I nodded. “Old people music.”
There was laughter and dancing and Lia and I trying to teach Faith and Lina Aussie slang. It was like any family day at the pool, just lounging around and being normal. It was even better than the night before. And all the more pleasant because I could, for a moment, half-pretend that it was summer and I hadn’t totally missed out on it.
I also didn’t miss out on the way I was sure I could feel Dmitri’s eyes on me from the moment I took my warm clothes off. Not that I’d been successful at keeping my eyes off him either. Although when Faith brought up Eric, I was paying a little more attention.
“I hear Lord Baker escorted you to Dante Rios opening last night,” Faith said and I have no idea why I looked back to where Dmitri was standing with Dad, Rex and Hilde.
I cleared my throat and forced myself to stare at the cup in my hand. “He did.”
Faith squealed in excitement. “And? What did you think of him?”
I laughed. “Uh. He’s very nice. We had a good night.”
Faith nudged me. “Oh yes. A good night.” She winked.
I smiled. “Nothing like that.”
“Faith!” Lina called and Faith gave me a smile and hurried over to climb in the pool.
“Lord Baker?” Once again, Dmitri managed to just appear at my side, as silently and near magically as Medina.
I nodded slowly. “Yep,” I told the crown prince.
“He is an interesting choice.”
“Dad picked him. As it were.”
“Did you have a good night at least?”
I looked at him in exasperation before turning back to watch Kostin, their sisters, and Lia playing in the pool. “Yes. It was…almost like being normal,” I told him because it was true. “The perks of being a lady with none of the hassle.”
“The hassle?” his voice came out a little strangled and I would have noticed even had he not cleared his throat.
“It was less…stuffy. Lia was more relaxed, like she used to be at home, and Rupert was there. We laughed and joked and I felt like a teenager again who got to enjoy life. You know?”
“Not really.”
I sighed. “It was just nice to not feel quite so under a microscope, like I hadn’t lost who I was.”
“You do miss your old life, then?”
“Yes and no. There are things I wouldn’t change.”
“Like what?”
“Like the time I get to spend with Dad and Lia now. Like meeting your family and getting to know them. Like–”
“Lord Baker?”
I frowned at him. “Don’t do that, Mitya,” I pleaded.
“Do what?” There was a hint of coldness in his eyes and his tone and I was fighting myself very hard not to lose my shit with him.
“You have your obligations and I have mine. Let’s not pretend this is any different.”
“Nie?”
“Nie. I’m not going to end up engaged to my obligations in three weeks.” And I semi-lost my shit anyway. I was just thankful that our families were in the room and there wasn’t the time nor the space for a full-blown argument.
“Tati,” he said softly, his fingers skimming mine before I pulled my hand away.
“Just leave it, Dmitri. Okay? It doesn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
I grunted in annoyance. “Is now really the time for this?” I asked, throwing a look around the room to our very present families.
He stepped so close I felt his chest against my arm, and leant his lips towards my ear. “Perhaps not. So I will say only this. I fully understand we have our obligations, Tati. But that does not mean I have to like it.”
Then he was gone and I let out the huge breath I didn’t realise I was holding.
“Shall we play cricket?” Lina called, hanging over the side of the pool in a very un-princess-like manner.
“Cricket?” I asked, shaking off my mood after my chat with Dmitri.
She nodded. “Uncle Max got us a set. Although he said we should really have an esky?” She wrinkled her nose in confusion and I laughed.
“Yeah. All else fails, use the esky for stumps.”
“Truth!” Lia called.
They all climbed out of the pool, slipping a bit on the floor. While they did a cursory towel off, Lia and I set up the stumps at a randomly designated distance apart. Then Lia lined up with the ball while Kostin and Dad took up position as batters, with Kostin facing.
Kostin smiled. “This would be easier if Nico were here. He at least played cricket at school.”
“Come on!” Lina called. “We watch the boys play all the time. It can’t be that hard.”
I snorted. “If it’s not that hard, why don’t you have a go then?” I asked.
She smiled at me. “All right then, I will.”
She went over to Kostin and took the bat from him. Lia spun the ball in her hand and grinned at me. It wasn’t like we’d played cricket at school either – Lia’s friend Amina had, though – but we’d done our fair share of attempting to play beach cricket in the summer. And Lia had always been a pretty decent bowler by most standards.
“How about we do underarm to start, sweet?” Dad said to her and Lia sighed dramatically but nodded.
After a few attempts, Lina conceded that it was in fact harder than it looked. However, Hilde was pretty decent at it. Soon we’d roped in Neil, Nikolai and the girls’ guard Tomas for extra players. Weirdly, Nikolai was actually quite a good batter as well.
It was a very backyard version where we didn’t really score runs or bother with proper orders. We just slid around on the floor in a completely undignified manner while even usually dour Dmitri laughed.
There were lamb chops and sausages in bread for lunch and leftovers for dinner. The only time we saw anyone else was when someone came in to make sure the fires were still stoked and there was no risk of our summer day being interrupted by the rude reminder that outside the confines of the room, it was actually a winter wonderland.
