Se connecter~ EVANGELINE’S POV ~Blaire had been acting strange since she arrived.She kept glancing toward the building entrance every few minutes while pretending to sort through the files she had brought for Damien, and twice she started a sentence and stopped herself before finishing it.I noticed but said nothing.I was in the middle of working on the third illustration for the post-Paris collection when she finally cracked."Mrs. Blackwood, could you come downstairs with me for a moment?"I looked up from my sketchbook. "Why?""Mr. Blackwood asked me to show you something when I arrived."I put down my pencil and looked at her properly. Her expression was the kind that people wear when they are trying very hard to look neutral about something they are not neutral about at all."What did he do?" I asked, already guessing what the fuss might be about."I really think you should just come and see for yourself.”We entered the private section of the building, the side that opened into a covered
~ DAMIEN'S POV ~“Folks, this flight is going to be three hours or more. Buckle up, we are about to take off,” Roman announced from where he was sitting.He was the one who was going to be our pilot today. We were heading back to New York.Eva didn't even want to stay back for the gala they had organized for her. She said she didn't need it.Eva slept beside me for most of the flight, curled against the window with a blanket pulled to her chin.I couldn't help but watch her sleep for longer than I intended. I saw how her eyes fluttered and how long her lashes were.I thought about booking a beauty treatment for her once we got home, although I don't know if she would appreciate it.But I heard it makes women happy, so I will just take my chances.I finally looked away and worked through my overflowing emails until we landed.When the seatbelt sign went off, she stirred and sat up. She looked out the window at the runway."We're home," she whispered, and then yawned."We're home," I re
~ EVANGELINE POV ~I picked up the folder, and it was heavier than it looked.I opened it and read the header, then read it again because the first reading didn't fully sink in.The Linden contract.I knew this contract. Everyone in the European fashion world knows about this contract. It was the kind of distribution deal that did not come available often and when it did, the names competing for it were not small. John Boldwin had mentioned it at his party, congratulating Damien and also indirectly insulting me then.And yet, here it was on the dinner table in front of me.I looked up at Damien."Why are you giving this to me?"He looked like the question had not been part of his planning. His hand went to the back of his neck and he took a moment before answering."I did not know I needed a reason to give you something."I gave him a look that said ‘really bro.’"Okay, fine," he said, lifting his hands a little. "I got the contract for you before the Isabelle situation started. It
~ DAMIEN'S POV ~The hotel was quiet, just the way I wanted.I had cleared it earlier that morning before leaving because I had planned to surprise Eva.Give her the news of Alexandre being dealt with, and her winning the competition, then support it with the Linden contract. But Alexandre, I do not have.Regardless, I still wanted us to have the evening to ourselves. I planned on using the kitchen on our floor without being disturbed by staff and security.Eva went to shower, and I went to the kitchen. I had watched four videos on the subject over the past week and had taken what I considered to be reasonable notes.The recipes I had chosen were not complicated, so it was going to be easy. I was not attempting to be impressive.I just wanted to make food that was edible and warm and made with my own hands rather than ordered from somewhere.I entered the kitchen and started making the seafood pasta I had planned. An hour later, I looked at what I had made and felt satisfied.I did no
-~ EVANGELINE POV ~I found the room number Roman had sent me and stood outside the door for a moment before pushing it open.Marty was propped up against the pillows with his head bandaged and his eyes closed, and Roman was beside the bed in the chair closest to him, holding his hand with both of his, his head bent forward slightly like a man in the middle of a private conversation with himself.Neither of them heard me come in.I stood in the doorway and looked at them, and my chest tightened as thoughts of how Marty almost died because of me filled me.The tears I had been holding since the corridor in that building, since Alexandre's voice and all the possibilities that I might not have made it back, began streaming down my face. I could not stop them.I pressed my hand over my mouth as a small sound tried to escape. Roman looked up.He saw my face and stood immediately, releasing Marty's hand with a gentleness I registered even through the blur of what was happening to me.He cro
~ DAMIEN'S POV ~I gave Gustavo twenty-four hours.Not out of generosity, but out of strategy. A man who has been given time to think about what is coming makes worse decisions than a man who is caught unprepared.And I wanted Gustavo to have had time to think about it. I wanted him to sit with the possibility of what I could do when I arrived at our second meeting.When I got there, he was waiting in one of his casinos.His men were positioned around him. He even managed to look unbothered, even though I could see the lines between his eyes, a tell I had come to recognize as him being unsettled.He was not as comfortable as he wanted me to think. Good. I had had enough of him.Roman was standing at my right while Nero was at my left. The rest of my men positioned themselves at the exits before Gustavo's people had time to think about running if it came to that.I sat down across from him. Gustavo looked at me."Back so soon," he said."I told you I would be."He studied me for a mome
~ EVANGELINE'S POV ~My head was pounding when I opened my eyes. I instantly regretted it as sunlight streamed through the windows like tiny knives stabbing my brain.Fuck! Where was I?I looked around and noticed I was in a different guest room. This wasn't the room I had been staying in.Wait. Ho
~ DAMIEN'S POV~ I stared at my laptop screen but couldn't focus on the words. The events of yesterday still played in my head and I couldn't get the images out of my mind. My head kept playing out an imaginary Eva standing alone in that ballroom. Surrounded by our enemies. I even saw a video of
~ EVANGELINE ~ "You're doing fine." I turned around and saw Roman. I raised my brows in question at him. Understanding what I meant, he quickly replied. "Damien asked me to keep an eye on things." "I can handle myself." "I know. But tonight's going to be a little complicated. Trust me on t
~ EVANGELINE ~The hall exploded after Damien's announcement.Cameras flashed everywhere. Reporters screamed questions. People rushed toward the stage from all directions."Damien! How long have you known about Evangeline?""Is the marriage real or fake?"Damien's security guards moved fast. They s







