Monster A Dark Arranged Marriage Romance - Vanessa Waltz Page 0,44

hospital with a breathing tube. Zero regrets, but I hated losing control. I had a bad feeling that she could make me do anything.

Hell, I’d already let so many things slide. I could’ve chained her to my penthouse and forced her to stop defying me. Despite my worst instincts, I just couldn’t do that to her.

Christian tapped the hood. “Tony, you’re obsessed with Evie for a reason. You’re obviously in love with her.”

Ice twisted through my heart.

“I don’t love her.”

“Don’t you?”

“I’m bending the biker girl to my will.”

“You give her more freedom than I would.”

“I’m her husband. I know what’s best for her. Not you.” It had nothing to do with catching feelings, and Christian needed to back off. “Watch Lifetime if you need more relationship drama, and stay out of my business.”

“I’d love to, but I’m around her all day,” he grunted, taking another drag from the cigarette. “Guess who she wants to talk about?”

Me?

My mouth slackened.

“When is Tony’s birthday? Where is he? Why does he ignore me?” Christian piped up in falsetto, his mirth gut punching me. “There’s only so much I can say.”

I cringed.

“Look, T…you’re going to do whatever you want. I don’t expect you to listen to me, but you should go in there. You should’ve seen her smile when she got your flowers. She wants you. She misses you. Take her out. Spend time with her before it’s too late.”

I had to stop listening to Christian.

“I’m keeping a distance.”

“Fine,” he sighed, roughly. “So you won’t have a problem if I have dinner with her?”

What the fuck?

I shot him a poisonous glare.

Christian stepped back, hands raised. “She asked if I wanted Thai food. Seemed pretty sad when I told her no.”

I was out of the car and shoving the bastard aside before he’d finished his sentence. Then I made a beeline for the store, my teeth clenched. I almost ripped the door off its hinges, earning a side-eye from the security guard.

I headed into the workshop I hadn’t seen in weeks. She’d added shelving for her products. Her useless father had finally come through with the jewelry.

Evie sat at the spinning wheel, polishing a gleaming object. A messy braid coiled her neck. She switched off the machine and faced me, glowing.

“I got your flowers. They’re beautiful.” Evie bounced off the bench and slid her arms in my jacket, tightening around me. She squeezed hard, realigning the heat in my chest. “Thanks.”

My hands splayed over her shoulders. Her warmth braced me for the first time in ten days. God, I’d needed this. The nagging, annoying ache that’d bothered me since I left her finally shut the hell up.

I’d missed her.

I’d checked on her from afar. The camera she’d never found gave me snapshots of my wife, and I made a point of sending her something every day—flowers, meals, coffee. I needed her to be all right but I’d ignored my needs for too long.

Holding her soothed me. It loosed the tension knotting my muscles.

She pulled away, beaming. “So what brings you here?”

It took a moment to remember why I’d stormed in here.

“Did you really ask Christian out for dinner?”

Evie snorted. Her smile slowly fell. “Are you being serious?”

“He said you wanted to get Thai with him. I told you I’m not okay with that.”

“Jesus, Tony. He’s pulling your leg. I’ve had Thai once. Food poisoning. I puked for twelve hours straight. To this day, I can’t stand coconut.”

Wait, he lied?

I frowned, shaking my head. It made sense when I pictured the bastard’s smug grin. I wouldn’t visit her, so he made up a cock-and-bull story to light a fire under my ass. I’d seized the bait like an idiot.

“What is your favorite food, then?”

“Don’t have one. I’ve always been obsessed with Japanese cuisine but it’s so hard to convince bikers to eat anything that isn’t fried or barbecued.” She returned to the bench and grabbed a microfiber cloth. “It’s like forcing you to put ketchup on pasta.”

“I did that as a kid to piss off my mom.” I sat next to Evie as she buffed out a ring, smirking. “What are you making?”

She shrugged. “Nothing special.”

“Can I see?”

Evie dropped the gold band onto my palm. It was plain, except for the claws that cradled an empty socket.

“I’m setting it with a gray sapphire. I’ll sell it for two grand.”

“You need to jack up your prices.”

“I’ve studied the market, Tony. I know how much that gem is worth.”

“Yeah, but you’re not a jewel peddler. You’re building a brand.”