Hold You Close

by Jessica Linden

  And now he was making another one.

  “Shit.” He took off at a run in the direction she’d gone, pushing open the double doors she’d just disappeared through. The hallway was empty. Where the hell could she have gone? In those shoes, it wasn’t like she could have gotten anywhere fast. He retraced their steps, even checking the family restroom, but she was nowhere.

  That couldn’t be true. She had to be somewhere. She must have made it back to the ballroom already. Unless she’d left?

  Damn it.

  He hightailed it to the front entrance to see if she was waiting for her car, but all he found was the valet leaning against a column, smoking something that smelled suspiciously of weed.

  The skinny valet, who barely looked old enough to drive, quickly straightened and put out his cigarette. “Can I help you, sir?”

  “Did a woman come by here?”

  The valet shook his head. “No one’s been out here for the last half hour.”

  Tony nodded and headed back toward the ballroom, feeling reasonably secure he’d find her there. It was stupid. Asinine. He’d only spent twenty minutes with her. But damn, something had clicked inside him. It was like he suddenly knew what was missing from his life.

  And what’s more, there was something between them. He’d felt it, and he knew she did too. This wasn’t one-sided. When he’d kissed her, she’d melted into him. It had made sense and was bat-shit crazy at the same time.

  Because this was Ginny. Veronica’s little sister. He’d always felt a pull toward her, but he’d always denied it.

  Until he’d learned Veronica had cheated on him and Ginny confronted him. When she told him the attraction between them wasn’t one-sided—it wasn’t just in his head, then kissed him. It was explosive.

  He closed his eyes, getting lost in the memory for a moment. He’d never forget what she’d said to him—“You’re more than this.”

  He hadn’t needed to ask what she meant—more than the person he was with Veronica, more than the slacker rich boy who talked about dreams but never acted on them, more than what he’d let himself become.

  She’d been right about everything. But he wasn’t ready to admit it—especially about the attraction between them—so he’d run out on her like she’d just done to him. Dammit.

  Karma was a motherfucker.

  But he wouldn’t be able to ignore it this time. To pretend it never happened.

  Even if it turned out to be nothing, they owed it to themselves to explore whatever the hell this thing was that had reignited between them.

  He returned to the ballroom with a purpose and cruised around the room, trying to blend in and not to look like the stalker he felt like. After circling the large room twice, he acknowledged that she might have somehow slipped past him. In a crowd this size, it wouldn’t be hard.

  Tony rejoined his grandmother, who had found a seat along the back wall. She wouldn’t admit it, but these functions took it out of her. Too bad, because she actually enjoyed them.

  “Where did you disappear to?” She sipped her champagne.

  He grimaced and checked his watch. Shit. He’d left her alone nearly an hour. He was such an asshole.

  “Sorry,” Tony replied, knowing that was inadequate. “I ran into an old friend.”

  “Oh? Anyone I know?”

  He ground his teeth. Yeah, Nonna knew her. Nonna had loved Ginny. Always liked her better than Veronica, but hadn’t said so until after he and Veronica called it quits.

  The older woman had always been a good judge of character.

  Tony was saved from responding when the string quartet stopped playing and a man took to the microphone.

  “I want to thank everyone for being here tonight. As you know, all of the proceeds will go toward Relay for Life and the new cancer wing at our very own Holbright Memorial Hospital.”

  Tony took a closer look at the speaker. Hell, it was Daniel Frazier, Ginny’s father. The man looked like he’d aged a decade in the three years since he’d seen him last. Daniel was a nice man and had seemed pleased by the match between Tony and Veronica. When they’d split, Daniel was probably more upset about it than Veronica.

  “I hope you will all join us tomorrow morning for the 5k run,” Daniel continued. “Pledge sheets are available in the lobby.”

  Tony almost snorted. Not likely. This crowd was great for pulling out their checkbooks when there was a buffet and an open bar, but they weren’t the marathoning sort.

