Crash into Me: A BWWM Russian Billionaire Romance by Cristina Grenier

you would listen to me. I mean really hear what I’m saying.”
    “You are being dramatic. And rude to your guest.”
    “No, Mother. She’s your guest. I didn’t invite her. I didn’t even know she was going to be here. So you know what? You can go back and enjoy dinner with her. You could use some friends in your life, actually. Maybe it would keep you from meddling in other people’s lives.”
    And with that, he was walking away from his mother again, going to get his jacket because he couldn’t be in that house for another minute.
    “Alexei,” his mother hissed. “You come back here.”
    But he didn’t. He kept walking until he was out of the house and in his car.
     
    Alexei frowned as he realized he had no idea where he was. The idea had been to get in the car and drive until his head stopped pounding, and his white knuckled grip on the steering wheel loosened as he looked around.
    It was one of those small town places that always seemed self-sufficient in an interesting way, and up ahead he spotted what had to be some kind of pub or modern day tavern. Whichever, Alexei was in serious need of a drink after that dinner.
    He parked his car in the lot and locked it before heading inside.
    It was definitely different than any place he’d been to before. All mismatched woods and smoky air. There was an honest to god dartboard in the back, and a pool table to go along with it. Alexei couldn’t quite believe where he had ended up. This wasn’t the kind of place he would come to by choice, but it seemed like as good a place as any.
    With a sigh, he headed for the bar, pleased to see that there were plenty of stools available. And then he stopped. On one of the stools was someone familiar.
    He’d only seen her the one time, and now she was smiling at the bartender in a way she’d definitely not looked at him when they’d encountered each other.
    She’d been pretty before with her dark skin and her hair in waves down her back, but there was something about her smile that just made him want to go over and sit down next to her.
    So he did. After the disastrous almost dinner at his mother’s, he needed to do things that he wanted to do for the rest of the night.
    “Fancy seeing you here,” he said, playing up the accent and giving her the winning smile.
    She turned and looked at him, confusion knitting her brows together before her eyebrows jumped up and she groaned out loud.
    Definitely not the reaction he had been expecting, and he wished the smile would come back. It was rare that someone wasn’t taken by his most charming grin, but she seemed to be immune to it if the way she was scowling at him was any indication.
    Her eyes flared with irritation, but there was something else there, too, something intriguing that made him want to figure her out. That wasn’t the best idea probably, considering the way she seemed to be warning him off with her every action, but she was definitely the type of woman he was interested in.
    Not a pushover, not one to back down, full of fire. Getting her in bed would probably be amazing, and just like that, he wanted it.
    He wanted her.
     

Chapter 5: Those Midnight Thoughts
     
    At the end of a long week, Emma could often be found at Sam’s Tavern. It was a small place, no real competition for the larger and more upscale bars and clubs that were in the city, but then it wasn’t there for that.
    The people who spent their time at Sam’s place were locals and most of them knew Sam personally or knew Sam’s father before him, so they were loyal. They spent their hard earned money every weekend, enough so that there had never been any danger of Sam’s going out of business.
    She’d had her first drink as a twenty-one year old there, and she knew that there were a lot of people in the town who could say the same thing. She hadn’t been born and raised here in the small town of Camper’s Ferry, but she’d gone to college very nearby. The town and this tavern had been a