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"Nikolai very lucky," she said as she softly patted my cheek. Then she turned to collect a tray with the pitcher of red liquid on it as well as some glasses. I was dumbfounded by her behavior. As I followed her back into the dining area, I passed her kindness off as general politeness toward her son’s client. Anna took the plate from me and set it on the table but before I could take my seat next to Elena, Nikolai’s mother was grabbing my elbow and shaking her head. Then she pointed at her son.
I didn’t need to understand Russian to get her gesture as she motioned to the empty seat next to Nikolai. I could feel my cheeks heating as I realized she'd fully bought into the idea that I was in a relationship with her son. I turned to face her in the hopes that I could somehow explain that it wasn't like that, but she merely smiled and said, "Sit, sit."
Before I could respond, Anna took my seat next to Elena. I was sure all eyes were on me as I moved to the chair next to Nikolai, but in reality, everybody was talking excitedly amongst themselves as they admired the cake. I heard Anna say my name and figured she was explaining the poor icing job to her family.
As I sat down next to Nikolai, he leaned into me and murmured, “Are you all right?”
I lied and nodded my head.
There was a bit of bustling across the table as Anna stood up. She held a knife and cake server. I assumed she was handing them to her son but when she said something in Russian, Nikolai said, “She wants you to cut the cake.”
“What? Why?” I blurted.
Nikolai’s hand settled on my thigh beneath the table. He leaned into me like he was going to kiss my cheek but instead, his lips settled by my ear as he whispered, “You’re not the only one who wants to make a good impression, sweetheart.”
It took me a moment to process his words. Why would Nikolai’s mother be worried about impressing me? I was certain he was mistaken but when I looked at Anna, I saw a hint of nervousness in her features as she continued to hold the knife and cake server out.
I stood up enough to take the items from her. Nikolai pulled the cake closer to me. As soon as I began cutting, the kids began requesting the biggest pieces and whatever tension had hung over the room quickly disappeared. By the time I sat back and began working on my own piece of cake, everyone was laughing and talking again.
I sought out Nikolai’s hand beneath the table and felt something tight ease in my chest when his strong fingers wrapped around mine.
Then, as I looked around the small but clearly happy family, I did the unthinkable.
I wondered what it would be like to be one of them.
Chapter 19
Nikolai
"He's my client, Mom," I reminded my mother in Russian as I finished the last of the dishes and hurried to put them away. I was eager to get back to Jude who I’d left in the living room with my sister and the kids. Well, I hadn’t exactly left him… more like he’d been taken from me. As soon as we’d finished eating, Elena had grabbed Jude’s arm as he'd made a move to help clear the table and had instead said something to him about looking at family pictures.
My family was pulling out all the stops, it seemed. When we’d first sat down to lunch, my mother had sung Jude's praises though she'd only known him two minutes and Elena had been saying a lot to Jude while looking in my direction. And poor Jude… he’d looked completely out of his element. But as nervous as he’d been, he hadn't lost control of himself or shut down.
In fact, once he’d been sitting next to me, I’d actually seen him smile a few times as my family had attempted to teach him a few Russian words. I would need to do a better job of making it clear to my family that my relationship with Jude was a working one and nothing more. Even if I didn’t really believe that myself, I had to put an end to all of this because I was already having too many thoughts that were messing with my head as it was. I’d had Jude at my home for less than twenty-four hours and yet it felt like he’d been there forever. The way he’d fit in my arms and my bed, the way my family had instantly accepted him… it was all scary as shit but mostly because I wanted it to be real.
All of it.
Once I got the dishes put away, I headed for the small dining area but my mother called me back and motioned to the counters. I let out a soft curse under my breath and turned back to the counters and began wiping them down.
