by Roxie Rivera
My heart thudded into my throat. "Dad, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. It's nothing. I just—I worry about you."
"Dad…"
"I have to go. I'll call you soon. I love you, Lena."
"I love you, too, Dad."
The line went dead. I stared at my phone and replayed the bizarre conversation. Despite my father's ex-con history and his current illegal line of work, he'd always been a damned good dad to me. Unlike Vivian's father who had put her in harm's way again and again, Dad had given up the drug-dealing and gun-running for a safer criminal enterprise. His fencing operation had paid for me to attend the private high school where I'd met Vivian and Erin. As much as I hated the line of work he'd chosen, I couldn't deny that it had provided certain opportunities for me.
Not wanting to get out of bed but unable to fall back asleep, I scrolled through my list of missed calls and voicemails. Tommy had called, like, a million times. What the hell had he done this time? Whatever it was I had a bad feeling he'd dragged my dad into it.
Not wanting to deal with that mess, I hit my email inbox. Apparently word of my epic flounce from 716 had already spread. There were messages of the "you go, girl!" and the "what the fuck were you thinking?" variety. I was too tired to answer any of them, and honestly, I didn't have the answers.
Checking my Twitter timeline shocked me. A message sent out by Ty Weston, Houston's society gossipmonger and the king of an international gossip empire, tagged with my name and Yuri's handle with a pic attached had gotten a hell of a lot of retweets. Stomach knotting with dread, I clicked the link—and nearly died.
There, blown up on my phone's screen, was a snapshot of Yuri kissing me. The caption killed me. @PRPrincess giving new client @YNovakovsky that personal touch?
For the longest time, I simply stared at it. In fact, I was still staring at it when Vivian knocked on my bedroom door and stepped inside. She had her phone clutched in one hand and a mug of that cinnamon tea she loved so much in the other. From the look of her wet hair, she'd already been out for her morning run and had showered. Her gaze dropped to my phone. "I guess you've seen the photo."
"Yeah." I sat up and pushed my pillow behind my back for support. "Surely Ty had hotter gossip than me and Yuri kissing to peddle to his society page followers."
Vivian sat on the edge of my bed. "I don't know. That's a pretty hot picture."
I groaned. "This is crazy, Vee. Is this what it's going to be like if we date? Am I going to have to worry about dumbass people taking pics of us?"
"Probably." She didn’t even try to sugarcoat it for me. "The guy is a billionaire, Lena. And he's not one of those bottom-of-the-list billionaires either. Yuri is filthy rich. People love to gossip about sexy, wealthy men and the women they date."
"Ugh." I put my head in my hands. "I don't want everyone in my business."
"I guess you better decide if Yuri's worth the trouble."
The answer came to me instantly. "He is."
She smiled and thumped my leg through the covers. "I knew it!"
"What?"
"Last night, you were telling me you wanted to take it slow with him but I think maybe you two have been taking it slow for too long. Like glacially slow."
I started to point out that she had no business talking to me about dancing around a mutual attraction but bit my tongue. "Look, I like him. I really like Yuri. I just want it to go right between us."
"You want my advice? Stop thinking about everything that could go wrong. You always do that when you meet a great guy. It's like you're ready to pounce on the first thing that goes wrong so you can write him out of your life." She squeezed my foot through the duvet. "Don't let Yuri be one of those guys. He's special, Lena. I mean, he's, like, the one material."
I couldn’t argue with her about that. He was special. That's what scared me so much about dating him. He belonged to a world of wealth and privilege I couldn't even comprehend. What if I did something dumb? Used the wrong fork at a dinner or made some awful social gaffe that humiliated him? God, I'd just die!
My phone started to vibrate again. I glanced at the screen and saw Yuri's name. Clearing my throat, I took a deep breath and answered. "Hello?"
"Yelena?"
My belly wobbled as Yuri spoke my name in that rumbling baritone voice. "Hey, Yuri."
"You've seen the photo."
"Yes. I'm sorry. I didn't realize we were being watched."
