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“And I want to treat my girlfriend to what she wants while she’s on vacation, so let me do this.” Lom keeps his eyes pinned on mine, and I don’t dare argue with him. Instead, I take the card from his hand and slide it into the pocket of my jeans.
“Fine, and thank you. You didn’t have to, but I appreciate it.”
“No need to thank me,” Lom murmurs as he dips his head down to mine. He presses his lips against mine, and the very breath in my lungs goes away. There’s something about the way he kisses me that makes me feel like I’m not really here. The way he touches my body makes me feel like I’m off in some far-off universe, and that’s what this should feel like. It’s what I’ve never had with another man before—this type of connection.
I think that’s why I’m so afraid of what the future could bring because I very much want him to be in it. If I’m being honest with myself, it’s hard to imagine my future without him now.
“I’m going to leave you here if you don’t hurry up. I’m starving, and I’m desperate for my coffee fix, too!” Amelia groans from the doorway of the kitchen, and I pull away from Lom.
His eyes sparkle with happiness, and he lands one last peck on my lips. “Go have fun, and buy whatever you want. I mean it.” He releases me, and I head over to where Amelia is. She has a light jacket over her shoulders, and it makes me think I should go get one too.
“Give me two minutes, and I’ll be by the door,” I tell her, and she nods.
I’m quick while I get a light jacket, and then the two of us leave. Danill is in tow behind us, and much to my surprise, Ludvik comes with us as well. I don’t know what to think about this. Danill always takes Amelia everywhere because it’s his job now. His job is to protect Amelia and Karim—and is Ludvik going to be given the same task, but with me? If Lom ever has someone watching over me, that alone proves how important I am to him.
Amelia and I stop at a coffee shop two blocks away from her condo, and the two of us head inside. The woman behind the counter greets Amelia, and Amelia speaks back in what I assume is Russian, but I have no clue what it is, honestly. “What are you speaking?”
Amelia continues her conversation with the older woman, and eventually, the older woman waves her hand and points to one side of the café. The two of us walk over and take a seat, and Amelia smiles brightly. “Ruslan hired me a tutor to help me speak Chechen. It’s a very hard language to learn, but my teacher says I’m doing a very good job of it. I want Karim and our other future children to speak it, so I figured I’d better learn as well. I need to lead by example, you know?”
“Yeah, I get that. I think it’s great that you’re doing that. I don’t know if I could learn something so complex. Languages are hard to pick up, or at least I feel like you learn languages the best when you’re a child.”
“Exactly, which is why I’m so determined to get as good as I can before Karim’s old enough to tell me I don’t make any sense.” Amelia laughs, and the older woman comes around to our table and places two coffees in front of us.
“Who is this, Amelia?” the older woman asks, struggling with her English.
“This is my cousin, Emily. She’s visiting from America,” Amelia fills her in.
“Oh, oh, welcome to Grozny, Emily. I hope you like it here.” The older woman smiles widely at me.
“I love it. It’s a beautiful city,” I tell her, and she pats my back.
“Good, good. I bring you food when it’s ready. Okay?” She’s struggling a little bit with her English still, but we both nod and say our thanks. She walks off and goes behind the counter.
“You need to come visit more.” Fuck, I knew Amelia was going to tell me this at some point during our time together.
I want to come here more, but with my new job, things are so complicated. “I want to come more, but I just landed that new job, and I’m not sure when the next time I’ll get approved to take vacation time will be. I’ve just earned my place there, you know?” I don’t even like working there since my boss proved he was a total perverted sleazeball.
“I understand but do remember you can work from anywhere.” Amelia winks at me, and I know exactly what she’s insinuating. Maybe one day I will live here, but until that day comes, I don’t know what I should say to that. All I can do is pick up my coffee and take a sip.
Chapter Twelve
Lom
Emily and Amelia have been out for a few hours. I’ve spent a good bit of time with Ruslan and Karim today, and while my brother and I have joked that they must be racking up our credit cards, he turns the conversation a bit serious.
“I’m sorry if I offended you the other day, suggesting you were bored of Emily. At the time, I didn’t realize the two of you were exclusive or anything at all, really.”
I meet my eyes with my brother’s. “I wasn’t ready to make an announcement. It’s new, but I’m… seeing my life a bit differently these days.”
“How so?” Ruslan leans back in his seat while Karim’s in his swing.
“With Emily, I don’t find myself growing bored of her. I want to see her face. I want to know what she’s up to, what she’s doing. I want to know when she’s coming home or what her plans are. I want to know the bad parts of her day, along with the good ones.”
“Do you think you’re falling in love with her?” Ruslan’s question surprises me, but he could be right.
“I don’t know,” I answer him honestly because I’m not sure.
Just like that, the clacking of heels against the floor tells us the women are home. With the women come Danill and Ludvik. Ludvik immediately heads in our direction, but Emily looks past him to see me.
