King of Greed (Kings of Sin #3) by Ana Huang

We clammed up again when Dominic returned with the cocktail glasses. He raised an eyebrow when I grabbed one and made myself another, hasty caipirinha before we sat down, but he wisely refrained from saying anything.

Dinner was, as expected, quiet and stilted. Marcelo carried the conversation while Dominic and I ate in silence. I felt like I was living out an absurdist film about marriage and divorce. Everything, from the location to Dominic’s presence to the music Marcelo put on for “atmosphere enhancement,” seemed surreal.

This couldn’t be my life right now.

“How’s your shop going?” Marcelo asked after he finished rambling about Brazil’s latest soccer game, or football as it was called everywhere except the U.S. “Everything on track for the grand opening in the new year?”

“Yes.” I rapped my knuckles against the oak table so I didn’t jinx it. “I haven’t received any emergency texts from Isabella, so I assume the store hasn’t burned down.”

“You once said you’d never open a physical store.” Dominic’s quiet observation had my shoulders tensing. “You said it’d be too stressful.”

“That was in college.” I didn’t look up from my food. “A lot has changed since then.”

I’d majored in business at Thayer but focused on e-commerce. Instead of starting my own company after graduation like I’d originally planned, I’d helped Dominic build his. However, I’d stepped back after he’d hired a permanent team, and the retail landscape had shifted so much since college that creating Floria Designs was like starting from scratch. Most of what I’d learned in school was outdated, and the past two years had been a never-ending learning process.

Opening a physical store scared me to death, but I needed something solid. Something I could look at, touch, and call mine, that proved beyond a doubt that there was still some fight left in me.

“What about you?” Marcelo asked when Dominic remained silent after my reply. “How’s, uh, work?”

“It’s fine. The markets change but Wall Street doesn’t.”

Another long silence.

“How long are you staying in Brazil?” My brother made another valiant attempt at conversation.

“I’m not sure.” Dominic took a casual sip of his drink. “I haven’t bought a return ticket.”

I nearly choked on a mouthful of beans and pork. Across from me, Marcelo’s jaw unhinged, revealing a half-chewed piece of meat. It was deeply unflattering and something he would’ve called another person out for, but Dominic’s admission had knocked us both for a loop.

Him flying to Brazil was shocking enough. Him flying here without a return date was so unthinkable I almost reached over to check if he was suffering from a high fever or a personality transplant.

“How?” Marcelo finally found his words. “What about work?”

Dominic flicked a glance at me. I looked down and pretended my meal was the most fascinating thing I’d ever seen while my breath stilled in anticipation of his answer.

“Work will always be there,” he said. “Other things won’t.”

No one spoke again for the rest of the meal.

After dinner, Marcelo excused himself to do the dishes even though it was my turn to clean up. He ignored my death stare as he hastened into the kitchen with an armful of plates and cutlery, leaving me and Dominic alone in the dining room. We stared at each other, held captive by uncertainty. It was a new dynamic for us, and I didn’t know how to handle it.

Dominic was many things—ruthless, irritable, ambitious—but he’d never been uncertain. Since the day we’d met, he’d been a force of purpose, propelled by single-minded goals and ambition. Graduate. Start his own company. Become so rich and successful he silenced every person who’d ever doubted him.

Even as a broke college student, Dominic had exuded such confidence one couldn’t help but look at him and see someone destined to achieve everything he set his mind to. Success was his true north, but now he appeared lost, like he was adrift at sea without a compass.

“Ále— ”

“It’s getting late. I should go to bed.” I stood, my heart rattling for reasons I didn’t want to examine, but I didn’t make it two steps before a hand closed around my wrist.

“Please.”

The rawness of that one simple word dissolved some of my willpower. I stopped and faced him, hating how his touch sent butterflies soaring in my stomach and how his voice made my heart beat just a little faster. I wished I could sign away my feelings as easily as I had our legal marriage, but our relationship on paper was worlds different from reality.

“You shouldn’t be here.” A strange mix of fatigue and adrenaline coursed through my veins. “This isn’t healthy for either of us. We just got divorced. We can’t move on if you insist on following me everywhere.”

Dominic’s eyes flickered beneath the lights. “That’s the thing,” he said softly. “There is no moving on. Not for me.”

My entire body tensed, but no amount of steeling myself could blunt the impact of his words.

“You haven’t tried.”

“Do you want me to try?”

Yes. Maybe. Eventually. I blinked away the image of Dominic attending some fancy gala with a glamorous blonde on his arm or, worse, cuddling up next to her on the couch. It was the intimate moments I yearned for, and I envied the slices of life he’d eventually share with someone else.