Page 33 of Bought to Bear Bratva Heir

It was only then that I realized my hands had clenched into knuckle-white fists at my sides.

She lifted an eyebrow in a silent question.

"I’m sorry, Graham," she finally looked away. "But I am taking the time. The call was just a courtesy. I have that right. I have—" her hand paused in Alec’s hair, and she smiled down athim. Her whole face came alive when she looked at him, and his did exactly the same.

How had I not noticed how much they looked alike when they smiled? They both had such expressive faces. Full of life.

Rage boiled through me. They looked like they doted on each other. Like they had been as thick as thieves his entire life. When Alec looked at her, he didn’t see the woman who had abandoned him.

He saw his mom.

"I have family things to do here. No, I don't know how long it will take. I’m sorry, but—"

She paused, and for a second her eyelashes fluttered and a blush crept up her throat to heat her cheeks.

"No, Graham, this hasn’t got anything to do with what happened before I left," she said softly.

My head snapped up, a frown pinching my eyebrows together. What the hell did she mean by that? What had happened between her and her boss that would cause her to blush?

Had she been sleeping with him?

"I can still take my classes online."

Again, my eyebrows shot up. She was still taking classes? Hadn’t she said she’d got her Ph.D.? Or was she now studying something else?

It just went to prove how little I knew about her life now. How much I had missed, and that just made me angrier. I never wanted Alec to see that side of me. Not ever.

Turning on my heel, I stalked away, heading towards the home gym with the amazing views over the city, but halfway there, I changed direction.

Exercise might help distract me usually, but that wasn’t going to cut it this time. Not until I found out every single thing that Daisy had been doing for the last six years.

The slight rapof knuckles brought my attention away from my computer screen and back to the present. Frowning, I stared around. It was dark. When had that happened? I had been so engrossed in what I was reading and finding out that I hadn’t even realized that the day had gotten away from me.

"Come in."

Daisy's head poked around the door, and I slammed the laptop closed guiltily. "What can I do for you?" Pushing my chair back, I studied her. She had changed; the jeans were a little snug, but not in a muffin-top way. She looked the picture of domestic serenity. T-shirt showing a little line of her stomach, and her blonde hair piled on top of her head so little tendrils framed her face.

"I just wanted you to know that I’ve cooked and bathed Alec." She pushed open the door a little further, coming into view totally. "And he’s in bed, asleep."

"I—" I wanted to slam my hands down onto the desk. "How dare you take over that part of his routine. I always do the bedtime routine."

The second her eyes widened in shock, I knew I had overstepped.

"Okay, good to know." Pausing in the doorway, she studied me. "I won’t do that again, but you weren’t available because you had locked yourself in here with your," her eyes darted to the laptop, and she shrugged, "whatever you were doing. Anyway, I have plated up leftovers if you are hungry. I’ll say good nightnow." She turned to leave. Clearly, Daisy wasn’t in the mood for a fight tonight, but I was.

Boy, I was.

"It’s not going to work, you know," I called out after her.

"What isn’t?"

Throwing my head back, I laughed. She could act innocent all she wanted, but I knew what game she was playing. I’d fallen for it once before, but I wasn’t going to fall for it again.

"Cooking, you did that once before, remember?" Seven years ago, she had cooked my favorite meal and made me fall in love with her. Was she really stupid enough to believe it would happen that way again?

"That’s not what I am doing, Ilya." Her voice sounded tired. "It wasn’t what I did back then, either. But I don’t expect you to understand basic human behavior."

My eyes narrowed at that. "I understand the game you are playing perfectly fine, Daisy."