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“I’m always right,” he reminded me, tapping my nose when I snickered. “We’re getting married, by the way.”
I sat up so suddenly I cracked him in the chin with my forehead. I didn’t bother apologizing, and only stared at him. “How’s that going to work?” I asked. “My mother will probably run back to Boston to avoid me for a while, but once she really wants something, she doesn’t back down.”
“I don’t either.”
“Okay, say she gives up the idea of marrying me off to Donny. What about Sofia? What about the Pavlovs?”
He turned away to avoid this very valid question, and by the time I grabbed his face to turn it back to me, he managed to hide the flicker of doubt I saw there. “Let me worry about that.”
“You’re living in a fantasy land if you think we’ll get a happily ever after.”
He pushed me back onto the pillows and rested his big arm across me again. “Then we’re in fantasy land, so enjoy it. I’m going to take care of everything, Theresa. Relax and trust me.”
I did like snuggling with him like that, and his bed was soft and cozy. What was so wrong with pretending for a little while? With his comforting presence next to me, his gentle, rhythmic breathing soon lulled me to sleep.
***
The next morning, the sun shone through the windows onto my pillow. I was alone in the big bed, but when I poked my head out the door, I heard Aleksei whistling in the kitchen and smelled fresh, sizzling bacon. For once, the smell of cooked food didn’t turn my stomach; I felt ravenous. Taking a few minutes to brush through my hair and wash my face, which was smudged with last night’s tear-stained makeup, I hurried to greet him.
“Breakfast is ready. Get up, lazy bones,” he bellowed from the kitchen.
“I’ve been awake for ages,” I said, daring him to fact check me.
He only piled a plate high with bacon and scrambled eggs, buttered toast, and cantaloupe wedges. I took a tentative bite of toast, then the sweet melon, and realized I could eat without fear.
“This is impressive,” I said, nodding toward the spread.
He looked at me for a long time. “I ordered it,” he admitted. “It’s delivery. I reheated it all a little, but the toast is fresh.”
“Well, you did promise you’d always be honest.”
He beamed at me; he was so handsome, I sucked in a breath. He was always sexy as hell, but this brilliant, open smile really knocked me back.
“Today, we’re still in fantasy land, Theresa. Tell me anything you want to do, and I’ll make it happen.”
“Anything? Hmmm.” It didn’t take long to decide since I’d been wanting to do this since my first day in Miami. “I want to go out on a yacht. Feel the sun and the cool breeze. Maybe even catch one of those big fish people get taxidermied.”
“A yacht,” he repeated, his grin dissipating. “We’re definitely going to do that, but it will take a little planning. I don’t actually own a boat, and neither do any of my brothers.”
The stricken look on his face when he couldn’t immediately give me what I asked for twisted my heart. “The beach, then. A secluded beach if you know of one. I just want to be out in the sun and maybe get my feet wet. And I’d never really want to kill one of those giant fish.”
I reached for his hand and squeezed it. His smile returned, and he nodded briskly. “I know just the place.”
Since I didn’t happen to grab a swimsuit in my hasty retreat, we stopped at a surf shop on the way down to the Keys. Aleksei was in the most bizarre, cheerful mood, and I loved it. He picked out red trunks to match the bikini I picked, then bought up a bunch of tourist stuff. Keychains, a snow globe, snorkeling gear, and two big beach towels among other things.
“You live here,” I reminded him as I put everything into the backseat of his car.
He slid his new sunglasses down his nose. “This is our first date. I want to remember it.”
First date? How sweet. Mulling it over, I tried not to let it make me sad. If only we were just regular, carefree people who could have a second and a third date without having to think about getting anyone killed. How wonderful would that be?
When he pulled into the deserted parking lot of the secluded beach, and I saw the vast swathe of white sand, my melancholy disappeared. We stripped down under a palm tree since no one else was around and just as I was pulling the tags off my bikini, he raced past me, stark naked, into the surf.
Waving his arms, he hollered for me to hurry and join him. This was fantasy land, right? Who needed swimsuits? I splashed after him into the water, tumbling forward when a wave cut me off at the knees. He caught me and swirled me around, his shouts of laughter getting carried away in the breeze. Grabbing him around the waist, I held on, soaking in the blazing sun on my shoulders as my legs swished in the water.
He finally stopped and leaned down to kiss me. I blinked away the dizziness and took in his eyes, bluer than the ocean, and even rivaling the cloudless sky. His lips touched mine and, just then, I really did believe everything would work out the way we wanted.
“Have you ever snorkeled?”
