Page 38 of Tainted Promise

Shaking my hand once again, he didn’t so much as say goodbye to Vanna.

As soon as we drove through his front gates and were back on the road, Vanna’s whole body seemed to deflate.

Grinding my jaw, my hands fisting the steering wheel, I growled, “Want to tell me what the hell that was?”

She leaned her forehead against the glass, her focus outside. “That was dinner at the Volkov house.”

“He was right about one thing, though.”

“What’s that?”

“I should move into the house.”

That caused her to snap her attention to me so fast I was surprised she didn’t give herself whiplash. “What? Why?”

“He won’t be the only one noticing that we’re not living in the same house. Mom has already mentioned it to me multiple times. I’ll move some of my stuff in and spend more time there.”

She slumped back against the door, nodding. “Of course. It’s your house, after all.”

“It’s our house.”

Her head snapped to face me. “What?”

“I said it’sourhouse. Not just mine.”

“Of course.”

The need to erase the broken look on her face overtook all my common sense, and for the first time in years, I explained myself. “You know none of the stuff your dad said is true. He’s stuck in the past. A past we all need to move on from.” When she didn’t move at all, only continued to look at me, I rambled on. “And I don’t have a mistress. I wouldn’t disrespect you that way.”

The words finally eased some of the worry lines on her face, and the tension in her body lessened slightly.

Once we were back, I walked Vanna inside, finding myself not wanting to leave yet. Maybe moving in would be the thing to break me of my obsession. I was sure she’d have an annoying habit that would turn me off. I’d never been interested in a woman past a few dates. Vanna would be no different.

And once that happened, I could finally get back to my life. Maybe moving in was going to be the solution, after all. “The movers will get my stuff here tomorrow.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Yes, I’ll be here after my morning meetings.” Dropping a kiss on top of her head, I cleared my throat and stepped back. “Good night, Vanna.”

“Good night, Gabriel.”

Every step that took me farther away from her seemed heavier than the last. But I finally made it to my car, speeding out of the driveway and toward an apartment that had never seemed emptier.

12

VANNA

As promised,the movers came early the next morning. Despite Gabriel saying he wouldn’t move all his stuff in, they furnished an office, including bringing a lot of files. He also seemed to have brought his entire wardrobe, the movers placing it in the master bedroom.

I should have paid more attention to what they were doing instead of watching them from my position perched on a barstool in the kitchen, cup of coffee in hand. By the time I’d realized that they had moved all his stuff into the master suite I currently occupied, they were already gone again.

Cleo couldn’t hold back her laughter, soon howling with it. “You should see your face.” She pulled out her phone, holding it up. “Don’t move. I need to take a photo.”

Covering my face with my hands, I dropped my forehead on the counter, groaning. “Stop it. Not funny.” Sitting back up, I lifted a brow. “And you shouldn’t laugh since you’ll be the one helping me move all my stuff into one of the other rooms.”

Her face went red from holding in her laughter. “Did you forget you still only have one bed in the house?”

I hadn’t seen the guest bedrooms as a priority since a table and couch to sit on had seemed more important. The bedroom was on Helena’s list, but I’d asked her to sort out the outside area first. Lounging by the pool sounded much better than an extra bedroom I thought I’d never use.

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