“Yes, for now.”
I grunt in annoyance. She’s pushing my buttons, and by the look on her face, she knows it. Unfortunately, I am backed into a corner with this. I need the dinner to go well. It’s more important than this future battle I am going to have with her regarding our marriage and convincing her to stay in it. Although it doesn’t feel more important.
“Fine. I accept the terms of your deal.” My voice comes out gruff and agitated.
“Good. Then I’ll be the perfect wife on Friday night at seven,” she smiles, spinning away from me and walking back into the house.
***
It’s eight-thirty on Friday night, and my family is seated around the dinner table at Marlen’s house. Blair is next to me, leaning slightly toward me with my hand on her lap and her fingers intertwined between mine. She placed my hand there. She’s been very affectionate since we arrived here, and it’s making it difficult for me to concentrate.
“So, how did you two meet then?” Bardil asks, throwing me a challenging stare.
So far, she has been answering questions about her background and handling my brothers’ underhanded interrogation quite well.
I glance at Blair, who smiles at me. She grins and answers for both of us. “I literally walkedintohim on the street. He had an iced coffee in his hand, and I knocked it all over him. I felt terrible.”
“She insisted on buying me a new shirt,” I chuckle.
“And he insisted that I help him choose it. So, we ended up going shopping together,” she adds.
“You went shopping with a stranger?” Marlen asks Blair.
“Technically yes, but it didn’t feel like he was a stranger. I don’t really know how to explain it, and it probably sounds silly to say out loud, but it was one of those moments where you just know…”
I chuckle. “It was the same for me. I saw her, and right away I just knew.”
She rests her head briefly on my shoulder, her eyes full of warmth and her smile genuine.
“He asked me to dinner after shopping.”
“And from then on, I couldn’t stay away from her. We got married quite quickly. I realized that to anyone looking in from the outside, it looked completely nuts. Like we were moving too fast…” I speak.
“So, you kept it a secret,” Bardil comments.
“We wanted to enjoy it in private for a while,” I say.
She bites her bottom lip, her cheeks flushing pink.
“Why did you start that company, though?” Bardil asks.
“I didn’t like the idea of her being so exposed working at the bookstore where she used to work. After she found out the truth about who I am, my connections, my family…I just wanted to keep her close and safe,” I explain.
“It doesn’t bother you that he’s part of the mafia?” Marlen asks, his eyes piercing into Blair.
“It was a bit of a shock at first. I’ve never really had experience with stuff like that. But at the end of the day, I don’treally care about what he does…it’s about who he is as a person,” she replies. “I quite like who he is as a person,” she grins.
“Idon’tlike the fact that we never got to have a big wedding!” Talia complains. “I think you have to make it up to us by planning properly and redoing the vows in front of the family,” she grumbles.
“It’s not a bad idea. I guess we can do that later on,” I say, glancing at Blair.
“I don’t mind having a proper wedding. It was all quite rushed. It would be nice to wear a pretty dress and all that,” she agrees.
Talia and Blair start discussing wedding ideas, and the guys ask me a few more questions to settle their curiosity. By the time dinner is finished and we’re all standing outside having a drink, things seem to be settling down, and they appear to have accepted the whole thing.
Bardil is talking to Blair. My eyes keep drifting toward them even though Marlen and I are discussing some work stuff I’ve been neglecting.
Blair looks so relaxed with Bardil. And when she spoke to Marlen earlier, she looked really relaxed around him, too. She laughs easily and doesn’t have any of that skittishness she has with me, where she looks like she wants to run away if I reach for her.