Vivienne took a long time to respond, and just when Marybeth began to think they'd spend the entire night on the veranda eyeballing each other in silence, she finally spoke, stating simply, "I had to see you.""Why?""Why not?" Vivienne threw the question back at her and, in a classic manipulator move, pulled out her victim card, smiling coyly, "I must confess, I was so disappointed when my name was removed from the guest list. But, it helps to know people. Nikolai Ivanov—I'm sure you've met him, seeing how close he is with the Hawthornes.""I have," said Marybeth, choosing to keep her feelings about Nikolai vague. She liked Andrei and could almost see herself growing closer to him if he and Austin ever fixed their relationship. He was a decent human being, making it even harder for her to understand how he was even remotely related to Nikolai. But then again, Austin was a decent human being, and his father was worse than scum—"—He needed a plus one," Vivienne continued, breaking thro
Read more