Page 38

She laughed, the sound loud and bright, breaking the tension. “Yuriy, you crack me up. Zasha was right. You’d flirt with anything on two legs, including my father. I thought you hated him.”

Yelena’s comment shouldn’t have bothered me. I already knew Yuriy was a manwhore, but it slithered under my skin. The image of that bartender from the bar slipped into my head. The way Yuriy had leaned in close, that same grin on his face. The one he’d just given me.

My gut twisted.

I hated that.

I hated him for his insincerity.

And even more, I hated the part of me that wanted to be the only one he looked at like that.

Fuck.

One day and Yuriy had already messed with my head.

Yuriy chuckled, flashing that easy grin like the seducer from hell himself wasn’t standing in front of me. “I guess he’s grown on me. You gotta admit, Yelena, your dad’s aged well. He’s still hot for an old timer.”

Why did it grate on my nerves when he called me an old timer? I was only a decade or so older than him. He thought he was going to look that pretty forever?

Fuck.

He actually might.

The best thing I could do was ignore Yuriy.

“You still want to get a tree today, printsessa?”

Yelena brightened instantly. Thank god for pregnancy brain.

“Yes! We should have gotten one already, but I didn’t want to pick one out without you.”

“That’s sweet and all, but are you sure you should be going out in this weather?” Yuriy nodded toward the window where snowflakes drifted lazily past the glass. “I don’t think you should be wading through pine trees.”

She rubbed her belly and grimaced. “I guess you’re right, but I had my heart set on a tree. It’s the first time Zasha and I will have one since we moved here.”

Yuriy crossed his arms, leaning against the counter. “I’ll go with Stas and get you a tree. Otherwise, Zasha will never forgive us if you go out and slip. Don’t worry. With me there, you’ll get the perfect tree.”

I frowned. “Are you implying I have bad taste?”

“You’re putting words into my mouth,” he said easily, that grin flicking up again. “Just offering my services. I’m good at picking the best wood. I know how to find the sturdy ones that are up to the task.”

Yelena’s brows shot up. Mine did too.

“Christ, Yuriy,” I muttered.

“What?” he said innocently. “Christmas trees are technically wood.”

Yelena laughed so hard she nearly fell out of the chair. “I can’t with you, Yuriy, but okay. While you’re getting the tree, I’ll sort out the decorations in the meantime.”

“Just don’t lift anything heavy. That’s why you have three muscles around.” He eyed me up and down. “Well, two and a half.”

Fuck, the way he was gentle with my daughter… His insult rolled right off my back.

Something in my chest eased, and the tightness in my gut turned to electricity. For a man like him to sound that tender, that human… it should raise suspicion, but it made me want him in a way that put last night to shame.

Dammit.

Being under the same roof as Yuriy wasn’t turning out like I’d hoped at all.