  “I promise I won’t take up too much of your time, but for those of you who aren’t morning people and don’t want to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow—” he paused while the audience chuckled, “you can still make a huge difference tonight. All of the donations made tonight and tomorrow will be matched dollar for dollar.”

  Light clapping sprinkled through the crowd along with a low murmur.

  Daniel put his hand up for silence. “I know. I was as surprised as you, but it’s true. We have a donor pledged to match your wallets with his. You might already know him, but I’d like to formally introduce my future son-in-law, Fedor Barkov.”

  Tony frowned. Veronica was already engaged again?

  Then his heart plummeted to his toes as he watched Barkov step forward.

  With Ginny right beside him.

  * * *

  Bile rose in Ginny’s throat as she stood with Fedor. Hopefully her smile looked genuine and not like she was choking on her own vomit.

  You’re doing this for your family. You can do it.

  Those words had become her mantra as of late—her internal chorus and the only thing propelling her to put one foot in front of the other.

  The polite clapping of the attendees as her engagement was formally announced reminded her she had an audience. She needed to look the part.

  So she plastered on a huge smile and even managed a blush as Fedor slipped a huge, gaudy engagement ring on her finger.

  Moving closer to Fedor, she tilted her head so that it rested on his shoulder. It was solid. He’d been a boxer in his youth, and though it’d been years since he trained, he still looked the part with his stocky, muscular build. She gazed up at him, in what she hoped was an adoring manner. His nose was flattened, like it had been broken one too many times. He wore his dark hair, specked with silver, slicked back. His face was clean-shaven.

  It was his eyes, though, that unnerved her. They were dark, almost black, and always had an air of menace in them. Even now, when he looked down at her with a smile, it didn’t reach his eyes.

  Ginny averted her gaze, forcing herself not to shudder.

  She’d make herself look like the happiest damn bride-to-be there ever was. Her father smiled at her. Even he was fooled.

  Her father was a great man. Kind and generous with his family, but a little naïve. A dreamer rather than a businessman. Her grandfather would roll over in his grave if he could see the state of the investment firm that he’d built from the ground up. When she’d started helping out at the office and doing the books, she’d never seen so much red. Poor Daddy. He meant well, but business sense had skipped a generation.

  But Fedor’s sizable fortune would help bring her family back into the black, even if that meant Ginny’s happiness would be forfeit.

  As if he could read her thoughts, Fedor looked down at her and his lips stretched into a smile, revealing his blindingly white teeth, recently bleached to remove the unsightly nicotine stains. She smiled up at him and ran a hand along his arm.

  She wouldn’t be able to keep up the façade forever. And anyway, Fedor must know it was fake.

  Blackmailing a woman into marrying didn’t exactly make for a blushing bride.

  Once the string quartet started playing again and they had made their way off the platform at the front of the room, Ginny disentangled herself from Fedor. “I’m tired. I think I’m going to call it a night.”

  “So early?”

  “I have the 5k in the morning.”

  “Ah, yes.” Fedor smi
led. “And would you like a personal donation for that as well, my dear?” His tone was condescending, and she hated him for it. The arrangement between them had been his idea, so it irritated her when he held his money over her head.

  “No, I have my own donors.”

  Although, she should take him up on his offer. The more money they could milk out of him for the cause, the better. When her father mentioned he was chairman for the local Relay for Life 5k and gala for the new hospital wing, Fedor had proposed matching all donations for this event. On the surface, it seemed like a generous offer, but Ginny knew what it really was—Fedor’s attempt to buy his way into the good graces of their friends and colleagues. He didn’t give two shits about the organization. All he cared about was himself.

  Ginny wasn’t entirely sure how Fedor had earned most of his money, but she knew enough to know it was probably better to stay unenlightened.

  “Would you like my driver to take you home?” Fedor asked.

  Ginny shook her head. “I have my car.”

  Fedor was always offering things like that to let her know that his privileges were at her disposal. If she had wanted to, she could have already moved into his mansion instead of staying in her crappy apartment that had seven minutes of continuous hot water at best.

