways lead to rooms with huge exposed beams. Immaculate white plaster made up each wall that was beautifully decorated with different art pieces. The grand estate boasted over 70 bedrooms and even more bathrooms. I could hardly keep up as Emeline showed me everything she could. I would surely get lost in this place just as I feared I would in their other home. In the corners of the room were vases full of metal flowers. The room Iwas put in had a sunken tub in the ground and a marble vanity. Stained glass took up most of the wall behind the tub. I could hardly believe my eyes. I thought for sure I was staying in luxury in Ace’s penthouse. It was nothing like this.

The backdoors led to a grand descending staircase that met up with an even more impressive oasis. It was surrounded by all different kinds of trees that you couldn’t see beyond. The pool was the focal point of it all and I knew if I was given any time off, I would never ever leave. The cobblestone bar was tucked up behind sprawling greenery, you almost missed it when you went around the pool.

Carina was exiting her bedroom, which was thankfully just a few doors down from mine when I came up the stairs. She smiled at me and I was relieved to see, by her expression, that Alexei hadn’t spilled the beans. It was very unlike him and I wondered what his MO was. It made me uncomfortable, yet grateful. Maybe all the wedding stuff was turning him into a softie.

One could dream.

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