Page 5 of The Bratva King's Auctioned Bride

It was a glamorous jet set bunch that surrounded us, and someone recognized me from my old boutique, which almost had me running to the bathroom for a sentimental cry. The woman seemed excited that I was there, hoping I was picking out clothes for a new shop.

“Just for me today,” I said, all while thinking how ridiculous the unyielding pencil skirt and sky-high heels I wore to the quarry inspection ended up being. I really didn’t need any new clothes.

Still, it was an amazing show, with hard-pounding beats and stunning outfits, completely different from the last season, with regal tweeds and heavy raw silks in dark jewel tones. Itreally was like being at home again, and I wanted to stay. As grateful as I was for the opportunity Aleks gave me, it was nothing compared to the rush of running my shop. And nowhere near as dirty as marble manufacturing, either.

But my shop had been a bust, and it was time to move on. I was determined to make this new endeavor thrive, even if it didn’t make my heart sing like the fine fabrics and rich designs of the runway.

After the show ended, Nat was determined for me to finally see her new gallery. I had been in town a week and barely left the apartment except for business. She was so proud of the place and had been talking about it nonstop for the last few months since she got it off the ground, that it almost seemed criminal I hadn’t been yet.

The tiny little hole in the wall was about ten blocks from her apartment, just a bit further from mine. It was tucked away off a roundabout, surrounded by cafés and artisanal shops. We went down an alley and went in through the back, where Nat had some of her own art on easels, half-finished as usual. The front was an open space with graceful, modern statues in the center of the floor, and the walls were packed with paintings that took my breath away.

At first glance, it seemed like a riotous hodgepodge, but soon, I discovered that she had carefully arranged all the paintings into themes, with the ultra-modern splashes grouped together and the dreamy landscapes on another wall. There was also a small room where she gave classes.

“Or I will if anyone ever signs up,” she sighed as she finished the short tour.

“They will,” I encouraged.

Even though she couldn’t seem to finish a painting, Nat was remarkably talented. She just needed to find her style and get the proper inspiration, and I was certain her work would be in great collections one day.

Almost as soon as Nat had unlocked the front door and turned over the sign, a man showed up and swooped in toward Nat for a very friendly greeting. I had grown up in LA with the air kisses and hugs, and knew all about the European kissy greetings, but this was something else. His hand lingered a bit too low on her back, and his lips grazed her cheek much too long.

He seemed kind of familiar and was handsome in a casual sort of way—I much preferred someone who was well-groomed and impeccably dressed. His dark hair was a tad long, curling at his open collar. His extremely expensive shirt had a few too many buttons undone and was untucked at his trim waist. As inexperienced as I was, this dude screamed player. As soon as he spoke, I was shocked to hear the faint Russian accent. Was that why he seemed familiar to me? Was he someone who worked for Aleks? Surely not, or he wouldn’t be so handsy with his boss’s daughter.

“This is Kolya Cheslov,” she said, giving him a look that anyone else would have read as annoyed, but I could see right through it. “One of these days, he’s going to buy a painting.”

“Oh, there’s much more between us than just an art sale, isn’t there?” he teased.

Yeah, no. I wasn’t in the mood to watch some smarmy guy flirt with Nat, while she pretended she wasn’t eating it up. He was way too good-looking not to be dangerous to someone as innocent as Nat. For all her wild partying, she’d been raised to rightfully be wary of charming men. Could she actually have a crush on this guy and be falling for his lines?

I drifted off to peruse the impressionist section while they continued to banter, making my alarm bells go off when they drifted into the small classroom, and I couldn’t eavesdrop anymore. Good God, I was as bad as my brothers, hovering and spying. I hated it when they did it to me, and here I was doing it to Nat.

Finally, the guy left, and I immediately began to grill her.

“What’s going on with you two?”

“What? Nothing,” she said, her fair cheeks blazing red.

I might have only been a year older, but I was better at bossing people around and squared my shoulders, staring her down. “You’re going to tell me you don’t have a thing for him?”

She went from red to purple, denying any form of a crush up and down. “Absolutely not.”

Okay, maybe she wasn’t lying about being attracted to the hunky, art-loving Russian, but she was lying about something, and I didn’t think she’d ever lied to me about anything before. It hurt, and I couldn’t hide it.

“There is something,” she admitted as soon as she noticed. “But you have to swear on your hope of ever having your own clothing line again that you won’t tell Papa.”

“I don’t think I can swear that,” I said honestly. “You know he’ll wring my neck harder than he wrings yours if it’s something bad.”

“It’s not,” she swore way too quickly. “It’s not anything he wouldn’t do himself.”

My brother—her father—was the biggest crime lord in California, so that didn’t mean too much. “So why the secrecy?”

She rolled her eyes, looking so much like Aleks that I almost laughed. “You know why. The same reason you keep secrets. They’d think it was dangerous. But it’s not.”

I got her frustration. Aleks was much too overprotective of me as well, but with his daughter, it was next level. I finally swore I’d keep her secret if it really didn’t seem like it was dangerous, and after a few seconds, she caved, and the plan spilled out of her.

It seemed that Kolya Cheslov wasn’t just an art lover; he was a dealer, but his transactions weren’t always on the up and up. In fact, what he was cooking up with Nat was downright illegal, but it also would have been right up any one of my brothers’ alleys. But if Aleks found out Nat was doing it, he’d haul her back to LA and lock her in an ivory tower in the blink of an eye.

It was totally hypocritical and sexist, too.

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