Chapter 0104

“No,” I say, narrowing my eyes, my smile dropping a little bit. I’m serious now, not playing anymore.

“But I thought…I thought you were just trying to date me for…for who I am. For the connections you

would make, if you took me away from Daniel.”

Ivan doesn’t flinch at that. Just holds my eye contact, his face steady. “Honestly, Fay?” he says, his

voice as serious as mine now. “It started that way. But you are a surprise. Every extra minute with you,”

he says, his eyes drifting down to my mouth, “has made me want to do this more and more.”

And then, slowly, he lifts his hand to the back of my neck, tangling his fingers in my hair, pulling me

closer.

I exhale, my stomach turning over with anticipation, and close my eyes.

But.

The kiss never comes.

Instead, I feel Ivan’s grip loosen, and see the color change on the inside of my closed eyelids from

purple to orange. I blink my eyes open, looking towards the now-open door leaking sunlight into the

room as Ivan straightens on his stool next to me.

“Well, Fay,” he murmurs, looking at the six guys in suits who walk into the bar, their eyes on us. “Looks

like you have a decision to make.”

They see us, then, and steadily walk over, their faces deadly.

“Fay,” the one at the front says. It’s a guy I’ve seen a hundred times in Kent’s kitchen having breakfast,

but I don’t know his name yet. “It’s time to go home now.”

I don’t say anything, just quickly shoot back my shot, flinching and wiping my mouth with my arm.

Ivan smirks at Kent’s guys, placing his still-full drink back onto the bar. “Nice afternoon we’re having,

isn’t it?” he says, cheeky.

The men ignore him, their eyes fixed on me.

I grimace and turn to Ivan. “I’d better go,” I say, sad to see it end.

“I get it,” Ivan says, hopping up from his seat and putting a hand out to help me down, which I accept.

“If he’d sent one, I could take ‘em,” he says, “but six?”

I laugh a little, nodding in agreement, my eyes fixed on his face as I hop down from my stool.

“A pleasure, Fay,” he says, surprising me then by raising my hand, still in his, to his mouth and pressing

a kiss to my knuckles, his eyes on mine the entire time.

“Thank you,” I say, fascinated by him, my words hardly more than a whisper. “It was…I’ll never forget

today.”

“Hopefully you won’t have to,” he murmurs, letting my hand go and putting his in his pocket. “I hope

that we have lots more afternoons, just like this.”

I smile at him, then, even as Kent’s guy gently takes my arm and guides me out of the bar.

Ivan’s face is the last thing I see before the door closes and I turn towards the street, blinking in the

sunlight.

“Come on, miss,” the guy says, leading me over to a black SUV idling in the road next to Ivan’s car.

“He’s not happy.”

“He never is,” I murmur, looking out the window at the bar as we drive away.

I’m about to open my mouth to ask about the change when the car comes to a stop, Kent’s guy next to

me opening the door and getting out.

And then, as soon as he moves so that I can see the front of the house, I know why.

And as I stare at Kent up there, at the top of the stairs?

I know he’s right.

“Fay,” Kent calls, from the top of the stairs. “Inside. Now.”