ログイン“Jas,” Adrian said.I carried the phone back toward the windows, far enough from the living room that Poppy wouldn’t immediately wander into the frame again, but close enough that I could still see her bothering Luca.“Hi,” I said.Brilliant, Jasmine.A woman with a reputation for destroying men with one eyebrow, and now I was opening a conversation with hi like a teenager who had forgotten her homework.“I heard what happened at the gala.” Adrian studied my face longer than someone who only wanted to know how I was doing. “Were you hurt?”“No.”“Are you sure?”“I’m drinking coffee and threatening people with croissants. My basic functions are normal.”The corner of his mouth moved slightly. “That’s reassuring.”“You?”“Me?”“You look like you slept inside a washing machine.”“Thank you.”“That was a medical observation.”“I didn’t sleep much.”I knew, and guilt quietly made itself comfortable in my chest, not dramatic enough to demand attention, but persistent enough that I couldn’t
Adrian FaceTime.Because this morning apparently didn’t already have enough coffee going down the wrong pipe, unhinged headlines, and a four-year-old inventing the term security romance before nine.“Daddy Adrian!” Poppy saw the screen first.Her hand immediately reached for my phone, still covered in croissant crumbs and chocolate she claimed was “not dirt, just dessert that moved.”I pulled the phone away. “Hands.”“They’re clean.”“Your fingers look like they just murdered bread.”“That’s an accusation.”“And an accurate one.”Salma handed over a wet napkin without being asked. Poppy wiped her hands carelessly, mostly moving the chocolate from her fingers to her wrist instead of actually cleaning it. I took over, wiping each finger one by one while the phone kept vibrating on the counter.Across the island, Sebastian just set down his coffee mug.I answered the call.Adrian’s face appeared on the screen.The light where he was was dimmer than the Monaco morning. His dark brown hair
Poppy finally fell asleep at 1:12 a.m.I knew the exact time because I checked my phone while standing in the bedroom doorway, watching Sebastian try to pull Bunny out from under Poppy’s back without waking her.Half asleep, Poppy immediately curled into a tiny dumpling and mumbled, “Lawyer stays.”Sebastian backed away two steps and surrendered.I didn’t comment on the fact that a man who could move international security teams with two sentences had just lost to a stuffed rabbit with a soft head.I saved it.For a more appropriate day.Morning arrived far too bright.The Larvotto penthouse, which had looked like an expensive bunker the night before, was now under attack from Monaco sunlight on every side. The enormous windows made the sea look too blue, the sky too clean, and my life far too exposed.I sat on a kitchen barstool with my hair tied up carelessly, the champagne satin pajamas still clinging to my body, and black coffee in my hand.In front of me was a plate of croissants
I noticed the shift even though he didn’t say anything. “News?”“The croissants will be here in five minutes,” he said.I gave him a flat look. “I almost respect your priorities.”“And the second team is downstairs.”“What for?”“Additional shift coverage.”Luca lifted his tablet. “We’ve also moved all villa communications to a closed network. No new access since the transfer.”I nodded, but the back of my mind still refused to relax.It probably wouldn’t relax again for several years.Poppy threw herself onto the rug in the middle of Bunny’s office. Her small body rolled once before stopping flat on her back, her hair spreading in a wild halo around her head.“I’m not sleepy,” she said, eyes already half closed. “I’m just testing the floor.”“With your face?”“Science.”Sebastian walked to the small kitchen, got another glass, then came back and placed it on the table beside me.Cold water again.This time, I hadn’t asked.I looked at the glass longer than I should have.He had also
The hot water finally made me feel slightly less like a woman who had just been evacuated from a charity gala because the service doors had developed criminal ambitions.Slightly.I came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my hair, my skin still warm, and the champagne satin pajamas from the closet.They fit too well.Not tight. Not loose. The kind of fit that meant someone had once paid attention to the width of your shoulders, the length of your legs, and the fact that you hated sleeves that were too narrow.I studied my reflection in the bedroom mirror.Without makeup, I looked more tired. The last traces of lipstick were gone. My green eyes were still sharp, only now they were surrounded by clean skin flushed slightly pink from the hot water. My wet hair fell down my back, making the fabric cling coldly to my skin.I looked like a woman who should be asleep.Unfortunately, my life was being written by someone who hated letting women sleep.Poppy’s voice carried clearly
The sentence wasn’t long enough to be an explanation. Not clear enough to count as a confession.Very Sebastian, obviously.The man could answer a question the way someone set a knife on a table. It didn’t stab anyone outright, but everyone in the room knew it was sharp.I narrowed my eyes. “That sounds like an expensive sentence your secretary put together for you.”“The clothes are new. The staff bought them. The tags are still attached.”“That doesn’t answer my question.”“No woman has ever lived here.”“Visited?”“Not in the way you mean.”“Beautiful. A technical answer. The favorite language of men with too many properties.”He looked at me for a long moment. “I never brought anyone here to replace you.”My chest did something I had absolutely not authorized, so I crushed it beneath an imaginary heel.“You’re awfully confident if you think every woman in your life is lining up to replace me.”“Not every woman.”“Wow. Should I cry, or call the tax office because an ego that large







