Page 99 of 10 Days to Ruin

Belle touches the polished wood, eyes bright. “You’re full of surprises, Mr. Ozerov.”

“So I’ve been told.”

Ariel’s still gaping. I lean close, inhaling her scent. “Close your mouth,ptichka. You’ll catch flies.”

She knees me under the table.

When dinner is over and the kitchen has been cleaned, Belle claps her hands and smiles. All traces of her shock when I repaired the clock are gone. Same with the fire with which she first greeted me. She’s been nothing but pleasant since then, though I still catch her staring holes into the side of my face when she thinks I’m not paying attention.

“So!” she says. “Where are you taking my girl tonight?”

“Actually, Mama,” interjects Ariel, “I’m the one taking Sasha out.”

Belle’s eyebrow floats up. “I stand corrected. What’s in store?”

She bites her lip to stop from grinning. “It’s a surprise.”

“For both of us,” I mutter. Ariel’s been cagey all day long. Despite texting me nonstop, she’s refused to divulge a single detail of tonight’s activities.

“Trust me, you’re gonna hate it,” she warns with a cheeky elbow to the ribs.

“Well, just make sure you’re home before you turn into a pumpkin, m’kay?” Belle wraps an arm around Ariel’s waist and guides us to the door. She kisses Ariel’s cheek and then turns to squint suspiciously at me. “As for you… I don’t know what you’d turn into if you’re out too late.”

“A cloud of bats, if Bram Stoker is even remotely accurate.” Ariel giggles when I pinch her side playfully.

“But,” Belle continues, still talking to me, “it’s no good for anyone to lurk about the city when it gets too late. Foranyone,do you hear me?”

I nod as respectfully as I can, trying to put the proper assurances in the gesture. I want her to see what I feel—that the ground beneath Ariel and me is shifting. That things aren’t what they seem.

That maybe men like me—or at leastoneman like me—might just figure out what to do with a happy ending after all.

“I hear you, Ms. Ward,” I tell her. “Loud and clear.”

We’ve been circling the block for damn near a half hour as Ariel’s frown deepens and she counts the addresses again. “79… 81… 83… Oh,thereit is!”

I growl in irritation. “Right. 85. Between 83 and 87. Who could’ve possibly known that’s where it would be?”

“Oh, don’t be a grump,” she scolds, swatting my forearm. “Tonight’s gonna be fun.”

“Still keeping it a secret?”

“Until the last possible second,” she confirms.

I park right in front of a fire hydrant. “What if someone tows you?” Ariel asks as she looks at the very clearly printedNO PARKING HEREsign looming from the sidewalk.

I laugh. “I would not like to be the man who tries something that stupid.” Then I lock the car, tuck my keys in my pocket, and drape an arm around her shoulders. “Come on. 85, right? It’s right…”

The voice drains out of me as I get close enough to read the sign hidden under the awning.

PRIVATE LAMAZE CLASSES,it reads in bold fuchsia print.MAMAS AND PAPAS IN TRAINING, ENTER HERE!

I turn and look at Ariel. “What the hell did you cook up?”

31

ARIEL

I bite the inside of my cheek so hard I taste blood.

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