Page 32 of Marrying My Ex's Brother
“Student?”
“No.”
“Runaway?”
My smile falters.
He notices. Of course he notices.
“I’m joking,” he says smoothly. “Relax.”
I laugh again, but this time it feels less convincing.
He orders another bottle. Then another. Each time, he presses money into my hand, folded small. The tips are more than I made all day at Misha’s.
I keep looking for Marina, but I can’t see her through the crowd.
“Your friend left?” Leonid asks.
“She’s around.”
“Good. Friends are important.” His eyes stay on my face. “But you seem like someone who needs better friends.”
There’s something in the sentence I don’t like.
I step back slightly. “I should check on another table.”
He touches my wrist.
Not hard. Just enough.
“Stay. We’re still ordering.”
I glance down at his hand. Marina’s voice comes back to me.If a man touches you, move away like it was an accident.
I gently pull my wrist free and smile. “I’ll come back.”
He lets me go.
For a few seconds, I think that’s the end of it. Then a man near the booth shifts, blocking the gap between me and the room. Not dramatically. Not like in movies. He just happens to stand where I need to pass, drink in hand, smiling like nothing is wrong.
Leonid leans back. “Sit for a minute, Anna.”
“I’m working.”
“You’re working for tips, yes? I’m tipping.”
The men at the table laugh quietly. My skin prickles.
I look toward the bar again. Still no Marina. “I need to find my friend,” I say.
“She’s busy.”
The way he says it makes my stomach tighten.
A waitress passes nearby, and I turn toward her. “Excuse me?—”
She doesn’t stop.
