“Alex, I think it’d be a great opportunity for you to speak to him, and especially for everyone to meet your fiancée.” Why on earth do they want to meet her? “Staying away from New York won’t solve your problems. It will only feed the media and destroy your image.”
Yet as I look at Petra, as she gazes off into the distance, she reminds me of everything we ran away from. “You have no idea what happened, Mike.”
“True, I don’t know what happened between the two of you and what led to this bloody war, but what I do know is that you aren’t gonna keep your allies for much longer if you stay away from them.” I can’t deny it, Mike has got a point. I rub at my chin while he continues, “Roy’s having brunches and dinners with clients and stakeholders every single day, while you are God knows where.”
“Is everything alright?” Petra asks as she remains sitting in front of me while listening only to my side of the conversation.
I turn the phone away and explain to her briefly, “Mike is hosting a party for his birthday next week, and he’s inviting us.” Then, as I see her raise her eyebrows in understanding, I bring the iPhone again to my ear and ask, “Do you think Roy is still trying to vote me out?”
While I can’t see his face or body language, I feel him hesitant in giving me a straight answer. “I do, yeah, which is why I think you should come back.” His voice carries a seriousness I wasn’t expecting.
Afterward, some beats of silence ensue as I consider him. “Thank you, Mike. I’ll let you know if I do.”
Once I hang up, my eyes scan Petra’s face and, knowing exactly why we left Manhattan in the first place, I say, “If you don’t want to return, I understand.”
She has that glitter in her eye, and I wonder why. “Remember what I told you before we left the port?” she asks, her voice unusually warm. “As soon as I’m with you, I can be anywhere.” She then leaves her chair and goes to sit on my lap. Her jasmine scent immediately hits my nose as she wraps her arms around me, her lips at inches from mine. “It doesn’t matter if we are here in Bermuda, or New York, or Singapore… Home is where you are.”
My heart flutters at her words, and I lean into her, claiming her lips. I might have kissed her a million times already, but it will never be enough to tell her how much she means to me. “You won’t have to see your parents or Dr. Nel,” I tell her. “I’ll make sure Ryan takes care of your safety. You can stay in our condo and study from there.”
Despite doing my best to reassure her, Petra seems distant, lost in her own thoughts. “Can I ask you something?” And her question confirms just that. “Since we are staying here only until next week, can we go and visit the island?”
Wow. That’s the last thing I thought she was concerned about. Feeling playful at her question, I can’t help but ask, “Will Ms. Van Gatt hit me again with her little fists if I say no?”
“Oh, c’mon,” she chuckles in amusement, before doing exactly that. “It doesn’t even hurt.”
“How can you be so sure?” I ask, teasing her. “I might have internal bruises.”
She huffs, shaking her head, and my enjoyment only keeps growing. “You love making fun of me, don’t you?” Her soft arms have already brushed back up against my neck, making me stiffen slightly.
I want to taunt her even more, but she shuts me up by pressing her lips on mine in a kiss filled with untamed passion. I forget everything I had in mind as she wastes no time delving her tongue into my mouth to stroke mine. I groan at the connection, my arousal intensifying. I fucking love it when she shows me how much she wants me. My body electrifies, and while her tongue keeps caressing mine so sensually, it takes everything in me not to unfasten my shorts and sit her on my boner. I’m still on my dad’s terrace after all, and the last thing I need is for him or Mona to come in and see this. So I break our kiss, and while her mouth goes down to my neck where she leaves a wet trail, I manage to say, “I can show you a few places, but you're gonna have to give me something first.”
Petra goes up again, and her eyes meet mine with a mix of desire and curiosity. “What’s that?” she coos.
The corners of my mouth lifts at her cute little voice, and after leaning in, I whisper, “You.”
Chapter 5
Manhattan, October 24, 2020
Matthew Bradford
“Pops, she’s here!” I shout as I watch Tess leaving her Uber from the window of our living room. Then I hear footsteps approaching, and looking over my shoulder, I find Pops checking himself in the mirror of the entryway. A quick smile plays on my lips as I observe the whole thing, and I can’t help but ask, “Are you wearing that new cologne I got you?”
He raises a brow at me, cocking his head to the side, his lips in a straight line. “Matt, this is not a date. It’s purely professional.”
Yeah, right… “Well, you have my blessing if you ever consider dating her.” His eyes widen in surprise, which is understandable since out of all the women he dated, I’d never liked any of them. “Honestly, you’d make a great couple.”
“She’s a Dutch politician,” Dad snaps, desperate to find an excuse.
“And you are an American one,” I reply, my eyes still on him. “That can only be good for both countries.”
His attention goes back to the mirror, and he adjusts his collar and sleeves. “I’m just helping a mother get her daughter back while putting a predator behind bars. That’s all.” Pops might play it down, but I saw how they looked at each other at the last meeting. The smiles they exchanged wouldn’t even fool a blind man. Seriously, Roy was such a dumbass to let her go. She’s so beautiful, poised, and super smart. I’ve got no idea why Pops insisted on having me as a third wheel though. Anyway, I guess it’s just to cover up that this is in fact a date. As I come to think of it, I take my iPhone and discreetly check if Petra has replied to my last message, in which I asked her if she was okay and when we could meet again to finish our presentation for philosophy.
No, of course she didn’t. She is most likely mad at me for siding with her parents against her godfather while she keeps romanticizing her toxic relationship with him. I shake my head, hoping one day she will see through it. Yeah, I’m a fool to keep hopes up, but she’s just eighteen, and in my book, that’s an age where we make a lot of mistakes; including being in love with the wrong person. That’s part of life though. We need those bad experiences to grow. Her mother is a perfect example of it; maybe if she had never been married to Roy, she wouldn’t be the Tess Hagen that she is today.
The sound of the doorbell echoes around the apartment, so I run a hand on my hair to compose it a bit, and hurry up to open the door. “Hey,” I greet warmly as Tess walks in. “Thank you for coming.” We exchange a handshake, but Tess leans forward and to my surprise gives me a cheek kiss. She then goes and greets my dad, letting the smell of her perfume permeate the air of the hallway. I notice how Dad tries his best to remain stoic and unmoved by the kiss she gives him on the cheek. I swear, Pops looks like a teenager as he cuts eye contact, a bit troubled, and invites her to the living room.