Page 76 of Chains of Recompense
Before we cooked up this whole alliance against the Tanakas, I imagined I would be living with my parents and brothers until the end of my days.
Not that they would mind. I’m grateful to have such a close, supportive family. In truth, I was surprised they even entertained the idea of an arrangement with Raf in the first place.
I suppose the only thing that can overrule an Irish temper is stealing what belongs to them.
Plus, my mistake with Raf five years ago didn’t come without its own blessings—in a roundabout way.
He might have cost me a lot the night he broke my heart, but he did also give me things I never imagined I could want so badly—things I’ve cherished from our time together.
Not that I’ll ever tell him that.
“You and Raf probably haven’t even had a chance to talk about it yet, have you?” Evi observes, drawing me from my reverie, and I blush as I realize my silence says a lot more than I want it to say.
Giving a nervous laugh, I turn back to my reflection. “No, we’re still… working out the, um, kinks in our everyday communications.”
I know I’ve been terrible about holding up my end of the deal lately.
Raf would be fully within his rights to call me out on my behavior, but he hasn’t—which makes me suspect he’s far more aware of how deeply he hurt me that night than he’s willing to let on.
That’s fine by me. His family might have noticed how… frigid we’ve been. But it’s temporary, and I can pull myself together well enough to put on a performance tonight.
“Well, if you’re happy with the dress,” Evi says, “I actually scheduled someone to come out to the house so we can have something of a spa day—you know, get our hair, makeup, and nails done, just for fun. A little gift for all the hard work we’ve put in on the house.”
Releasing a breathy sigh, I smile. “That sounds perfect.”
It’s 5:15 by the time Evi and I are finished getting ready—and Miko’s wife Anika even came to join us, which made my usually boring and harried day of getting ready for a fancy event a fun girls’ day I’m hoping we can do again before my time here is done.
I’ve spent little time with the Russian beauty I now call a sister-in-law, but it’s clear that she and Evi have a sisterly bond that makes me miss Siobhan in a way I never knew possible.
Anika is less bubbly and warm than Evi, but she’s still astonishingly kind and probably one of the most elegant women I’ve ever met.
From the tips of her platinum-blond hair to her toes, she’s sheer feminine perfection, and I can see why the oldest Chiaroscuro brother fell in love with her.
Honestly, both women are a testament to our sex—and it baffles me that they could be so effervescently happy with the men they were forced to marry.
Even if Miko and Sandro are gods among men in the looks department.
But I bite my tongue on the subject, choosing instead to appreciate the day of laughter and gossip as we get ready for the charity gala.
I take a moment to stand back and watch the girls descend the stairs in their beautiful dresses that Evi made.
Anika goes first in her long-sleeve sapphire-blue velvet sheath dress that’s meant to showcase her adorably prominent baby bump.
And yet, it’s still flattering to her slender collar bones with its boatneck collar, and the thigh-high slit offers a glimpse of her sparkling pumps that I don’t know how she can walk in.
The color does wonders for her already-stunning blue eyes, and her perfectly coifed hair has been pulled up on one side, the deep part making her waves cascade across her other shoulder in a beautiful white-gold waterfall.
But it’s the look on Miko’s face when he sees her that says it all. It doesn’t matter that he’s a cold-blooded killer.
The love he has for his wife could burn cities to the ground, and suddenly, I can understand why Anika might fall for him—because that kind of passion is rare at best.
Then it’s Evi’s turn in her understated champagne-colored tulle ballgown with its attention-getting off-the-shoulders sweetheart neckline embroidered with delicate pink, gold, and green flowers.
The A-line cut combined with the soft, voluminous layers of her skirt mask her baby bump rather than calling attention to it. And she looks like the perfect blend of Belle and Cinderella on their way to the ball.
Sandro meets her at the bottom of the steps, his hands enclosing her slender waist as he pulls her in for a fiery kiss, not bothering to mask his open adoration of her.
Not for the first time, it feels like a punch to the gut to watch someone who looks so much like Raf be so open, so unguarded with his affections.
