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“Stay put and tell me all about her,” she said eagerly. “I want to know every last thing, especially if she’ll make a good sister-in-law.”
I gaped at her. “What?”
“Oh, come on. Don’t try to play dumb. I have eyes, and I know you better than you know yourself. You were turning yourself inside out just now trying to please her and couldn’t take your eyes off her. You barely blinked.” She leaned back, pleased with herself.
“I was trying to make sure she’s comfortable in a new environment,” I argued. It was futile. The smug look couldn’t be wiped from my sister’s face. “She’d never adjust to our lifestyle,” I said, but then I couldn’t help but brag about how she’d smashed the guy’s face who tried to grab her.
I gave Evelina the blow-by-blow of the attack, maintaining my bravado as best I could because whenever I thought about how things might have turned out differently, I started to shake.
“No, you’re not in love with her at all,” she said, putting Maks in his pack-and-play next to her desk.
“Shut up. I’m not. She’s not in love with me, either.” That part was true, at least.
Like any self-respecting sister, Evelina refused to let up. “Well, I think this whole surrogacy thing was idiotic and rash. You can’t imagine how hard it is to be a parent when there are two of you. I think you should count yourself lucky you won’t have to go it alone after all.”
I blinked. “What in the hell does that mean?”
“You know what it means,” she said. “And if you don’t yet, you’ll get there.”
“Shut up,” I repeated.
She let it go, and we got back to work, each of us concentrating on our screens as we pored through the collected footage in hopes of finding a clue to Aldo Gianni’s whereabouts. I couldn’t help but think it certainly would be a lot nicer if what she said about not having to go it alone was true. The way I felt when I first signed up to become a parent through surrogacy wasn’t the way I felt now. I was as dedicated as ever to having a child, but I wasn’t so against the idea of its mother being part of our lives anymore.
Every half hour or so, I got up to check on Sam and make sure she was comfortable or if she needed anything. When I came back in and sat down after the third time, I looked up to see Evelina smiling fondly at me.
“What’s up?” I asked, instantly suspicious of her cat that ate the cream look.
“I think it’s funny how you didn’t want to waste time on a relationship, but now look how much time you’re spending on Samantha.”
I sighed, wondering if it was worth fighting. Before I could tell Ev to keep her thoughts to herself, an alarm went off on her computer, startling Maks. She leaned down and patted his back at the same time as she studied the alert. Her eyes grew wide, and she turned to me with a grin.
“I think I’ve got him,” she said.
Forgetting everything but ending the war I didn’t start, I hurried over to see what she found.
Chapter 26 - Samantha
I dozed off under the big, shady patio that looked out over the waterways of Miami and woke up to ravenous hunger. Calling for Burya, who was in heaven in the huge, fenced-in yard and didn’t have to be under constant supervision or on his leash, I decided it was time to get something substantial to eat.
That morning I had swiped a banana off the counter, but even though Evelina had told me to make myself at home, I couldn’t make myself rummage in her pantry. It was nice to discover that Leo’s tenderness of the night before wasn’t a figment of my imagination and was still going strong. He fawned all over me to the point it was getting embarrassing and had checked on me several times before I fell asleep.
I should have let him get me something to eat, but then he would have worried that I didn’t feel comfortable and made a fuss about it. The fact of the matter was I didn’t feel comfortable. It was a totally different situation than staying at the other house where we were the only ones there. Yes, I did want to make a good impression on his twin sister. And no, I wasn’t sure why.
I took a moment to remember my goal for the day. Not worry about anything. Stay stress-free. Starving myself and the baby to be a good houseguest wasn’t on the list, so I headed inside.
Back in the kitchen, Leo, Evelina, and her silver fox of a husband, Mikhail, were all sitting around the table, deep in conversation, which promptly stopped as soon as they noticed my creeping in through the sliding door. How was I supposed to not worry about anything when everyone clammed up when I arrived on the scene?
Leo tried to pretend it didn’t happen and jumped up to pull out a chair for me, asking what I wanted for lunch. “I can make you a sandwich, a salad, anything your heart desires.”
“My heart desires for you to stop acting so weird. It’s clear something’s going on, so what is it?”
He didn’t have an answer for me right away, which meant he was formulating a cover story.
Evelina reached across the table and lightly swatted his arm. “Pregnant women won’t dissolve at the first hint of trouble, Leo.”
“This one will,” he said indignantly. “We had to go to the hospital yesterday because she was under too much stress.”
I felt my face heating up and tried to stuff down my hurt feelings. They had all but confirmed they were planning something that would cause me stress. Firmly reminding myself that I wasn’t a part of his family, merely an employee, I took a deep breath and got up.