"When you're with me, you're always being watched. Don't apologize. I thought it was a lovely photo. Not many couples have their very first kiss captured for posterity."
I could hear the teasing in his voice. "No, I suppose not. I haven't replied to Ty but I'm tempted."
"Leave it. It's not worth an online tiff with Houston's biggest gossipmonger. We're still on for Monday night?"
"Yes."
"Wonderful. I'll have my assistant, Anna, call you with the details. I have to run out of town for a few days." Regret filled his voice. "There's been a development overnight in one of my business interests abroad. I'm flying out as we speak to deal with it—but I will be back for our date."
I couldn't believe he was planning to fly to Europe and back—for me. "Yuri, don't worry about it. We can reschedule."
"Woman, you've evaded me for months. I'm not about to give you a reason to run away from me again."
A girlish giggle escaped my throat. "Okay."
"All right. Monday night. I can't wait to see you."
"Same here."
"Goodbye."
"Bye."
Feeling like a high school kid with her first crush, I couldn't stop the silly smile that spread across my face. Vivian looked so amused. "Oh my gosh! You have it bad."
Sliding down in bed, I clutched my phone to my chest and enjoyed the looping track of Yuri's sexy voice playing in my head. Hell, Vivian was right. I had it bad.
Monday night couldn't get here fast enough.
Chapter Four
Monday morning arrived before I was ready for it. Today we were launching the grand opening of Benny's new bakery location. As I dragged my ass out of bed at that abominable hour, I cursed bakers and their terrible work schedules. I could barely function enough to shower and gulp down two cups of coffee. How the hell was Benny going to do this every morning while baking that tiny little Dimitri bun in her oven?
The couple still hadn't officially announced their impending bundle of joy. It was still very early. I figured they were either waiting for the most dangerous period of the pregnancy to pass or for their wedding in early December or maybe both. Either way it really wasn't my business—but that didn't mean I wasn’t going to be nosy about it.
When I arrived at the bakery a quarter after five, I found a nice spot in the parking lot. The whole thing had been resurfaced last week and looked perfect. I stopped to admire the mural Vivian had painted along the exposed wall of the new building. She'd brought together the artsy friends she shared a studio space with to complete the project. Every time I looked at it, I found different things to love.
Inside the bakery, the place was bustling. Benny spotted me and waved. I couldn’t believe how pretty and vibrant she looked this morning. Maybe that saying about pregnancy glow was true. Dimitri sure as heck couldn't keep his eyes off her. She'd put him to work assembling bakery boxes but his loving, hungry gaze remained fixed on her.
"If he keeps staring at you like that, he's going to set off the smoke alarms!" I gave Benny a quick hug as she joined me near the entrance.
Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled at her soon-to-be husband. "Well someone wanted to get frisky this morning but we were already running late so I had to shut him down."
"Ouch. Denied!" I actually felt a little bad for the big blond Russian hunk. After the last few nights of ridiculously sexy dreams starring Yuri, I'd woken up frustrated and needful. Considering some of the hotly whispered stories Benny had told me, Dimitri had one hell of a libido. Right now, he looked at Benny like he wanted to j
ust eat her right up.
"He knows I'll make it up to him later."
Laughing at her naughty innuendo, I whipped out the binder I'd put together and pulled out the laminated, color-coded charts I'd worked on yesterday.
Benny touched my wrist. "Is it true about your job? I saw your Facebook and Twitter feeds," she explained. "I asked Vivian but she said that you hadn't said anything concrete."
My tummy clenched just thinking about the awkward conversation I'd had with my boss. "They didn't fire me. Actually, they tried to get me to stay but I just thought fuck it. I'm done. So I quit."
"What happens now?"
"I have no idea." My tummy tightened even more. "I really don't. I'm sort of…waiting. I've been careful with my money so I have enough to keep me going for ten or twelve months, maybe even longer if I really cut back to the bare minimums."
"I don't think you'll have a hard time finding a new job."
"I've already had a few offers." I didn't tell her that one of them was from Yuri. "I considered two of them seriously but I just keep thinking that maybe this is the push I needed to go off on my own. I can set my own hours. I can work with people who will respect me and not steal from me. I can be the master of my own destiny, you know?"
