Page 151 of 10 Days to Ruin

“Of course I came, silly goose!” She clutches my elbow and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “My baby is getting engaged. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

I don’t miss the way her eyes flit toward the crowd before she reins them back in. She’s uncomfortable here, and I get that more than anyone. But she came anyway. For me.

I love her so much it hurts.

“You look like a dream, Mama.”

“Oh, nonsense. This dress was from the clearance rack at Dillard’s, and my left eyeliner is half an inch lower than my right.You’rethe dream, sweetheart.” Her lip starts to wobble as she reaches out to gently touch my cheek. “You look… you… Jasmine would’ve…” She cuts herself off.

“We don’t have to go there.” I squeeze her wrist. “Tonight’s about fresh starts.”

Her laugh sounds like shattered crystal. “Of course. My fierce girl.” She tucks a loose curl behind my ear. “Just… be happy, okay? That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”

I recognize Sasha’s heat at my back before I even turn to see it’s him. His voice rumbles from over my shoulder. “Belle. You look stunning tonight.”

“Such a charmer,” she says.

“I prefer ‘man moved by beauty.’”

“Did I say ‘charmer’? I meant ‘full of shit.’” Her face cracks into a smile as she pokes him in the ribs. “Said with love, of course.”

Sasha returns her grin. “I’d expect nothing less.”

Then Mama scowls as she wags that finger in his face. “This is a serious Mama Bear warning, though: Hands to self. If you smudge her lipstick before midnight, I’ll come for you.”

His thumb strokes the arch of my hip. “She’s safe with me.”

“Mm. I’ve heard that before.” With a wink, Belle says something about shrimp puffs and goes skipping off.

The second she’s out of earshot, Sasha’s lips brush the hinge of my jaw. “What’s eating you,ptichka?”

I do my best to keep my expression neutral. “Who says anything’s eating me?”

Chuckling, Sasha taps the furrow between my brows. “This says so.” Then he taps my chin. “This says so.” He taps my fidgeting hands, my lip swollen from chewing on it. “And this, and this. All your tells are giving you away.”

“Okay, I get it,” I snap, knocking his hands away from my face. “You know me, I’m an open book, there are no such things as secrets when Sasha Ozerov is around.”

His face darkens for a millisecond before the shade clears. “No,” he rumbles. “No such things as secrets.”

Sighing, I tilt into him, grounding myself in cedarwood cologne with my face against his chest. “Tell me this isn’t the calm before the storm.”

His chuckle rumbles against my spine. “You’remarryinga storm, sweetheart. Best get used to it.”

The hand on my hip slips lower. I arch instinctively, pulse fluttering under his palm.

“Do you trust me?” he murmurs.

I know my answer. It goes against logic. Against instinct. Against every survival gene I ever inherited from Baba…

Yes.

He laughs when he sees my worry lines ease. “That’s what I thought.”

A blast of microphone static silences the room. The string quartet dies mid-note as everyone in attendance turns in unison to see Baba stepping up onto the dais.

His smile is too wide, pupils swallowing the chilly gray of his eyes. “Ladies and gentlemen, friends and colleagues, thank you all for coming.” He clears his throat. “It’s a special night for me as a father. We’re here to celebrate my daughter, Ariel—my last remaining jewel.”

Whiskey sloshes over my knuckles as his hand trembles. It takes everything I have to hide my sneer.Last remaining.As if Jas is just another piece of broken jewelry he misplaced. Sasha’s palm burns against the small of my back, steadying me.

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