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“That’s not so unusual anymore, though. Tons of people have babies before they get married.”
“What’s unusual is that they nevergotmarried. If there is a pregnancy in this family, a marriage quickly follows,” he says. “My mother not only had the gall to stay unmarried; she also chose to keep me.”
“Well, she sounds like a badass. I like her already.”
He smiles sadly. “Yeah, I suppose she was.”
“Where is she now?”
“Fuck if I know,” he says. “That was another thing she did that Orlov mothers never do: she left me.”
I feel horrible for asking, but Konstantin doesn’t seem too bothered. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I figured it out. Aunt Nessa has always been like a mother to me. And my uncle may have been an asshole, but he kept me around. I’m grateful for that.”
“What about your father?” I ask before I can stop myself.
“I never knew him,” he admits. “My mother never told a soul who he was. I’m not sure if she was ashamed or if she wanted to protect him. Either way, no one even knows his name. Which means I know nothing about the man.”
I wonder if Konstantin tried to search for his father and his mother. If he ever wanted to see where they were or try to reconnect. Or if he simply turned his back on his past and made his own way into the future.
“Getting to know your parents isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” I tell him. “Most of the time, I wish I didn’t know mine.”
He smiles, realizing what I’m trying to do. “I don’t want a relationship with my father, Paige. Don’t worry about that. I’m not sad. I just want to know where I come from.”
“So you really have no idea where your mother disappeared to?”
“None at all,” he says. “She was a smart woman. She wanted to disappear and she did it well. Not even my uncle could track her down. Trust me—he tried.”
I’m guessing he wasn’t the only one.
“Thanks for sharing all that with me, Konstantin. And thanks for helping me out. I know I kind of forced you into it.”
He shrugs. “It’s no big deal. You’re family.”
47
MISHA
Paige walks out of the closet, and suddenly, I’m no longer breathing.
She twirls, her gown shimmering in the light. “Well?” She holds out her arms. “What do you think?”
I struggle for words. “You look like… like… Fucking hell,kiska,you look incredible.”
She blushes adorably. “I wanted to make an impression.”
“You’ll do that and more. The men will be drooling and their women will be green with envy.”
“I hope not.” She frowns. “I want them to like me.”
I reach out and tip her chin up. “That is not the goal here. It doesn’t matter if they like you,” I explain. “We need them tofearyou.”
“Oh, yeah?” she says, a playful light flashing through her eyes. She plants two hands on my chest and slowly walks me back to the bed. I let her do it, grinning as we match step for step backwards until the mattress hits me in the backs of my knees and I sink onto it. “Well, I can’t speak for them quite yet, but I’d sayyoushould fear me.”
“Is that so?” My grin twitches like it’s electrified.
“Very much so.” She straddles me, one knee planted on either side of my hips. Her scent is tantalizing up close like this. The heat between her thighs makes me groan when it brushes over my hardening dick. “You should be very, very afraid of me.”
