What We Do in the Night (Day to Night #1) - Stylo Fantome Page 0,104

she'd ever been in love.

Wondered if she was in love with him.

He traced a finger down her arm, sighing at the feel of her smooth skin. All these pieces of her he'd grown to love over time, without even realizing it. Focusing on the incredible sex and using the money as a shield had worked for a while, but in the end, she'd wiggled right past all those defenses and snuck into his heart.

Funny, up until then, he'd been pretty sure he hadn't really had one.

“Completely ruined everything,” he sighed when his finger reached her wrist. She mumbled something in her sleep, then rolled onto her side, facing him. He smiled at her for a long moment, but it eventually devolved into a frown.

Nothing was ever simple in life. Things couldn't go on the way they were – not between them, and not in his life. She'd spoken the truth earlier, he didn't particularly like the path he was taking. He didn't want to be in corporate law, but he did it because his father demanded it. He didn't want to date women like Harper, but he did because his father required it.

A dam had been breached, and now that Ari was fully recognizing these feelings, he was having trouble understanding them and sorting them out. He wanted something more with Valentine, but he also loved the relationship they had – loved the easiness of it, loved how relaxed they were. They'd never even so much as been on a date, it was perfection.

Would that change? Would he have to meet her friends? Would he have to take her out, and remember anniversaries? Would she become demanding and nagging?

His father would never accept her, that was for sure, and while Ari was finally prepared to make some changes in his life, he didn't know how far he was willing to push his father. Pissing off Don Sharapov would close a lot of doors. Make life a lot harder than it needed to be, for both of them.

Everything was so perfect, but then she had to fall in love, and I had to grow a heart.

He sighed and rolled onto his side. Nothing had to be decided right then. They could take things slowly, one step at a time. Figure shit out.

When that was done, then he could start working on things with his father. Sure, their strained relationship would take a blow. But it had taken others, and would most likely survive this one, too. He was too integral to the firm to be cast aside, and he was his father's only child, so he couldn't be cut off from the family. Donald Sharapov would just have to learn to like Valentine, and that was it.

Shit, though, that would open a whole new can of worms. Having a real relationship with Valentine, telling his father about her, would mean Harper would learn about them. He didn't want Val on the receiving end of that kind of crazy. Wanted her to be able to finish her school year in relative peace.

Maybe that was the answer. The end of the school year. They would take the next couple months to figure out what was going on between them, and then when her project was done, Ari could approach his father. That would give him plenty of time to figure out exactly what he wanted. If his father didn't like it, well then, maybe there'd be another firm willing to take on Don Sharapov's wrath and hire Ari.

Or maybe nobody will and my father will ruin my career and I'll have nothing. Everything I'll have worked for could be gone.

“Will you like me then?” he breathed, turning to face Valentine again. “Without this apartment, without my job, without my reputation?”

He almost laughed at the thought, then he reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, gently drawing her close to him. She mumbled in her sleep, yawned, then stretched as she came halfway awake.

Valentine didn't care about those things – she never had. If anything, they had almost poisoned what had started blossoming between them. They'd probably be better off without them.

“Is something happening?” she asked, her voice full of sleep as he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him.

“Something huge,” he breathed, cradling her head against his chest. “Something amazing.”

“Oh. Okay. Wake me up when it's over,” she yawned again, then she snuggled against him.

“Don't let me ruin it,” he whispered, leaning down to speak into her hair.