Page 86 of The Wrong Brother

Frank studies my face for a moment before adding casually, “You know, he spoke about Colorado very differently before this trip.”

I glance up. “Differently how?”

“Angrily. Bitterly.” Frank swirls the champagne lightly in his glass. “Then he met you.”

Heat creeps annoyingly into my face. “That’s not?—”

“You were the woman from dinner that he told me about. Roughly a month ago, was it?”

Something clicks.

“You’re the ‘friend’ he was meeting,” I murmur, head dropping back.Of course.

Frank’s eyes narrow as he watches my reaction. “Mmm. Sohementionedme.And judging by the way you’re both relieved and amused, I can only assume you were… jealous.”

“I was not jealous.”

“Youabsolutelywere, darling.”

I take a defensive sip of my mimosa. “I barely knew him.”

“And yet.”

God, I hate perceptive people. Frank watches me struggle for a response with obvious entertainment before rescuing me slightly. “For what it is worth, Ruslan looked equally irritated before we met that night.”

That surprises me enough to momentarily stop arguing.

“He did?”

Frank nods once. “He asked three separate questions about whether he looked okay before heading home.”

I stare at him.

“You’re lying.”

“I am absolutely not.”

The image of Ruslan Smirnov anxiously checking his appearance before coming home to where he had me hostage is so bizarre I nearly laugh into my drink.

“That’s horrifying,” I mutter.

“It was fascinating.”

I shake my head, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the warmth spreading through my chest. Because somewhere beneath the manipulation and chaos and violence, Rus has apparently been just as affected by this disaster as I have.

Frank notices the shift in my expression immediately.

“You care about him.” The statement comes gently this time.

I look away toward the windows. “I think it’s temporary insanity.”

“Mm.”

“He’s emotionally unavailable, criminally connected, violent, controlling, and possibly one argument away from starting a small war.”

“All true.”

“And I met him because I was drunk and trying on a dress I couldn’t afford.”