"I have faith in you." She squeezed my arm. "You'll land on your feet."
"Let's hope so. Otherwise Vivi might be in the market for a new roommate." I tapped the schedule to get us back on track. "Mark, the reporter for the Life section of the paper, is coming out with a photographer around eight. I thought we'd feature you, Marco, Adam, Celia and Lupe in that piece. Mark loves your buns—"—I winked at her as she snickered—"—so I know he's going to give you a great write-up."
"And Flora at Hoy?" Benny named the major Spanish language newspaper in the city. "Is she still coming today?"
"She'll be here at nine o'clock but I promised I'd snap pics from the official opening for her to use. Ada Montoya will be here around ten to shoot a package for the noon, six and ten broadcasts on the Spanish channel news."
Benny self-consciously touched her face. "Should I put on more makeup for that?"
Before I could answer, Dimitri swept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Holding her from behind, he bent down and placed a noisy kiss on her cheek. "You don't need makeup. You're already so damn beautiful. Put on more makeup and I'll have to grab the bat from your office to fight off the men who will be stampeding down here."
A blush crept up Benny's neck and colored her cheeks. Dimitri dropped his lips to her ear and whispered something that only she could hear. Her eyes widened briefly and she curled under her lips as if to stifle a frustrated moan.
Normally, their public display of affection would have inspired such envy in me. It was the same thing I felt when I watched Ivan nuzzle Erin's neck or stroke her hand so lovingly. Today I felt oddly…hopeful. Tonight I would see Yuri—and anything could happen.
As if reading my mind, Dimitri loosened his embrace of Benny. A mischievous smile played upon his lips. "So—tell me about this picture."
I groaned. "Please don't tease me, Dimitri. Vivian hasn't let up since the dang thing showed up online."
He laughed. "I'm shocked. Sweet little Vivian being so mean? Never."
"Sweet? Honey, don't let that innocent schoolgirl exterior fool you. Underestimate Vivian at your own peril."
Still smiling, Benny finally found the courage to ask what I'm sure she'd been dying to know since I walked in the front door. "So are you two dating or what?"
"We're getting together tonight."
"He asked you out?" She looked so excited I was surprised she wasn't jumping up and down.
"Not exactly," I said and dropped my gaze. "He sort of told me."
Dimitri snorted with amusement. "Now that sounds very much like Yuri."
"Is he coming over this morning?" Benny wondered.
I shook my head. "There was some issue in Europe. The pipeline, I think." I'd hit the internet after he'd called me and found a few articles hinting at trouble. "He should be back here sometime this afternoon. Or, at least, that's what Anna, his assistant, told me last night in the email she sent."
Benny frowned. "He had his assistant email you about your date?"
"I know." I rolled my eyes. "Believe me. He's going to hear about that. I thought about sending him a text to let him know how uncool it was but I sort of felt bad for him. I have a feeling he's under a lot of pressure."
She hummed with uncertainty and glanced at Dimitri. He put up his hands and stepped away from her. "I'm not touching this one."
She thumped him in the chest. "You better go on then. I don't want you to feel conflicted while we gossip about your boy."
Grinning, he kissed the top of her head and left to help Marco. Benny turned back to me. She studied me for a moment before finally saying, "I think you have to establish very early in this relationship how things are going to go. He's like Nikolai. He's used to people doing what he says, when he says it. It's hard to break bad behaviors once you let them start. Look at my brother? Like—whoa. I should have nipped that gangster crap of his in the bud but I let it slide. Bad habits, you know?"
"I get it." I sensed she felt awkward telling me what she thought but I appreciated that she cared enough about me to lay it on the line.
"Look, I really think that Yuri has put you in a different category than all those other women he's…romanced. There's real potential here, you know?"
I nodded. "When we were having dinner the other night, I could tell Yuri feels out of his element with me. I feel the same way with him. This is new territory for both of us. I'm not playing by the same rules most of the women he's dated used and he's definitely not playing by the same rules of the guys I've dated."
