Not the first words I would have used to describe my bride.
Now, flippant and antagonistic? That sounded about right.
I mean, what was the woman’s deal? Be-friending children? Essentially donating money to random people? Bouncing around all over a foreign town like she didn’t have a care in the world? Like she wasn’t the daughter of a Russian mobster and hadn’t escaped gunfire the day before? And why the hell was she taking all those pictures if she wasn’t going to post any of them online?
I re-checked her Instagram account on my phone.
Nope, not a single one.
Her last post was from three days ago.
Yes, I’d done some stalking on the plane last night after she’d daggered me with her sapphire eyes and left me for dead. Until Ace got back to me, all I had to go off of was anything that was already public information, including her Instagram account, which I had to admit, wasn’t what I’d been expecting. There weren’t a bunch of pictures of her and her friends partying it up in obscenely tight dresses, drinks in their hands, with vapid captions like, “I just love to laugh and have a good time.” I remembered seeing pictures like that of her during her modeling days.
But her Instagram was nothing at all like that.
There were artistic, scenic pictures with inspirational quotes and captions. Funny pictures and videos of babies doing hilarious things. Encouraging stories from real-life “heroes,” as she referred to them. And every selfie she posted was tasteful and often of her standing in front of some gorgeous background.
There wasn’t a single one where she was intentionally flashing her body.
It was a complete divergence from what I remembered of her public image when she’d been at the top of the modeling world and featured on the cover of almost every magazine. Back then, you would have had to have been living under a rock to miss that body. Almost every part of her had been on display at one point or another.
Though she’d never done nude shots. I specifically recalled her stating in an interview once that all of her contracts back then had “no nudity” clauses in them.
But little had been left to the imagination with some of the outfits she’d been photographed in.
Back then, her light blond hair had been long, about halfway down her back. Now, it barely reached her shoulders and was cut in more of a blunt style. She had bangs, too. The look made her appear older, but in a good way. Sophisticated, almost. Chic. Stylish.
Not going to lie. I liked this new look a hell of a lot better. It suited her.
All right, it was sexy as fuck.
There, I said it.
When I realized Lexi had gotten too far down the street, I sped up, striding after her at a brisk pace. I couldn’t explain why, but I didn’t like her being out of my sight. Most likely because if anything happened to her, my deal with Sergei would be off. I needed to keep her safe, so he would sign over his full shares of Kozlov Industries at the end of this.
That was the only reason why I cared whether or not anyone bothered her. That she wasn’t being followed. Except by me, of course. Like it or not, she was basically my responsibility now. And I didn’t shirk on my responsibilities.
Then what the hell have you been doing for the last ten years?
I caught back up to Lexi and watched her walk under an archway that led to a wine bar. Before she disappeared inside the building, she leaned down to give the little girl shadowing her a big hug and kiss on the cheek. Both of them actually looked a little crestfallen as they parted.
My body was operating on its own as I followed her into the wine bar. I had no clue what was compelling me to be near her—keep her close—but I couldn’t seem to shut off that part of my brain.
She took a seat at a small table on the outdoor patio, right next to the stone wall that overlooked the Adriatic Sea. She snapped a few quick pictures of the view before dropping her phone onto the table and just staring out at the water. It was nearing lunchtime, which in this country, meant everyone already had a glass of red wine on their table.
My feet were moving before I even knew what was happening. “It seems