A Bride for Kolovsky Read Online Free Page A

A Bride for Kolovsky
Book: A Bride for Kolovsky Read Online Free
Author: Carol Marinelli
Pages:
Go to
was terribly aware of him, felt a need to fill the silence. But he was staring out of the window, his expression unreadable, and Lavinia was filled with a sudden urge to tell him she knew who he was, to drop the pretence and find out the truth.
    The drive took a good thirty minutes, and was one Zakahr had made a few times in the past months as he had slowly infiltrated Kolovsky. Each time he’d left Australia his heart had blackened a touch further at realising just how lavishly his family had lived all these years while leaving him to fend for himself.
    â€˜It’s just coming up…’
    Zakahr frowned as Lavinia interrupted his dark thoughts.
    â€˜Where Aleksi’s accident happened…’
    There wasn’t much to show for it—the tree that had crumpled his car simply wore a large pale scar—but it did move Zakahr.
    A troubled Aleksi had been trying to halt Zakahr in leaving after his speech at the charity ball, unsure as to his own motives, not even realising that the businessman he was dealing with was actually his brother. Somethinghad propelled him to race to the airport in the middle of the night with near fatal consequences. Though little moved Zakahr, Aleksi’s plight had. At seven years old Aleksi had uncovered the fact that he had not just one but two brothers in Russia, and he had confronted his father with the truth. Ivan had beaten him badly enough to ensure that it was forgotten. Only the truth had slowly been revealed.
    Out of all of them, Aleksi was the only Kolovsky he had any time for.
    â€˜Have you known him long?’ Lavinia fished, but Zakahr didn’t answer. ‘I was surprised Iosef wasn’t his best man…’ Lavinia tried harder ‘…given they’re twins.’
    He was, Lavinia decided, the most impossible man—completely at ease with silence, with not explaining himself. He didn’t even attempt an evasive answer—he just refused any sort of response.
    â€˜Five minutes, Lavinia,’ Eddie the driver warned her and, sick of her new boss’s silence, Lavinia opened the partition and asked after Eddie’s daughter as she pulled out her make-up bag.
    â€˜Six weeks to go!’ Eddie said.
    â€˜Are you excited?’ Lavinia asked, and then glanced over to Zakahr. ‘Eddie’s about to become a grandfather.’
    It could not interest Zakahr less, and his extremely brief nod should have made that clear, but Lavinia and Eddie carried on chatting.
    â€˜I can’t stop my wife shopping—we’ve got a room full of pink!’
    â€˜So it’s a girl!’
    Lavinia seemed delighted, and Zakahr watched as she snapped into action—touching up her make-up and combing her long blonde hair.
    She could feel him watching her, sensed his irritation, and her blue eyes jerked up from the mirror. ‘What?’
    He shrugged and looked away before he answered. ‘I don’t like vanity.’
    â€˜I’d suggest that you do !’
    â€˜Pardon?’
    â€˜You’ve dated enough vain women,’ Lavinia pointed out. ‘According to my impeccable sources.’
    â€˜Five-dollar magazines?’ Zakahr was derisive, but still he was intrigued. Lavinia wasn’t remotely unnerved by him, and it was surprisingly refreshing. ‘Are you always this rude to your boss?’
    â€˜ Was I rude?’ Lavinia thought about it for a moment. ‘Then, yes, I suppose I am. You wouldn’t last five minutes in this place otherwise.’ She was annoyed now—he just didn’t get it. ‘And it has nothing to do with my being vain—this isn’t me !’ Lavinia said. ‘This is me at work. Do you really think the Princess wants someone greeting her in jeans with oily hair?’ She was on a roll now! ‘And another thing—while by your calculations I was five minutes late, I was actually fifty-five minutes early . Most people start work at nine. And because work
Go to

Readers choose

Diane Fanning

K-9

Rohan Gavin

R.L. Stine

Brendan Jones

Elin Hilderbrand

Billie Sue Mosiman

Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie