Maria shifted, still leaning against me but moving so she couldn’t see my phone screen over my shoulder. “Is she okay?” she asked. I looked up, frowning harder. It was not what I had expected Maria to ask. I thought she would be annoyed, ask what Kira wanted. Or perhaps worried. After all, the last time she’d seen us, Kira had kissed me.
I couldn’t answer the question without opening the message, so I did. I also turned the phone so Maria could’ve seen it if she wanted to. The message was short. It barely answered Maria’s question.
“She just asks if she can come over,” I commented. “I’ll text her back that she can’t,” I was quick to add. I didn’t want Kira to be the reason Maria and I had an argument on our first official day as a couple. I didn’t want to argue with Maria at all! Having my ex text me seemed like a sure way to get there.
Maria frowned. She reached out, fingers brushing over my hand and holding me back from hitting the keyboard. “Why can’t she come over?” Maria asked. The question was so baffling that for a moment, I just looked at her. Kira was my ex. My ex who had recently tried to kiss me. Of course she couldn’t come over, not when Maria and I were officially together now.
“I know we were going to go out,” Maria continued. “But we can do that another night. I’m sure your mama would be happy to teach me how to cook something. We can all have dinner here, if Kira wants to stay that long.”
It took me a moment to realize what Maria was saying. That she was inviting Kira over. “But why?” I asked stupidly. Truthfully, I wanted Kira to come over. Mama would be pleased to see her, she’d always liked Kira even if she hadn’t liked Kira for me. But wouldn’t it be super weird?
My question seemed to confuse Maria almost as much as Maria’s invitation confused me. “Because Kira’s your friend, isn’t she?” she asked. “She’s your friend, and from what you’ve told me, she’s not having the easiest time. She doesn’t always have the energy to want to do things, right?” I nodded. Kira asking to come over, rather than crying and begging me to come to hers, was rare.
Maria shrugged. “So, I think we should make the most of her energy today. We can take your parents for dinner anytime. They’re here for another week and a half.”
“Alright.” I nodded. “If you’re sure?” I added, feeling like I should check again. When Maria nodded, I began to type a reply. I was honest and said that Maria was there, that my parents were there, but that I’d still like her to come over. It took a while for Kira to reply. When she did, it said she’d come. I felt good about that.
Turning to Maria, I gave her a soft smile. “Thank you,” I said. It still seemed odd to me that she’d be so okay with Kira coming over. But Maria was right, Kira was my friend and... I wanted to stay friends with her. But just friends.
“I hadn’t... I didn’t know I could be friends with Kira if I dated you,” I admitted. “I don’t want you to feel jealous or anything. You have no reason to. I’m not interested in Kira like that.” And sure, we’d always share a history but it was just that - a history.
Maria’s expression softened. I could see her understanding of my reluctance dawn across her face. “I don’t want you to stop being friends with anybody just because we’re in a relationship,” she said gently.
“I trust you. If you wanted to be with Kira, you could be. I know that you want to be with me.” She squeezed my arm, her eyes bright and warm. I did want to be with her. I wanted nothing more. And I would prove that as often as Maria would let me.
“You’re not going to do anything with Kira that I need to be jealous of,” she said. Her voice was so sure, like she had no doubt at all that I would be faithful to her. And, of course, I would. “I don’t know if Kira wants to be my friend,” she added, looking a little more worried. “But I don’t have to hang around. I can go and cook with your mom while you and Kira talk.”
The fact that Maria offered to leave me and Kira alone, to let us spend time together, showed just how much she trusted me. Even having seen Kira kiss me, Maria still knew I wanted this thing with her. I wanted everything with her.
“I think she’ll come around to liking you,” I told Maria. “You’re very likable,” I added teasingly, pulling her in for a kiss. “I best go and tell mama that Kira’s joining us for dinner,” I commented, getting up. “And that she’s to teach you how to make a honey cake! It’s very important.”
It wasn’t, but I knew that Maria would enjoy learning it.
She bounced up, her hand reaching for mine so she could lace our fingers together as we walked. “I’m excited to take on a new challenge,” she said, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. “Before your mama leaves, I want to make a honey cake at least half as good as Anya's.”
I chuckled. It was a very realistic goal. Far more so than hoping to learn to make a cake as good as Anya’s in under two weeks.
Then again, if Maria set her mind to it, she could do anything. Even make friends with Kira. And I loved her for wanting to try.
“But we should make something savory for dinner, too,” Maria added. “Your nutritionist won’t be happy if I feed you only on cake.”
“Mama’s got some great nutrition-friendly recipes,” I promised. “If you want to learn, I’m sure she’ll show you.” I didn’t expect Maria to cook for me. At the same time, I knew she had been enjoying learning to cook. And besides, mama would be thrilled to teach Maria.
This was confirmed by the genuinely excited squee that my mama gave when we walked through to the kitchen and told her. Like I had, she gave Maria a suspicious look when I told her that Kira would be joining us for dinner. And just like she had with me, Maria assured mama that she wanted Kira and I to be friends. Because it was important to me.
I watched mama and Maria chat in a mix of Russian and English. They were both learning, which was sweet.
When the doorbell rang about twenty minutes later, I went to let Kira in. It still felt odd that Maria was so cool about it. At the same time, knowing that she wanted to make friends with Kira, too, warmed my heart. Maria was trying for me. That was... a partnership, I realized.
She wasn’t just my friend. Or just my girlfriend. She was my partner. Maybe that was what soulmates were all about.
I told Kira about it. About how happy Maria made me.
It felt a little cruel when Kira didn’t have that happiness in her life. But if I had expected tears, I was proven wrong. Kira hugged me. She told me how happy she was that I was happy and how sorry she was that she couldn’t be that for me.
At one point in time, I had been sorry about that, too. But now? I was glad. If Kira and I hadn’t been so bad together, I might never have gotten together with Maria.
We talked for ages. For the first time in a long time, it felt like I had Kira back. The Kira who had laughed, who had joked. Mama came in to call us for dinner and she, too, was glad to see Kira.
The dinner itself was awkward only briefly and that was when papa came downstairs and frowned at having both Maria and Kira there. Once I’d explained how Kira was my friend and Maria was fine with that, papa nodded. He probably had nothing else he could say to that.
I smiled at Maria across the table, our eyes meeting over the mashed potato bowl.
She was still my best friend.
And that felt amazing!
Chapter Twenty
I didn’t quite learn how to make a honey cake half as good as Anya’s. It really was a complicated recipe. And we spent so much time out doing things that Lev’s mama and I didn’t have time to make it more than twice. The second one was edible. I counted that as a win.
Lev’s parents took me aside before they left, telling me how great a time they’d had. No visit before had been as adventurous, they told me. I was pleased with that. Lev’s mama added that I had to stay with them next time Lev came to Russia.
Six months ago, the thought of going back to Moscow would’ve made me anxious. Now, I felt confident that I’d be well-received. For as long as I could keep making
Lev happy, his parents would keep smiling on us both.
Lev made me happy, too. I had told my mom that I had a new boyfriend to introduce her to. I’d said I wanted to keep him a surprise, but she had her suspicions. I’d avoided mentioning Lev to her by name - but I’d told her about my new Russian friend. She’d be delighted as soon as she realized that I’d met my very own Lev, at last.
I’d agreed to meet Emily at mom’s house. Lev was joining us later, after practice, giving us girls plenty of time to catch up.
“So, what are we making?” I asked Emily. Mom was in the garden, making sure all her butterfly-attracting plants were well-watered. I’d told her that my boyfriend wanted the full garden tour.
Now that my culinary skills went a bit beyond pasta and jars of sauce, I could actually be a help to Emily in the kitchen. It was a novel sensation. “Will you teach me that healthy Thai curry that you made?”
“Yeah, of course,” Emily agreed easily. She handed me things for chopping. It felt nice being back at our mom’s house, making dinner together. Not that we’d ever made dinner together! But I had spent a lot of time in the kitchen keeping Emily company as she cooked on the days mom had to work late.
She set out the dishes we would need for the meal. “It’s pretty nice how into cooking you’ve gotten,” she commented. “Do you think that’s purely because of Lev?”
I mulled that over as I chopped some onions. It was nice to be able to cook for Lev. I’d never been motivated when I was only cooking for myself. But I could have cooked for Emily or my mom. They’d have welcomed me into their kitchens to experiment.
“I think it’s that it was something Lev and I could learn together,” I said. “Not Russian food. But we baked cookies together, and tried healthy recipes together.” I’d enjoyed that, having someone as clueless as I was.
I shrugged slightly. “By the time I started learning to cook, you and mom already knew how.” It wasn’t a criticism. But it had meant that I would have been learning from my mom or my sister, not learning with them.
Emily hummed at that. I felt she understood what I meant. “You and Lev are pretty good at learning things together,” she offered. “At least, I’m assuming he’s taking you dancing again?” I laughed softly. After the display he’d put on at the hockey game, Lev could hardly refuse to take me dancing again.
Not that he would.
That was pretty great, too, knowing that I could trust Lev to want the same things I wanted. Or at least to want to do the things that made me happy. “You’re so in love,” Emily laughed. “I don’t think I’ve seen you without a smile on your face since the two of you got together.”
My smile, if anything, got even brighter. “I seem to remember you smiled for months after you met Tanya,” I pointed out. I was glad my sister was so happy. I’d never been envious of what she had. At least, not in a way that outweighed my being grateful she had it. It felt good to join her and Tanya, to know that I, too, had someone I could go home to.
Not that Lev and I were living together. Not yet. But I spent a lot of time at his house. Not just because he had a bigger kitchen.
“He makes me happy, and I want to make him happy,” I said simply. “That feels a lot like being friends did, only more. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, definitely.” Emily nodded. “I feel like that with Tanya. Like we’re just... in this together, you know?” And I realized that I did know. That made me smile widely, too. Having Lev and the feelings I had for him, made it easier to understand why mom had been so pushy about me meeting my soulmate. I got that she wanted this for me, wanted me to be happy.
And now I was! It was so exciting to think that she’d meet Lev soon.
As if sensing that he was being talked about, a doorbell rang announcing Lev’s arrival. He was early, which was pretty surprising. It showed how much he cared to be here on time, to meet my mom.
“Go on, go let him in,” Emily urged. I grinned.
When I opened the door, Lev smiled at me widely. “Hey you,” he greeted, holding up flowers and a bottle of wine. “Never come empty-handed,” he teased, reaching around the flowers so he could kiss me.
I let him pull me in close, wrapping one arm around him. “I missed you.” We’d only been apart for a day. It should have felt too sentimental to say such a thing. But it was true. I missed Lev when we were apart. Which only made it that much sweeter when we could be together again.
“Are you ready for this?” I asked him seriously. “My mom is going to be so excited once she finds out your name.” I hoped mom wasn’t going to ask Lev when he planned to propose, but I couldn’t promise it. Fortunately, he’d seemed pretty okay with that being a question. Even if it was one we answered with ‘not yet’.
“Of course I’m excited,” Lev nodded. “I’m on time,” he pointed out with a grin. In fact, he was earlier than on time. But I doubted my mom would mind. Maybe if she had been the one cooking. Since Emily was in charge of the kitchen, it just gave us the opportunity to chat.
I led Lev through to the garden where mom was just finishing up the watering. She turned to us with surprise, obviously not expecting Lev to get here so soon. “Oh, hello!” she greeted, the excitement evident in her tone. “I’m sorry, I’m still in my gardening clothes,” she rushed to apologize.
“That’s more than fine,” Lev promised. “I’m sorry for being early, it’s not usually my style,” he added with a small grin. “I’ve brought you some flowers and wine to go with dinner.” Lev held up both, giving my mom another charming smile.
The excitement in my chest was almost too much to contain. This moment meant so much to me. And it would mean so much to my mom. I loved that Lev had gone all out, arriving early and with gifts.
