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And that was it. I didn’t need a further signal to understand that Nikolai was done having that conversation.
Breakfast continued in silence.
The appointment at the clinic went quicker than either of us had expected. But I had to give Nikolai some credit, he was a hundred percent attentive, and watching him so engrossed stirred something in my heart.
It was funny how, only a night ago, I planned to run away from the same man whose brows were raised inquisitively as we reviewed most of the information given at the clinic while on our way to the mall.
Nikolai didn’t let it go. Even as we walked hand-in-hand, he voiced a myriad of questions about child development, baby nutrition, and childbirth, his shoulders tense and his brows furrowed.
I let go of his hand and spun on my heels—my back to the crowd. I ignored the bodyguard behind us as I faced him. “Hey, you know it’s okay not to understand everything at the moment, right?”
His lips curved downwards. “That isn’t safe, Giselle.”
“This?” I pointed at my feet and briefly glanced backward. “What, you’ve never walked backwards before?”
“No.” His response was quick and sharp, and his eyes shifted a lot, possibly scanning the entire mall. “Giselle, I don’t think that’s good for the baby.”
I groaned and palmed my forehead. He needed to calm down, relax, and have a little fun. “God, Niko! Take a breather. The baby is fine, I am fine, and everything else is splendid.”
“You can’t see what’s behind you.”
“But you can, Nikolai,” I argued.
Then, I stopped, and he halted his steps too. With a huff, I took his hand in mine and intertwined our fingers. The hardness in his almost-black eyes softened, and the tension relaxed. I moved closer to him and cupped his cheeks.
“What’s your definition of fun?” I asked, and his face scrunched up. It took a moment before he responded.
“Fun?”
I withdrew my hand with a sigh. “That’s exactly what I thought. You have no idea how to have fun, do you?”
“I thought we came here to shop.”
“What is shopping without a little fun?” I beamed and patted his hands. “Don’t worry, you’re in good hands. It’s my turn to take care of you. Come on, there’s a lot you need to learn.”
I tugged on his hands and pulled him towards the escalator. Nikolai couldn’t have been more confused. “Sorry, but, um, can you run this by me one more time? How exactly are you going to take care of me on an escalator?”
The people who passed by dashed us cursory glances, but we ignored them, and I watched him gaze at the escalator as though it were a death trap.
“Take my hand,” I stretched my hand, palm up. He stared at my hand, then back at me. “Come on, Nikolai. You can’t possibly be scared of my hand.”
“Pfft...” Nose upturned, and brow raised, he scoffed and placed his hands in mine. “Why would I be scared of that?”
I suppressed a grin from breaking out on my face and stepped forward on the electric machine.
Nikolai stood close to me, poker-faced, with one hand in the pocket of his black dress pants. We advanced to the top, and he stuck closer to my side at the sight of so many people. Needless to say, he got the attention of most of the ladies that walked past us. But one look at his face showed that he was still more concerned about keeping me safe.
His poker face morphed into a grimace as I pulled him deeper into the sea of people. He clutched my hand tightly like he was scared to let go of me for even a second. Luckily, I was able to navigate my way to a less busy section of the mall.
With a proud smile, I placed a hand on my hip and admired the beautiful array of massage chairs. I inhaled deeply and sighed, “Can you smell that?”
He looked around and over our shoulders. “Can I smell what?”
“That’s the smell of relaxation in the air,” I said. And surprisingly, Nikolai snickered.
I looked up at him, and he shook his head; his eyes gleaming under the light.
“No. There’s no way I’m doing that.”
