Page 9 of Scoring Chance

He grimaced. “There’s two of you now.”

I slipped my arm around my sister’s waist and smiled brightly up at him. “Isn’t it great? The Curtis sisters reunited once again!”

He grumbled something and shuffled past us to sit on the couch.

“He seems excited,” I whispered.

“He’s used to being outnumbered by girls. Don’t worry, he’ll perk up in a minute.”

I bit my bottom lip to keep my mouth shut. He was usually around when I talked to Elena on the phone, and he knew I wanted to move up here. Maybe how fast it happened had thrown him off. I knew deep down he was a softie. I just had to chisel away at the stone he was made of.

“Is he hungry?” I asked quietly so he wouldn’t overhear us.

“He always is,” she said with narrowed eyes. “Why?”

I moved to the fridge and looked for a peace offering. There was a box of leftover pizza, so I took it out and slapped a few pieces on a plate before glancing at her. “Cold or hot?”

“Hot.”

I nodded and put the plate in the microwave for a minute. While I was watching it spin, Elena picked up the orchid. “You brought a house plant?”

“Yeah, it’s a thank you slash housewarming plant.”

She stared down at it before pointing between the two of us. “You know neither of us can keep anything alive, right? Mom passed her brown thumb onto us.” Her lips pursed. “Oh, remember the aloe Dad planted? They told him it was the easiest plant to keep alive and we killed it in less than two months.”

I held back a smirk and shrugged. “We can try.”

“Poor little guy,” she mumbled.

I took the plate out of the microwave before it could beep and walked it over to Nikolay. “I come bearing gifts.”

He stared at me for several silent seconds before accepting the food. “Thanks.”

The word had been so quiet I almost missed it, but as I walked back to Elena, I did a little victory dance.

She chuckled. “What was that?”

“That was me establishing trust. It’s the first step to getting a wild animal to accept you.”

She burst out laughing then covered her mouth. “First off, that’s not true at all. Second, did you just call my boyfriend a wild animal?”

“Yes, but one you’d see in a zoo. He’s used to being around humans but you still have to tread carefully.”

She sighed and shook her head. Something our father had done a million times when talking to me. I snickered in response.

Nikolay stood up from the couch, empty plate in hand, and walked toward us. As he passed, he patted my head twice. “She can stay.”

I turned to Elena, who was wearing a perplexed expression, and mouthed, “I told you so.”

She shook her head and moved to the other side of her kitchen where her phone was charging. “I’m going to let everyone know you’re here. Madi wanted to have some people over for dinner so they could meet you. Is that okay?”

“Sure, sounds good.” I tried to sound indifferent, but it was better than good. I’d get to meet the Utah Fury players in person. Not only was I a sports fan, but these were the guys I eventually wanted to work with. Well, maybe not them specifically, but professional athletes. Any opportunity to spend time with them was something I wouldn’t pass up.

“I have a few more boxes in my car, too. Mind giving me a hand?” I batted my eyelashes at Nikolay, hoping he’d take pity on me.

He released a heavy sigh, then pushed away from the counter and walked toward the door. “Let’s get this over with.”

We rode the elevator down in silence. Elena told me he was quiet even around her, but I was itching to get past the awkward stage with him. I wanted to get to know the man my sister fell in love with. I wanted him to know me and to be comfortable with me around, but I didn’t know where to start. The only things I knew about him were that he was Russian, his sister and mom were here from Russia while she was getting cancer treatments, and that he loved Elena and treated her like a princess. None of those were easy conversation starters.