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“Are you sure I should take tomorrow off?” she asks, whispering so her roommate doesn’t hear. “Is the coast clear?”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s why you came in, isn’t it? To make sure my place was safe. It’s why you escorted me home, too.”
I exhale slowly. “Nothing gets by you.”
Aurora’s brows furrow slightly. “Mikhail… What have you gotten yourself roped into?”
Whatever resolve I had built up finally crumbles, the wall I’d created built on a foundation of sand. It’s not that I don’t trust her. Far from it, in fact.
“I’ll tell you everything when you come to work next,” I promise her. “Until then, enjoy your day off.”
“And Charlotte and I are safe? From whatever’s going on?”
“For now, yes. I don’t think he has any reason to have eyes on you. Yet.”
“Konstantin?”
I nod, just the once, before bending down to press a kiss to her forehead. “Enjoy your birthday,kisa. Excellent work today.”
“Thank you,” she murmurs.
We both linger at the door, staring into each other’s eyes. I’m strangely comfortable here, happy to be trapped in the pull of her presence. She’s all things warm and bright, a beacon against the dark evening. I meant what I said before. Sheissafe. If Konstantin wanted to make a move, he would have done so by now.
With a final deep breath of her peachy scent, I turn to leave. My uncle may have made the first move, but now it’s my turn to counterattack. I just pray I can keep Aurora out of the crossfire.
Chapter 17
Aurora
Ishouldn’t feel this guilty for missing work, but I do. Maybe Charlotte’s right. Iama workaholic.
“Happy birthday!” Charlotte all but screams when I shuffle into the kitchen in nothing but my PJ pants and an oversized Star Wars graphic tee. She presses a small box into my hands with a giddy smile.
I open the gift to reveal a pretty silver charm bracelet, one of those expensive ones from Pandora. It must have cost her a good chunk of change. “Thank you, Cee,” I say earnestly. “It’s beautiful.”
“You really like it?”
“I do, it’s really cute.”
“I got it in silver because it’ll match your outfit for tonight better. We’re going to walk into Velvet withstyle.”
I laugh. “You seem more excited about the club than I do.”
“Babe, there’s always a bunch of A-listers hanging out there,” she says with a giggle, flitting about the kitchen as she prepares herself a bowl of oatmeal. “There’s bound to be paparazzi and stuff. If we get in with the right crowd, we might find ourselves splashed on the front cover ofPeople Magazine.”
I shake my head. “And here I thought you wanted to celebrate my birthday.”
“We can do two things at once, Aurora. Just think about it! One perfect shot of me on the arm of George Clooney and the tabloids will all be wondering who I am. It’s perfect for my modeling career.”
“I’m pretty sure George Clooney is married, Cee.”
She winks scandalously. “That’ll definitely get people talking, then.”
I’ll admit I’m a bit disgruntled at how blatantly opportunistic Charlotte is being, but it’s not like I want to celebrate my birthday in the first place. As I told Mikhail yesterday evening, it’s not a big deal. I haven’t celebrated my birthday since Mom died, and even before her passing, we were never really the kind of people who went out of our way to throw massive parties.
“I’m thinking we should go around nine,” Charlotte rattles on.
