Page 15 of Disgraced (Russian Sinners 3)

Scarlett

The following morning, I met Anja and Olivia for breakfast. Brian was taking a call so I gave them a quick update on last night. But for some reason I withheld his name. I wasn’t sure why but I kept his name safely tucked away.

“It’s not smart to hook up with strangers,” Olivia scolded me.

“I didn’t hook up with him,” I corrected her. “We walked along the river for a bit. Then we had dinner and we went to his place.” Olivia and Anja both raised their eyebrows. “We watched a movie and nothing happened. After the movie, he brought me back, gave me a kiss on the cheek and we said good night.” I took a deep breath, remembering his lips on my skin. “I wish he’d at least kissed me on the lips.”

Anastasia laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t demand it.”

“Well, if he doesn’t kiss me tonight on the lips, I will demand it.”

“Tonight?” Olivia sounded a bit alarmed.

“He is taking me out tonight.”

“Ditching us again?” Anastasia was teasing me goodheartedly.

“He’s coming at five,” I justified myself. “So I’ll spend most of the day with you two and then the evening with him.”

They both smiled, but there was a concerned frown on Olivia’s face. I could understand her hesitance. Some days I was fairly certain she’d written off men for good and wished her fiancé would die a long and agonizing death. I had never been very keen on torture and murder, but I was seriously tempted to ask a favor of my family to kill Malcome Schmidt. I even said it once in a rage. I was so angry at Olivia’s family for allowing that piece of shit man around my best friend, but Olivia made me promise I would never do such a thing. So here I was, keeping my promise.

“You’ll be careful, right?” Olivia’s voice brought me back to my two best friends.

“Of course.”

I knew they were both happy for me. I couldn’t help but feel good about today. Something about Sergei made me hopeful for the future. It was bizarre and it made no sense since my future was already determined. Refusing to let that small fact ruin my day, I focused exclusively on good thoughts and Sergei. I’d woken up in such a good mood. Watching a movie with him had been a blast. When he asked me to see me today again, I just about squealed from happiness. But I kept it together.

I grinned thinking about last night. “Stop daydreaming and grinning like that, Scarlett,” Anastasia teased. “Brian is coming. He might get suspicious.”

I immediately wiped the grin off my face.

“Good morning Scarlett.”

“Hey, Brian.”

“Manciatti said your father called him. Did you not touch base with your parents yesterday?”

“Shit,” I muttered. With my obsession over Sergei, I completely forgot. And just like that the sense of guilt hit me. It wasn’t right to be going out with Sergei and enjoying my time with him, when at the end of it all, I was promised to someone else. Yes, I didn’t agree with it. I detested the idea of marrying a stranger, but my family could be jeopardized if I violated my father’s agreement. But the guilt wasn’t strong enough to make me change my mind about meeting Sergei tonight.

Instead, I pulled out my phone and typed up a quick message to my parents, letting them know I was alright.

* * *

“How was your day?” I asked Sergei.

We were seated outside of the restaurant, with the magnificent view of the river and St. Petersburg. Just as he promised, Sergei came to pick me up at five and we strolled through downtown St. Petersburg window shopping. He kept urging me to go in and see what I liked but I refused. Window shopping with my hand in his was so much better. I wasn’t interested in new stuff.

He frowned, and for a second, I thought he wouldn’t answer. “It was good. Something came up that required me to change my schedule around but it is all taken care of now.”

I smiled. “Did someone lose too much money in your casino?”

He grinned. “I’m sure someone has, but it wasn't casino related business.”

I took a sip of my wine then leaned back. “My dad is in the casino business too.”

I wasn’t sure what made me say that. It just came out. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing else. He kept waiting for me to continue, and truthfully, I wasn’t sure what the point of bringing it up was.

“Sometimes he has weird hours,” I muttered.

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