Victor - Her Ruthless Husband (Ruthless Triad 3)

Yes, they are definitely making progress.

He touches her arm to get her eyes back. He used to do this all the time in Japan, but he never let himself reach out to her in this manner during their ten years of marriage.

“Would you like to see the garage? We have more than Audis out there. Han had quite the classic car hobby before he left for Hawaii.”

“He’s still not back?” she asks, still signing and talking. “I thought that was only temporary.”

“No, not yet,” Victor answers, pleased that she remembers the very few personal details he’d told her about his life from their April peace. “I suppose I can’t blame him. Hawaii is a popular vacation destination for both Asians and Americans.”

“It’s a popular wedding destination too,” Dawn adds.

And though Victor is trying to play it cool and calm, he can’t help but cut his eyes toward her as they exit through the kitchen door.

Is she trying to tell him something? Victor wonders this as they walk out to the large garage, which is surrounded by fleet cars. Would she be willing to come back to him if he offered her a real wedding in Hawaii the second time around?

She looks over the grounds of the estate again, her head swiveling all around. “I can’t believe that there’s a beach on the other side of those tall hedges,” she says, nodding toward the greenery lining the backyard. “I can’t even imagine living right by the ocean like this.”

Soon…soon you will be able to imagine it all too well. He makes that vow to both her and himself.

“And I really can’t believe you were living just an hour away in Westerhaven that entire ten years.” She shakes her head, her mood sobering as Victor rolls up the detached garage’s door. “I was so surprised when Byron told me that you guys operated out of Rhode Island. Just one more thing to feel stupid about.”

“I'm sorry.” The apology slips easily off his fingers. “I’m sorry that I deceived you for much of the time we were together. I wish I could take it back now.”

Dawn seems to carefully consider his words, but then she abandons the topic to ask, “Is that an old-school Mustang? And wow…you’ve also got a Corvette! What year is this from?”

Yet another question he cannot answer.

“I think from the 1970s,” he tells her, not out of any knowledge of the car currently sitting on a raised rack with its parts scattered about. Han once told him that the 1970s were the best decade for the classic American sports cars, his chosen brother preferred over the fleet Audis.

“There’s also a bed on the floor…” Dawn touches the front of her sandal to the mattress lying next to the car rack. “It kind of reminds me of your set up in Japan.”

Yes, it does…

Victor doesn’t talk with his throat box. Yet, he has to swallow down a wave of lust before letting her know, “Sometimes Han sleeps out here. He claims that when he’s having a tough time figuring out how to fix one of his old cars, sometimes it will talk to him in his dreams.”

“Okay,” Dawn answers. Her tone is so light that Victor can’t tell whether she believes Han or is dismissing his fantastical notions.

Dawn lowers her eyes again as she used to when she was a shy schoolgirl. And Victor can’t stop himself from staring down at her as he did when he was a completely obsessed schoolboy.

“So I’m getting that you want me to give you another chance. That’s why you basically fixed my life. I appreciate you sending those papers to Amber and letting me know that you’re giving Yinz Entertainment to me free and clear. But I’m wondering how this other chance would work with you here in Rhode Island and me over nine hours away in Pittsburgh?”

Victor’s heart thrills at the question. And he’s happy that he already thought of the answer to it before he decided not to use it as obvious leverage to get her back. “Despite the company’s logo, it doesn't have to be located in Pittsburgh. If you choose to give me another chance and agree to stay here with me, I will pay to relocate Yinz Entertainment and all of its employees to Rhode Island. Happily.”

She looks down again, seeming to consider his words.

Then she peeps up at him, her expression interested but wary.

“I kind of like the idea of not having to live completely on my own. I mean, Byron’s been teaching me how to drive. And I know I can adult if I put my mind to it. But I’m not going to lie. I've been worried about what comes next,” she admits with a sheepish tone.

Victor keeps his hands down. In Japan, he made her understand that her place was by his side where he could protect and take care of her the best. But now she seems to be struggling to balance her desire for independence with the fact that she belongs to him and always will. So perhaps it is better not to provoke her on this topic.