Page 25 of You Know I Love You

“He set up a kind of date night for us on his boat.”

“That’s sweet.” Teddy swings her legs back and forth. “I wouldn't have pegged him for the sweet type with his appearance, but he’s pretty chill and laid back.”

“He is,” I agree. Until he’s not, but I love that about him. I’m not quick to fill the silence or take the lead the way he is. In a lot of ways, he reminds me a bit of Teddy. Even with his men, he takes his time and speaks with them. He knows who everyone is and about their lives.

There is a darkness around him, but there is also an understanding. He might not follow all the rules and laws, but he has a set of his own he lives by. A fairness that should be had.I have really learned a lot about that side of him over the last week.

When I leave school, Teddy always drops me here, where he and I spend time together before I go back home. Then he slips into my room for the night. We still spend a lot of time together, but it’s not like a normal married couple or even like Teddy and West, and they’re not married.

She gets to go home and have dinner with West, lie around and watch TV together, and get ready for bed together. I know these are small things, but I want them so badly. That means having to confront my brother. I hate confrontation, especially with my twin, but I’ve avoided it for long enough.

Vasily has gone out of his way for me. I need to do the same. I want to show him that I’m all in too, and I’ll do whatever I need to for us to be together. I can tell it’s wearing on Vasily too. Even in our lovemaking.

I’m noticing he’s becoming more possessive and holding me tighter, as if I might try to slip away from him. Like I said, Vasily is calm until he’s not, and I don’t want everything to come to a head because my brother is a hothead.

“I need to figure things out with my brother. I don’t want to keep sneaking around.”

“I think he knows; it just hasn’t come to a climax. Everyone is avoiding it.” True. Rich makes that easy when he’s not really around. I haven’t made a point to seek him out either.

“The longer I let it go, though, the more likely things will get out of hand. I’m going to try to talk to him tonight.”

“You thinking about telling him before or after his fight?” Teddy asks.

“I hadn’t really thought about the exact timing.”

“Well, let's talk this out. If you drop that you and Vasily are married on Rich before the fight, then maybe he’ll take outwhatever anger he has on his opponent and be calmer after.” She makes a good point.

“And what if I don’t say anything until after?”

She lets out a deep breath. “That’s a tricky one. Either he’ll be too damn tired to care, or his adrenaline will be pumping, and it could fuel his anger.” Crap. That doesn’t sound good.

“It’s my life,” I huff.

“Well, this is what happens when people care about you.” She bumps her shoulder with mine.

“Let’s go find the guys.” I hop down off the desk. I’m sure the fights will be starting soon. When I step out of the office, one of Vasily’s men is there. It’s hard to keep track of all their names, and there are often new faces.

“Mrs. King,” the man says. That totally catches me off guard. I haven’t thought about the fact that my name might be different. “Can I help you with something?”

“Did they say we can’t leave the room?” Teddy snips, narrowing her eyes. The man's brows rise. I mean, I wouldn’t be shocked if they had after what happened before.

“What did you call her?” My heart sinks. I slowly turn around to see my brother standing there.

“Rich,” I say. “Where the hell have you been?”

“No one is going to answer my question?”

“Can we talk in here?” I point over my shoulder with my thumb to the door Teddy and I came from.

"Go," my brother orders.

"Don't be a dick," Teddy tells him.

"I wasn't authorized to allow you to enter, Rich," the man standing by the door says.

"He's my brother. He's coming in." I tell him to open the door. The man only gives a nod, but I know the second this door closes, he's going to tell Vasily. Great. I'm actually not surehow Vasily is going to react. He's been giving me time with my brother, but he’s also super protective over me.

“Start talking.” Rich pins me with a glare as soon as we are alone. I take a deep breath, trying to get my thoughts together. “Why the fuck did he just call you Mrs. King, Willa?”

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