Chapter Four
Eric was going to take me to lunch. Because he could do that sort of thing. Being a peer and all, he had no obligations on a Tuesday afternoon.
And since I still had something like five months until uni started and no one had invited me to any more boring teas recently, I also had no obligations on a Tuesday afternoon.
I’d told Eric when he’d called to ask me that it was going to be a relatively casual thing. I wasn’t going to put on my Lia-clone outfit – although I didn’t use those words to him – to meet him for lunch. Thankfully he was just the kind of guy I’d thought he was and he’d told me that was fine by him.
So I’d given Shelly and Gerta the morning off, as it were, and got myself primped and ready for a lunch date that had been given the all-clear by Dad and Sergei.
Just as I was about to head downstairs, there was a knock on the door.
“Yep?” I called.
“Thank you, Nikolai,” Dmitri said.
I looked around and saw Nikolai holding the door open and Dmitri walking in. I nodded to Nikolai who paused ever so slightly before he closed the door again behind Dmitri.
Who was standing there staring at me like he’d never seen me before.
“Hey,” I said.
“Nikolai said you were going out soon.” Confusion was etched across his face as he looked me over.
I looked down, then realised why he was confused. I was wearing jeans, some sort of baggy – in the most chic sense, of course – sweater-jumper type thing, my chucky heeled boots, and a multi-coloured scarf. Not my usual palace attire let alone being seen by other people attire.
“Oh. Yeah. Um… Eric and I are going to lunch. It’s… We’re doing a more casual thing…”
Dmitri nodded curtly. “I see. I will not keep you then.” He made to leave.
“Mitya. I’ve got some time. Did you…want to talk about something?” I hedged.
He looked like he regretted coming. He looked like he regretted a lot of things. That muscle in his jaw even twitched.
“Not really. I just thought… We had not had much time…together the last few days and I had the afternoon clear.”
Well he wasn’t wrong. He’d been busy, I’d been doing…the very little I did to stave off boredom while Lia was at uni and Dad was working.
Lina and Faith had gone back to school on Sunday night, Kostin was away again for one of his charity things, and Arnell was keeping Nico busy with whatever it was military people did for a living – but at least that meant he wasn’t on his way to a court martial.
In fact, aside from Mr Phipps and Shelly, Gerta and Nikolai, the person I’d seen the most was Hilde. Which was fine because she was nice, if a hell of a lot intimidating. At least there’d been no sign of Amanda for the last week or so – that I’d had to be involved with.
The idea of seeing Dmitri now then was incredibly tempting. But I didn’t think I could come up with a reasonable excuse for Dad as to why I’d blown off my lunch with Eric.
“I’d love to. But…”
“Ja.” He nodded. “I should have checked if you had plans.”
I went over to him a little hesitantly, not entirely sure how he’d receive any advance. There was a touch of frost emanating off him, but it felt – hopefully – like it was more awkwardness than hostility.
“I suppose you’re busy tonight?” I asked him, fully expecting he’d have to be fixing some problem I couldn’t even begin to wrap my head around.
He looked behind me, his whole face looking tense. “Ja. I am meeting with Arnell and the council.”
Slowly, so I could abort mission if necessary, I lay my hand on his chest. “It’s going to go late?”
“Probably.”
“You know you can see if I’m still up after…”
He took my hand where it lay over his heart and leant his forehead to mine. “I would not want to wake you.”
“I might still be awake.”
“You might not.” Now there was a hint of a smile in his voice.
“I’d wake up for you.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “If it is not too late, I will see you.”
I leant into him. “Good.”
“If not. Perhaps tomorrow?”
I nodded. “Yes. I’ll free my schedule.”
“Good.”
There was a knock on the door and we pulled apart before Nikolai could find us in anything that could be misconstrued as a compromising situation. “My lady? Lord Baker is waiting for you downstairs.”
I nodded to Nikolai and gave Dmitri some strange little bow-nod. “I should go.”
“I will walk you down, my lady.”
“Takke, your highness.”
I grabbed my coat and shoved my phone in my pocket then almost bumped into Dmitri in the doorway. I noticed the way Nikolai watched Dmitri’s hand on me as though to steady me, but he said nothing and his face gave nothing away.
“What are you doing for lunch?” Dmitri asked, his voice monotone as we walked down the hallway.
“I’m not sure exactly. Lord Baker said something about a restaurant that was supposed to be quite nice and very hard to get a reservation for.”
“And I am sure he managed quite capably,” Dmitri muttered, sounding a little bitter about it.
I felt a nervous flutter of happiness at the idea he might be jealous, as well as a flutter of guilt. But I didn’t know whether the guilt was because I knew I shouldn’t be happy that Dmitri might be jealous because we had no future, or because I was just feeling guilty about going to lunch with a guy when I wanted to be going with another guy. Honestly, it was probably both.
“I imagine you’d manage quite well yourself,” I told him and I felt him huff a rough laugh beside me.
“Your highness,” Eric said with a low bow as we walked into the entry hall.
He’d definitely taken casual seriously, although he still looked good. He wore jeans as well, with boots, a sweater and a coat. For one of the first times in the last few months, I didn’t feel under dressed or out of my comfort zone.
