Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
He set the phone down. The whole exchange defied expectations. Admittedly, he’d only interacted with Keira a handful of times up until marrying her, but Dmitri was a firm believer in research. He knew her, even if it was all secondhand information. Nothing in those reports gave any evidence that she’d suddenly become an obedient wife within the first week of marriage. He was tempted to chalk it up to her being sober for the first time since he’d interacted with the O’Malley family, but that didn’t feel right.
Or perhaps you’re looking for complications because you’re disappointed.
It was true that he’d enjoyed the way Keira didn’t seem to care who he was or fear him beyond all reason. Dmitri had anticipated a vigorous fight from the second she walked over the threshold of his home.
He should have known better than to pin his expectations on being continuously surprised by a single person. Keira had surprised him, but since she’d come through her withdrawal, she’d been subdued—almost submissive.
It was for the best.
The last thing Dmitri needed was a home front battle on his hands when he had the threat of the Eldridges circling. Keira’s actions might be puzzling, but it was one less thing he had to deal with in the meantime.
Truly, it was for the best.
He ignored the twinge of disappointment and picked up the phone again. It was time to get things moving.
CHAPTER SIX
Mr. Romanov had very specific criteria of what he wanted. This… does not fit that criteria.”
Keira had been going back and forth for an hour with the dressmaker Dmitri had hired. Cathy looked like she should be in a kitchen somewhere, baking cookies for her grandkids. Her long hair was unashamedly silver, and she had the plump body of a life well lived. The one time she’d smiled, it had made Keira want to do something to make that expression reappear.
But Cathy wasn’t going to win this particular argument.
She put a sweet smile on her face. “Cathy, I’d actually like three of the dresses. I’m recently married, you know, and I want to surprise my husband.”
The woman narrowed her eyes. “Then buy some lingerie.”
The two dresses Keira had her eye on were more revealing than most lingerie she’d seen, but she knew better than to say that aloud. “I plan to seduce him over a long dinner. Doing that in lingerie is trashy.”
Cathy nodded to concede the point—just like Keira expected she would. The woman chewed her bottom lip. “The black and the nude, then. Wear the green tonight. It does good things for your skin, though your hair is a mess.”
It was an effort not to roll her eyes. Yes, Mother. Getting her hair back to something resembling her natural color was high on her list, so she’d already taken steps to do that before the dinner later. “That sounds great. If you don’t mind sending Dmitri the bill…” She made a show of looking at the clock. “I have to work on my horrible hair.”
Cathy turned red, but she didn’t stammer or try to apologize. It made Keira like her, just a little bit. The woman pulled the three dresses off the racks she’d brought in and transferred them to Keira’s closet. “It’s not my place to say it, but I hope you aren’t planning on doing anything reckless.”
She smoothed out her expression. “You’re right. It’s not your place.”
Cathy stammered and blushed a deeper red. “Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. Give me five minutes and I’ll be out of here.”
Keira nodded and walked into the bathroom. She had two hours until dinner, and she needed a full hour to fix her messy hair. Going blond had seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was a decision made more to relieve her boredom than for any legit reason. She’d hated it as soon as she saw the results, but Aiden caught her on her way to the store to grab different dye and he’d made such a fuss about it, she’d felt honor bound to keep it out of spite. Reckless and stubborn to the bitter end.
She dug the box of dye out from where she’d stashed it beneath the sink. Pavel seemed to be her designated guard dog, and he’d only balked a little when she’d explained she needed to go to the store. Once she started throwing around the word tampons and describing the various sizes and specifics, he’d decided maybe it was best if she go with an escort rather than send one of the men.
Keira stripped down to her bra and went through the motions of applying the dye. It would supposedly be a rich brown when all was said and done, but she’d learned the hard way that grocery store hair dye lied. If she had a little less pride, she would have asked Dmitri to send her a stylist, but she already felt like a kept creature. No need to make it worse.