Page 62 of Pregnant Bratva Wife
He sank the shot effortlessly and then rose off the table, smugly grinning at his brothers, and something about the boyish joy in his face made my breath catch.
“He’s different with you,” Elena said quietly beside me.
I turned to her, startled. “What do you mean?”
“Federico. He’s always been the most guarded of all of them.” She smiled softly. “But when he looks at you, he seems soft.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. What could I possibly say? That our marriage was merely a business arrangement?
And so, I just smiled.
A cheer erupted from the snooker room, followed by Dante’s dramatic groan. Federico whooped and jumped through the air.
Looked like he’d won again.
In that moment, with his guard down, laughing with his brothers, he looked like a different man. Just a man. Just Federico.
And despite everything I knew, everything I’d seen, I couldn’t help the warmth that spread through me at the sight of his smile.
Chapter 15 - Federico
It had been four days since we had dinner at Caspian’s. Though Autumn hasn’t actively tried to avoid me since, she still kept her distance.
Each time I caught her laughing with the staff or speaking animatedly into her phone, I caught myself staring at her like a teenager with a crush. But whenever she saw me, those eyes lost some life, and that laugh quickly evaporated.
That morning, we were having breakfast together. We hadn’t planned it. But when I came in, she was already there. Fortunately, she didn’t scuffle away. She had her hair in a messy bun, little wisps escaping around her face as she concentrated on reading the paper.
She looked beautiful.
But of course, she was also off-limits.
Yet, despite that, there was something else that had been gnawing at the back of my mind.
I cleared my throat. “Autumn?”
She looked up cautiously. “Yes?”
In the morning light, her eyes reminded me of a beautiful river.
“I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me tonight.”
She cocked a brow. “Dinner?”
“Yes. That meal people typically eat in the evening.” I tried for humor, and was rewarded with the tiniest twitch of her lips.
“I know what dinner is,” she said. “I’m just surprised you’re asking.”
I shrugged, hoping to look casual, hoping to pretend it wouldn’t matter if she said no, but all the while the knot in my stomach tightened and I prayed she’d say yes. “I just felt that you’ve been cooped up in here for so long. It might be a nice change of scenery.”
It was true. I had been worried about her. Ever since she found out about my world, she had somehow gone into a shell. She had stopped going for runs, stopped heading out for errands. It’s as though the entire world had become dangerous overnight, and I hated watching her live like that.
“Just dinner?” she asked skeptically.
“Just dinner,” I said, taking a sip of my coffee. “I promise there’s no agenda. You can say no. I won’t mind.”
I would have been disappointed, though, with every cell in my body. But of course I couldn’t have told her that.
She nodded softly. “Okay.”