  She supposed it was sweet that he wanted to take care of her, but she couldn’t help but suspect he had ulterior motives. Men like Fedor didn’t do anything for free. They expected something in return.

  She dreaded the day when she’d have to pay that debt.

  “In that case, good night, luybov moya.” He touched his lips to her cheek in a chaste kiss, and her cheeks flushed as she remembered her kiss from earlier this evening.

  Kissing Tony was anything but chaste.

  “Good night,” she said hurriedly, wanting to escape Fedor’s presence. Thinking about the kiss with Tony in Fedor’s shadow somehow sullied the memory.

  She shouldn’t have let it happen. What if Fedor had seen? Or one of his minions? Then their deal would be off, which would be unthinkable. Though her relationship with Fedor was anything but romantic, he would not tolerate being made a fool of.

  As she walked to her car, she ran her fingertips along her lips. The taste of Tony was faint and growing weaker by the minute. But the tingles in her belly were still strong.

  It wasn’t too late. She hadn’t actually married Fedor yet. There was still time for her to escape.

  She scrubbed her mouth with the back of her hand, removing any lingering traces of the kiss. No. She was fully committed. So much more than the family business was riding on her fiancé.

  So she’d just have to forget Tony.

  Again.

  Chapter 3

  Ginny pulled the heel of her shoe to her butt to stretch her quad. “You should stretch,” she told Veronica.

  Veronica looked over at her through dark glasses and sipped on her green smoothie, not moving from her perch on the bench. Her skin had the pallor of someone who’d overindulged the night before. Of course, the scent of alcohol pouring out of Veronica’s skin was a dead giveaway.

  Ginny sighed and turned away. It was a miracle Veronica had shown up at all. Though their family had sponsored the annual Relay for Life ball and 5k for the last thirty years, this was only Veronica’s third appearance at the 5k since she’d been old enough not to be dragged kicking and screaming by their parents.

  Veronica should have stayed home. Ginny actually enjoyed the event, but Veronica’s presence put a damper on it. She loved her older sister, but these days, she didn’t like her very much. Veronica had always been difficult, but now she was damn near impossible.

  And she had no clue how much Ginny was sacrificing.

  If she did, would she even care?

  Ginny banished that thought. Of course she would. Somewhere beneath the ice-cold bitch exterior Veronica broadcasted was the big sister who used to help her braid her Barbie’s hair. The big sister who taught her how to apply makeup. The big sister who loved her.

  Twenty minutes to go. Soon the announcers would call the runners to the starting line. Ginny yearned for the feel of the pavement under her sneakers and the burn of her muscles as she neared the finish line. When was the last time she’d gone on a proper run? The Frazier Corporation took up so much time there was little left over for anything else, much less a good run. She was woefully unprepared for this race and had no delusions she would finish with a decent time.

  With one final glance over her shoulder at Veronica, Ginny slipped her buds in her ears and scrolled through the playlist on her iPhone. The cops up ahead motioned the last few cars through the intersection before it would be closed for the duration of the race.

  Ginny jumped as a hand touched her shoulder.

  “Veronica, if you’re going to—” She whirled and came in direct contact with a hard, lean chest. She jumped back and stared into dark eyes that made her knees weak, the same as they’d done eight hours earlier.

  “Tony,” she said breathily. “What are you doing here?”

  He held up a pledge card. “I’m going to run.” In his other hand, he held a number to be pinned to his shirt.

  She peered closer at the card. “Adamo Enterprises” was scrawled on the top line next to a sizable number. “Only one donor?”

  He shrugged. “I was late to sign up, so . . .”

  “Well.” There was so much she wanted to say, but nothing she could say. “Good luck.”

  She turned to leave, but he grabbed her wrist. “Ginny, wait. I want to talk to you.”

  She crossed her arms and rocked back on her heels, looking down at her shoes. Anywhere but at him. “So talk.”