"Sounds pretty exciting actually. You're both entering a whole new world filled with possibilities."
I liked the way she described the way things stood between Yuri and me. It had a hopeful ring to it.
In no time at all, the bakery got crazy busy. By the time the doors were opened at six on the dot, there was a line snaking down the street. Patrons swarmed the place, many of them old faces who had followed from the other location. Benny and some of her longtime employees stood near the door and welcomed them inside.
I was so utterly thrilled by the turnout and snapped dozens of pics. Tagging the hell out of them, I posted them to the bakery's social media accounts and my own. I watched the hashtag I'd chosen for the launch gain momentum.
By the time the first reporter showed up, the line of waiting customers had grown even longer. Benny looked a bit frazzled but one soothing caress from Dimitri settled her nerves. I stood on the sidelines and watched her interviews. All the coaching I'd done had really worked out for her. She came across exactly as I knew her to be in real life—sweet, authentic and excited about her business.
I kept an eye on the reviews on some of the major online sites and the bakery's Facebook page. There were a couple of complainers about the slow pace of the line early in the morning but overall the reviews were hugely positive. Everyone raved about the pastries and burritos and Lupe's special hot chocolate.
When Erin and Ivan stopped by for a late breakfast, I got dragged into a corner by her. With her gossipy face firmly in place, she demanded, "You better spill it. I know you've been dodging my calls. What is going on with you?"
"I quit the firm. I'm sort of, kind of, possibly dating Yuri. That's what's going on with me. What's new with you?"
Her mouth curved in a wicked smile. "Oh I see. We're going to play it cool, huh? That's the Lena M.O., right?"
Now I was smiling. "Pretty much."
She shook her head and laughed. "For what it's worth, Ivan thought you two looked great together in the photo. Actually, what he really said was finally."
I rolled my eyes. "Tell Ivan I said thank you for his approval."
"I know you're joking but those four guys?" She glanced at Dimitri and Ivan who chatted acros
s the restaurant. "They value one another's opinions big time. It's good that Nikolai, Dimitri and Ivan like you so much."
"To be fair, our group is the same way. You relied on our opinions when you were talking about moving in with Ivan. If we'd said no, you would have reconsidered."
"Maybe," she said uncertainly. "By the time he asked me to move in with him, I was totally head over heels for him." She gazed at Ivan with such love in her eyes. "Some mornings I wake up and I can't believe how lucky I am that he risked his life to help me save my sister. I mean, I know how he looks. He's so big and scary and intimidating—but my God, Lena. That man only knows one way to love and that is totally and completely. I've never been happier."
She gulped and blinked rapidly. Regaining her composure, she said, "I want that for you. I want you to know how totally fucking amazing it is to know you have a man like Ivan in your corner."
Feeling a bit of pressure, I warned, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Yuri and I have only been on one sort-of date. We haven't even slept together yet."
Erin waggled her eyebrows. "Ooh! You think tonight is the night?"
"No. Definitely not."
"What if he turns on that infamous charm?"
"He tried that the other night. It didn't work."
"Uh-huh." She eyed me skeptically. "It didn't make you even the slightest bit tingly?'
"Well…"
"Ha! Knew it!"
I rolled my eyes. "You're a real goofball, you know that?"
She threw her arms around me. "And you love me!"
"Yeah. I guess." I hugged her back. Catching Ivan's amused gaze, I released her. "I think the Hulk is ready to go. I'm sure he's got a whole gym full of fighters waiting to be tortured."
"Probably," she agreed with a laugh. "I'm going to text you tonight. I want a play-by-play."
"Erin, you're impossible!"
"Whatever!" She snapped my arm with a flick of her finger. "You always want the juicy details from me and Benny. Now it's your turn to entertain us with all the deliciously dirty bits."
She had a point. I had been awfully obnoxious about getting the scoop on the between-the-sheet action Benny and Erin shared with their men. I decided payback was only fair. "All right. Fine. But try to keep it to one text an hour. He's going to think I'm a freak if I'm running to the bathroom every twenty minutes to answer you."