The Russian's Pregnant Mistress Read Free Page B

challenge where you have to get a man to buy you a drink or you owe the rest of the ladies a round of drinks?”
    She nodded stupidly, ashamed that he’d already understood their game.
    “You should have taken them up on the bet. You would have won.” He slid his hand into the pockets of his dark slacks again. “In fact, I would be honored if you would allow me to buy you a drink now.”
    Gabby swallowed, not sure how to respond. She was about to shake her head, then thought back to all the men she’d passed on her way out. Was she really going to pass up the opportunity to get to know this man? To sit across the table from him and find out what he was like? “A drink would be very nice. But only under two conditions.”
    He smiled slightly, enjoying her soft, flowery perfume. “What’s that?” he asked, leaning down slightly so he could hear her more clearly.
    “I get to buy you that drink and we make it coffee or something less potent than the brew I was drinking inside.” She watched his eyes, wondering if he was going to laugh at her. She couldn’t help it. The drinks hadn’t been enjoyable, containing too much alcohol.
    He didn’t laugh and she saw only admiration and interest in his eyes. “Coffee sounds great,” he said, not committing to letting her buy him anything. “Let’s go,” he said and took her hand, tucking it into his elbow with an old fashioned flair which Gabby thought was charming.
    There was actually a coffee shop right across the street and he led her quickly through the heavy street traffic and into the small, cozy café. She ordered herbal tea and he asked for an espresso, then he found them a small table over by the window so they could watch the traffic pass by.
    “I’m Damon Petrov, by the way,” he said as soon as they were sitting down. He stuck out his hand and Gabby tentatively put her smaller one into his large, masculine hand.
    “I’m Gabriella Smith,” she said, her heart rate increasing once again with his warm touch. “Pleased to meet you.”
    “I’m also very pleased to meet you Gabriella. I wanted to introduce myself from the first moment I saw you.”
    “Everyone calls me Gabby,” she replied, pushing her curls out of her face and tucking her hair behind her ears.
    “You’re a very beautiful woman. Why were you with that group?”
    It sounded as if he thought she didn’t fit in with them. He was right, but she bristled slightly, thinking that it was criticism. “It was my best friend’s bridal shower. She’s marrying Marc Henslow in a week.”
    Damon nodded. “I know Marc. He’s a smart man.”
    Gabby’s eyes widened. “How do you know Marc?”
    He laughed softly. “I know many people.”
    She smiled back at him, starting to relax as the hot tea eased the tension that had accumulated from her venture into the night club. As soon as she started talking to him, she relaxed even more and enjoyed the lyrical sound of his accent. The man might look intimidating, but he was actually a very kind gentleman. She had no concept of time as they laughed and talked about various subjects, one topic rolling to another. She was fascinated by his facial features, entranced when he laughed at anything she said and wanted to make him laugh again and again.
    As the night grew old, she thought she saw things in him, in his expressions, that made her want to ease something that she sensed was hurting inside of him. He didn’t talk about himself much, but their conversation revolved more around opinions, politics or various places they’d visited. But something in his eyes told her that he’d lived a very hard life. The man might have anything he wanted at his fingertips now, but instinctively she knew that hadn’t always been the case. She found out that he was born in Moscow but had lived all over the world, but he didn’t share much more than that before he changed the subject.
    She saw his hands and they were not the hands of a wealthy man. Taking his hand in