  “You shouldn’t be with Barkov.”

  Ginny looked up sharply with a gasp on her lips. The man certainly didn’t beat around the bush. She squared her shoulders. “You have no right to tell me that.”

  “I know you’re not happy with him.”

  “You don’t know that. You don’t know anything about me.”

  He put his hands on his hips and let out a deep breath, obviously frustrated.

  Frustrated and sexy as hell. He was wearing athletic shorts and a worn gray T-shirt. His forearms were muscled and tan, his legs long and lean. Taut pectoral muscles were visible under the soft cotton. His physique was, in a word, beautiful. If the whole CEO thing didn’t work out, he could always hack it as a stripper.

  Hell, perhaps she could hire him for her bachelorette party, she thought wryly.

  “Tell me, then.” He took a step forward, invading her personal space to make deep eye contact. “Tell me that you’re actually happy with that guy.”

  She took a step back and huffed, avoiding eye contact. “Pshh.” Who did Tony think he was? She didn’t have to answer to him.

  Even if she wanted to.

  “You can’t do it, can you? I know you’re miserable, Ginny. I could tell just by watching you with him last night.”

  If that was the case, then she needed to brush up on her acting skills.

  She closed her eyes for a moment to harden herself against the pull she felt toward Tony. One kiss. That was all they shared. It meant nothing.

  “I’m going to marry Fedor. It’s what I want to do.”

  Tony shook his head. “Bullshit.”

  She put her hand up to touch his arm, but thought better of it. One touch could be all it took to ruin her resolve. “Goodbye, Tony.” She turned and walked away.

  * * *

  “Fuck!” Tony watched Ginny walk away from him. Again. That was twice now.

  Anger burned in his gut when another man checked out her ass. Ginny was rocking her Lycra running gear, and her curves were even more on display than they’d been in last night’s dress. He wanted to rip the guy’s eyeballs out of his head for leering at her.

  Somehow, he didn’t think she’d appreciate the gesture.

  A feminine hand with fire-red polished nails trailed over his shoulder and down his arm. “What’s th
e matter, lover?”

  “Cut the shit, Veronica.”

  She removed her hand and had the nerve to look chagrinned. Objectively, Veronica was a knockout. Long blond hair, tits up to her chin, angelic face, and a body that could make lesser men weep.

  Just looking at her made his skin crawl.

  “Aw, Tony, you’re not still holding a grudge after all these years, are you?”

  “No. You did me a favor by fucking two other guys while we were together.”

  It hadn’t seemed like that at the time. Christ, he remembered sweating gallons while waiting for the results of his STD screening, convinced Veronica had given him some horrible disease. In the end, all she’d given him was a hard-earned lesson in trust.

  Veronica wasn’t even fazed. “Why are you talking to my sister?”

  “None of your goddamn business.” He walked away, but she trailed after him. She never did know when to quit.

  “She’s marrying Fedor Barkov, you know.”

  Tony grunted in response. Barkov was a corrupt motherfucker. He was nouveau riche, which was bad enough as far as the old money families were concerned, but Tony didn’t care about that. It was that his money had been attained by questionable—more than likely illegal—means. There were lots of rumors, but no one knew for sure exactly what business Barkov was in. But they knew it was shady as fuck.

  What the hell did Ginny see in him? The match didn’t make sense.

  “Yeah, I can’t figure it out, either,” Veronica said.

  Tony started at Veronica’s comment. Then again, his displeasure was probably evident on his face. He was never one to hide his emotions.

  “Aren’t you worried about her?” Tony asked. “Barkov is dangerous.”

  After Tony had gone home last night, he’d done research on the man. His empire stretched far and wide, and most knew better than to cross him. More than one of his employees had gone missing and then turned up later in a dumpster.

  Too bad Tony didn’t know better. He wasn’t going to let this go. His gut told him Ginny was in some sort of trouble. That kiss last night was not one of a woman in love with another man.