208|It's All Semantics

At reception, Holly half-expected Veronika to pop out of the shadows and threaten them with a revolver again, just as she had earlier. Her handlers were clearly just as alert as she was; their intense gazes constantly scanned the surroundings, tracking every shadow until she and Andrei were safely secured inside his car.The heavy door clicked shut, instantly cutting off the sharp chill of the outside world. The familiar smell of expensive leather and faint cologne filling the cabin was oddly comforting—a quiet sanctuary wrapped in tinted glass.Holly snapped on her seatbelt and watched through the side mirror as her bodyguards climbed into the escort vehicle behind them. They wouldn't be joining the dinner party, but she knew they would be close by, ready to step in should danger come looking for them, as it always seemed to do of late."Goodness, is it always like this?" she mumbled as she eased back in her seat."I'm sorry," Andrei replied, adjusting the rear-view mirror.Taken abac

209|A House That No Longer Felt Like Home

"I mean, how long does it take someone to respond to a meeting request? It doesn't look like he's taking my case—" Holly paused when she was done recounting her afternoon, waiting for Andrei to weigh in.He didn't reply immediately, though. And when he eventually did, it wasn't what she had expected or wanted to hear. "I thought we agreed you'd drop this."Flabbergasted, Holly gawked at Andrei, trying to recall when she had ever agreed to drop her investigation into Katherine and Cooper."You promised you wouldn't look into your father," Andrei continued in the same tight tone he'd used since the topic first came up."I haven't looked into him yet—""Haven't you!""Of course not!""Well, we both know that looking into Katherine might open up a can of worms about your father, and we agreed—""I don't remember agreeing to anything of the sort," Holly said, a sharp edge to her voice. "In fact, I only agreed to stop pestering you about getting one of your guys to help me. That's all.""Ho

210|Fairy Godmother

Holly returned to the main atrium, not in the least surprised to see Nanette and Mrs Horowitz still hovering near the stairs. They both made a point of staring a little too long at the bottle in her hand, the housekeeper pursing her lips disapprovingly as Holly brushed past them and headed upstairs to her old room.She dug through her closet, reaching deep into the back of the cupboards where she'd long ago stowed a medium-sized wooden toy box. Gripping the handles, she pulled it out and slid it over to the foot of her bed. She sat gingerly on the mattress edge, her heart tightening as she flipped the lid open and found her childhood staring right back at her. Stilling her emotions against the sudden flood of memories, Holly rummaged through the contents until her fingers found exactly what she was looking for: two collector's edition ballerina Barbie dolls.Still preserved inside their original boxes, the dolls were miniature masterpieces of tulle and satin. One was wrapped in a deli

211|Haunting Sorrow

Night had long crept in by the time Andrei drove into the heart of Green Point."What do you think?" he asked, snatching Holly's attention away from the eco-friendly high-rise flats flashing by. "Should we check out a few places here? I'll call Jax and ask him to line up a few viewings. Maybe three or so? What do you think?"Holly simply nodded. She was too focused on the butterflies in her stomach, her anxiety mounting the closer Andrei brought them to their destination. She didn't even understand why she was so nervous; after all, Marybeth and Austin were just human beings like her. But a small part of her knew it wasn't that simple. Outside of his family, the Hawthornes were probably Andrei's closest friends, so it made sense that the people-pleaser in her would desperately want to make a good impression on them."Milaya," Andrei gently nudged, demanding her full attention. "What's on your mind?" he asked as he navigated through the peaceful roads."Nothing," Holly replied, marvell

212| A Well-Guarded Secret

Gently untangling herself from the collective embrace, Holly stood up, straightened her posture, and smoothed down her dress before greeting her hosts warmly."I'm Holly Anderson—" she started, but the words faltered the moment Andrei cleared his throat beside her."Ivanov… it's Holly Ivanov," he corrected smoothly, much to Marybeth and Austin's amusement."Yes, what he said," Holly murmured, feeling a sudden, warm blush creep up her cheeks. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you both," she added, offering her hand to Marybeth.Marybeth didn't take it. Instead, she stepped right past Holly's outstretched hand and pulled her into a quick, warm hug, air-kissing both her cheeks. "Andrei has told us so much about you.""Good things only, I hope," Holly said, her nerves finally starting to ease."Only good things," Austin laughed, stepping in to give Holly a big hug of his own before winking at Andrei. "But, honestly, we had to beat most of it out of him. Man's been keeping you a well-guarde

213| Shaky Starts Don't aAways Mean Bad Endings

As Holly stood there, gazing at the distant city lights dotting the night skyline, she could see why Austin was so head over heels for Marybeth. She was warm, kind, open, and so easy to like. For someone as lonely as Holly, she was someone she desperately wanted to befriend.Marybeth was easy to talk to, and perhaps that was the reason Holly opened up to her, despite her heart telling her never to trust another woman again. The last time she had, she was sabotaged on stage, and her career was ruined in the blink of an eye. But Holly was only human, and just like anyone else, she craved connection. So she opened up to Marybeth, voicing things she had barely admitted to herself."Ours isn't a story about love," she began, half-turning to look at Marybeth. "It's about survival. We both desperately needed each other.""Isn't that how most legendary love stories begin?" Marybeth murmured, leaving her place to stand beside Holly. "Look at Austin and me. He needed a mother for Orly, and I ne