For a moment, she thought it was Vlad searching her out, but this man though of similar coloring was neither as broad nor as tall.
“Excuse me,” she began, “I wasn’t looking.”
“A bride is forgiven everything on her wedding day,” he said and something in his formal speech pattern had her looking back into his face again.
Then her brain clicked back on. “Oh. Right! You’re Vlad’s best man, aren’t you? We haven’t been properly introduced. Vlad’s been traveling these past weeks leading up to today and I guess we didn’t discuss…”
She felt her face heat. This man would surely know Vlad if he had stood as his best man and certainly would know their wedding was a publicity stunt. Or would he? Her best friend Lacey had been her witness and Sabrina had been far too embarrassed to tell her every sorry detail about the true state of affairs between herself and Vlad.
“I’m Pieter. Vlad’s brother.”
Sabrina’s eyes widened as she took a closer look at him. She could see the superficial resemblance in the black hair and blue eyes but never would she have guessed they were brothers. When Vlad entered a room, he owned it. This man looked as if he spent all of his time on the sidelines.
“I travel a lot for VGI as well. As a matter of fact when Vlad told me the date of the wedding, I wasn’t sure if I could get back in time.”
“I see,” she said.
No, she didn’t see. Sabrina knew intuitively that she would move heaven and earth to attend a family wedding—ha!—if she had any family. Lacey had been thrilled on short notice to act as her witness and Sabrina would do the same for her. But guys were different on every level, and especially about weddings.
“Pleased to meet you, Pieter.” Sabrina put out her hand.
Pieter grasped it. “The pleasure’s all mine.” When she would have broken contact, he held on.
“So,” without warning, his eyes took on a malicious glint, “you haven’t told Vlad that you aren’t Alexei’s mother, have you?”
“I…what?” Sabrina’s already pale face took on a greenish pallor.
“You’ve just given me the answer.”
He laughed at her still frozen expression.
“I wasn’t so sure when I read the coverage in the press. They make up the most ludicrous stories.”
He laughed again and this time when Sabrina tried to yank her hand away, he tightened his grip painfully on hers.
“But imagine what a story it would be if they knew Vlad married Alexi’s sister not his mother? Talk about leaving my brother with egg on his face?”
That nasty chuckle again.
Sabrina flushed then paled again as she realized there was only one way Pieter could be in possession of the true facts about Alex’s parentage.
“So it’s you? You’re Alex’s father…” Her voice faded to a disbelieving halt.
“Indeed. God knows how many bastards I have running around.” He snickered.
“You disgusting pig.”
Sabrina was sickened by the cavalier way he owned up to being Alex’s father. She twisted her body to break free of his hold, but Pieter easily grabbed Sabrina’s other hand and curled his fingers tightly around both of her wrists.
“Let me tell you how it’s going to go, Sabrina.” His voice was low and menacing. “Nothing changes. Stop squirming, because I really don’t want to hurt you. Just listen. You say one word to my brother about any of this, and I will tell him the truth about you. I have the better claim to the boy and I will assert it if you put my back to the wall. If you tell Vlad any of this, I will take Alex from you. Vlad will divorce you, and I will take the boy, by right, as his father. You will be left with no one and nothing, especially not the cushy lifestyle,” his snaky gaze drifted to the emeralds gleaming against the pale skin above her décolletage, “that’s such a huge step up from the dump you came from.”
She wanted to clock him square on the jaw, then stomp on him and all of his threats but instead, against her will, her body started trembling as his words sank in. She tugged her hands away again and this time he released them. She rubbed at her wrists and felt the blood rush agonizingly back into her fingers.
“Better get back inside before my brother misses you.” His eyes were cold as he issued the instruction. “He swore he’d never tie the knot, but I suppose you provide him with ample comfort on those occasions when he’s actually at home.” His gaze crept over her exposed skin and Sabrina cringed. “Don’t kid yourself that wearing his ring makes you any different from the women he has in Europe and wherever else the business takes him. But Vlad is discreet; I’ll give him that. He keeps his affairs quite separate from anything VGI related.”
“Enough, stop talking.” Sabrina almost raised her hands to her ears but stopped herself from the childish gesture. Now tears were threatening and she wanted him gone.
“Oh. Wow. You have feelings for him.” It was a statement. “You suckered him into marriage but then you fell for him. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in years. Well, good luck with that. We don’t do feelings. In that way, my brother and I are very much alike.”
Sabrina wanted badly to smack his foul mouth and failing that, she wanted to duck into the bathroom again to ease her roiling tummy and wait till he was gone and the entire reception was over. Or maybe she would simply walk out of the hotel and run as far away as she could get from this slimy guy and this horror show she found herself in.
But Vlad would already be wondering where she was. And she had way too much pride to let Pieter see just how much he affected her.
He’d solved the mystery of Alex’s parentage. As bombshells went, that was huge. But she couldn’t think about that right now.
She schooled her features into a serenity she had come to think of as her paparazzi face.
“That look doesn’t fool me for a second, Sabrina. I know you’re scared, and you should be. Don’t forget what I said.”
“I heard what you said. Now leave us alone. Stay away from me and stay away from Alex.”
Then with the appearance of a calm she was far from feeling, she swept past him and returned to her wedding celebration.