“Lord Baker.” Dmitri’s voice was clipped and formal. “How are you?”
“Good, thank you. Yourself?”
“Well.”
There was a weird moment for the space of a heartbeat or two. At least I felt weird. Dmitri and Eric looked at each other like they were waiting for the other one to speak and I stood between them in what was an unnecessary reminder that one was the man I liked and one was the man I was very possibly being set up with if Faith and Lina’s words were applicable to people like me. While I was pretty sure that Dad would be happy for me to do the whole love then marriage thing, I was also pretty sure that he wasn’t above putting a few eligible men in my path to see if anything stuck.
I cleared my throat and both of them looked at me. “Shall we go?”
Eric nodded. “Yes. We should. Your highness, pleasure to see you again.”
“Likewise, Lord Baker.” Dmitri turned to me. “I will see you later, my lady.”
Was it just me or was that ‘my’ a little bit possessive?
It was probably just me, but I liked it.
“You will, your highness.” I gave him a short curtsey then followed Eric out to a waiting car.
“I hope you’re not vegetarian,” he said as he waved his driver away and held the door open for me.
Before I got into the car, I noticed Nikolai getting into a car behind us and gave him a smile to which he gave me a short nod.
“Is that because you’re anti-vegetarian?” I asked as I climbed in.
Eric gave me a warm smile, closed the door, and was still smiling when he got in the other side of the car. “Actually it’s because I booked us a place without thinking to check first and I’d hate to think you’d miss out on their amazing food.”
“You saying vegetarian food can’t be amazing?” I asked with a wry smile as the car started driving off.
Eric leant towards me. “You are vegetarian, aren’t you?” he asked, looking like someone burst his bubble.
I only just managed to keep the snort at bay as I shook my head. “No,” I giggled. “No. I’m not. I just wanted to see that look on your face.”
He sighed dramatically in relief. “Great. Because Melting Pot does a brilliant burger and whatever they put in their sauce on their steak is,” he swooned a little and I laughed, “so good.”
“Melting Pot?”
He nodded. “Melting Pot.”
“What kind of name is that?”
“The kind that wants to attract the young and loaded with money.”
“That’s a very…cynical view you have there.”
He grinned. “I’m a realist, Tatiana. The owners had one desire when they started up and that was for people like us to go there often, spend up big, and then tell all our acquaintances how awesome it is so they’ll go, spend lots of money and pass the news on.”
“Sounds great,” I laughed.
“Now I say that, but it is actually great. So I really don’t mind telling everyone I know they should go. I go at least once every time I’m in Albia.”
“Then I look forward to it.”
We chatted about things not terribly important but we laughed and I felt really relaxed and comfortable with him the same way I had at the exhibit opening. I’d been a little worried that it had only been the presence of Lia and Rupert that had made me so comfortable with him the other night and that it would feel a bit weirder when it was just us. But it wasn’t. I knew there was an unspoken understanding of what could happen here. Eric knew there was an unspoken understanding of what could happen here. But I didn’t feel like it wasn’t hanging over us like some ominous cloud on a dark and stormy night or anything.
The car pulled up in front of the restaurant and I could see what he meant about it being the sort of place that
wanted to attract the young and rich and probably famous too. It was done up in brushed copper or bronze, dark greens, and lots of glass.
I looked back to find Nikolai’s car had pulled up behind us.
“Everything okay?” Eric asked.
I nodded. “Yep. Just wondering how this works with those guys?”
When I’d gone to lunch with Kostin, Nikolai and Arnold had stood outside and I’d felt like we were on even higher alert.
“Those guys being your guard?” Eric asked with a chuckle.
“Yeah. That.”
“I couldn’t tell you.”
I nodded. “Fair enough.” I gave him a smile and reached for the door handle.
“Uh-uh,” he chastised. “I’ll get it.”
He jumped out of the car and came around the back to my door, opening it with a flourish of his hand and a warm grin.
“Thank you, my lord,” I laughed as I took his proffered hand and clambered out of the car.
A few people who were walking past turned to look at us and started whispering to whoever they were with, pointing and smiling.
“You get a reception like this often?” he asked me.
“What?” I scoffed. “You don’t?”
He shook his head, still wearing that smile as he offered me his elbow and started leading me inside. “That I do not.”
“It must be wonderful to be you.”
“It’s quite nice actually.”
“Lady Tatiana!” people called and I smiled and waved at them before remembering I was supposed to wave like a lady and not like I was trying to flag down the bus into town after school on a Friday afternoon.
“Wow,” Eric whistled as he held the door open for me. “They really like you.”
“No. They’re interested in me.”
“Oh really?” he joked. “Why on earth would that be?”
“Oh. I’m competing for the crown prince’s hand, don’t you know.”
“Are you now?” he asked me like I’d just told him it was snowing and he’d forgotten it was winter.
I looked down with a spluttering laugh as we walked into the restaurant.
“Lord Baker!” a waiter said warmly. “Wonderful to see you again.”
Some Proposal (I'm No Princess Book 4) Page 3