“That’s very kind,” my mom said, taking the flowers. “We’ll have to take the wine through to Emily to let it breathe.” She smiled back. I could see in her eyes how happy she was to finally meet a man I cared for enough to bring him home.
I took the wine, so mom wouldn’t have to juggle both it and the flowers. And so that she wouldn’t drop it when I said what I wanted to say next.
“Let me do proper introductions.” Lev caught my eye, giving me a grin that let me know he was as excited as I was. I waved my free hand at mom. “You know this is my mom, Julie Rawlins.”
I reached for mom’s hand, squeezing it. “And mom, this is Lev Popov.”
For a beat, there was silence. Then my mom gave a squeak, lifting the flowers to her face and hiding behind them. I beamed.
“Maria!” she hissed from behind the bouquet. “You didn’t tell me!”
I laughed. “I’m telling you now, mom. This is Lev. My Lev. I’m sorry that you weren’t the one to introduce us.”
My mom laughed, her cheeks still rosy from the embarrassment. She powered through, lowering the flowers to smile at Lev. “I’m very glad to meet you,” she told him. Lev beamed back at her.
“And me. I’ve heard a lot about you from Maria,” he said. It struck me that Lev wasn’t even lying. He asked about my mom, wanting to learn more. It was nice to have him genuinely care simply because I cared. That was yet another thing we shared.
Mom led us to the kitchen and Emily gave Lev a happy smile. “Hey, Lev,” she greeted. My mom’s eyes widened.
“You knew?!” she accused my sister. “You knew and didn’t tell me? That’s not very nice, Emily.” The scolding didn’t seem to affect Emily, not the way she laughed.
“Well, you know now,” she pointed out. “Besides, I’ve mentioned Lev to you before, he plays hockey,” Emily reminded her. I doubted she would’ve mentioned Lev’s name to mom. Otherwise, she’d have been all over that, but we had talked about my Russian friend and how he played hockey.
It all seemed to click together in my mom’s head as she set the flowers down. “Well, I’m glad to finally be in the loop,” she tutted.
Handing the wine to Emily, I crossed the room, pulling my mom into a hug. I pressed a swift kiss again
st her cheek. “I love you, mom. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you Lev’s name before. You know what you would have been like.”
Mom squeezed me back, patting my sides gently. “I don’t know what you mean,” she sniffed. I could see from the twinkle in her eyes as she pulled away, that she did know.
“I’m tempted to get out the embarrassing baby pictures,” mom teased. I laughed. It would be fair payback, I supposed. I didn’t mind Lev seeing them. He might not know all my embarrassing family stories yet, but he would. I looked forward to sharing them with him.
Mom led us out of the kitchen, all except Emily, and we settled in the living room. “Are you a family man, Lev?” mom asked.
“I am,” Lev confirmed easily. “I haven’t got siblings, like Maria, but I’m very close to my parents. They’ve just flown home to Russia, but they’ll be back in the summer. I’d love for you to meet them,” he told her. I could easily tell how excited my mom was at the prospect. Lev and I hadn’t been together for long but, because of our friendship, it felt like we had been.
Taking the next step in our relationship felt good! But I’d meant it when I’d told Emily that it still felt like we were friends. Which was nice, since losing my friendship had been something Lev worried about.
“I would love to see family photos,” he added with a grin. “Especially maybe some of Maria’s dad?” Lev’s tone was much softer when he asked that. “I’ve heard a lot about him, too.”
Mom’s eyes widened, but she gave an eager nod. “I’d love to show you photographs of my husband,” she agreed, getting to her feet while I pulled Lev down beside me onto the couch. When she returned with one of the birthday albums, mom sat on Lev’s other side, letting him hold the book while she pointed out pictures.
“This was Maria’s fifth birthday,” she said, pointing to the picture of my childhood self dressed in a hideous pair of green-and-white floral dungarees. “She watched The Sound of Music for the first time, and wanted me to make her clothes out of curtains,” mom explained.
Final Score (Madison Howlers #5) Page 19