by Maura Rose
He was getting married.
…fuck.
Chapter Four
Natalia learned from Irena that they would be meeting at a café for lunch with this Pavel person as well as the wife of Ivan, the head of the Sokolov family. It wouldn’t have been proper for Ivan himself to be there, but Kate, the wife, would be a fine substitute.
“She’s not Russian,” Natalia noted.
“No, she’s Irish, from another family,” Irena replied. “Apparently, she’s practically in charge of the operation along with Sokolov himself.”
Natalia wasn’t sure if that gave her hope or not. Father had always talked about the importance of keeping things within the Russian side of things, and not to get too friendly with the Irish or any others—which was why it had surprised them all when he’d agreed to have Irena marry a non-Russian heir. But on the other hand, Russian or not, it was good to know that Ivan Sokolov respected his wife and made her his partner to such a degree. Perhaps his lieutenant, Pavel, would be the same?
They got to the café first, it seemed. Irena chose the seat—probably prearranged with Kate—and they sat down to wait.
A waitress came up to order, but Natalia found that she was too nervous to eat properly. Her stomach was all twisted up in knots and she had the urge to pace up and down.
“Breathe,” Irena told her.
“Easy for you to say,” Natalia shot back. “You’re not the one who’s meeting your future husband.”
“Not this time around, but I had to go through this, as well,” Irena reminded her. “I admit that it wasn’t quite the same—I got more of a choice than you did—but it was quite nerve-racking.”
Natalia wanted to snap back that Irena had basically gotten to help choose her husband so it wasn’t the same thing at all, but arguing in a café with her sister wasn’t going to endear her to anyone. She settled back into the seat, arms folded, and hoped she looked aloof instead of like a surly teen.
Irena let out a small sigh, as if Natalia was throwing a temper tantrum, and ordered herself some coffee.
“You really don’t have to take this so hard,” Irena said. “It can simply be an arrangement. You can have your affairs and he can have his. Just be discreet about it.”
Because that was the life every person wanted—mutually cheating on their spouse for the rest of their lives because divorce wasn’t exactly heard-of when your marriage was a political alliance.
“Irena?”
Natalia looked up to see a very pretty woman with a slight Irish accent looking over at her sister.
“Mrs. Sokolova.” Irena stood up, a sign of respect her proud sister rarely gave to anyone. “Please, sit.”
“Call me Kate,” Kate insisted. “And this is Pavel.” She looked at Natalia. “You must be Natalia, then.”
Natalia nodded, looking over at the man who she’d be marrying in a few months.
…damn.
When she’d heard that his nickname was ‘puppy’, she’d presumed—wrongly—that it was partly due to his appearance. She’d pictured someone with a kind of babyish face, with overly large hands and a goofy expression.
Pavel didn’t look like that at all.
There was a soft sort of look about him, mostly in his green-gray eyes, an odd enough color that Natalia noticed them faster than she usually did with people. But he didn’t look at all goofy, or stupid, or like the sort of person who was easily messed with. He had a strong, square jawline, with just a hint of stubble like he’d forgotten to shave that morning, broad-shouldered and with soft, dark blond hair. He seemed to be in that sweet spot where he could look friendly or dangerous depending on how he held himself rather than being perpetually stuck in one role or the other.
Natalia fought against the rising heat in her cheeks. She’d thought the guy would be decent if odd-looking, not—not hot and exactly her type. She’d never gone in for the ‘looks like he could snap your neck’ type that most of the men she knew in the bratva seemed to fancy for their own appearance. She liked someone who looked quietly dangerous, who looked like he could also potentially be your friend, be the guy next door, and Pavel was checking all of those boxes.
It was extremely unfair.
Pavel looked at her, then at Kate, then at Irena. Natalia couldn’t be sure if he was sizing them up or just waiting to see who would speak first.
Kate smiled at Natalia. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Natalia shook the hand that was reached across to her, trying to force a smile onto her face. “Pleasure to meet you as well.”
Pavel flicked his gaze back over to her. He looked a little unsure, biting his lip, and now Natalia could see where the nickname came from. There was an earnest, eager energy about him, like he was waiting for someone to throw a ball they were holding so he could play fetch with it.
“You must be Pavel,” Natalia said, looking him right in the eye. No sense in beating around the bush.
Pavel nodded. “I’m probably not what you expected.”
No, he wasn’t. She’d expected something entirely different, and although Pavel didn’t look like a pushover, he didn’t have that dangerous ‘I’ll fuck you up’ look that most men seemed so eager to cultivate.
“Well, we’ll let you two get to know each other,” Kate said, standing up.
Irena—who knew Natalia and her temper—looked alarmed but stood up and allowed Kate to lead her away to another table. Natalia tried to ignore the panic that shot through her as they left. What was she supposed to say to this guy? How were they supposed to even start a conversation? Should she ask him what side of the bed he slept on or something?
Pavel looked uncomfortable as well, shifting in his seat. “I’m sorry about all of this.”
His accent came through strongly—he hadn’t been born in the states, then, the way Natalia had. “I take it you didn’t know about this either, until after the whole deal had been worked out?”
“Nyet.” Pavel shrugged and folded his arms. Lord, he had muscles. He could probably pick her up easily, hold her against the wall… get that stubble all over her neck and mouth, give her a pleasant burn…
Natalia mentally slapped herself. She’d have plenty of time to sleep with the guy later on if she felt like it.
“I expect you’ll want a side place,” Pavel said. “An apartment or something.”
“And I’m sure you’ll want the same.”
Pavel looked surprised, his eyes widening, definitely making him look guileless and puppyish. That had to be helpful in negotiations, getting people to underestimate him. “I suppose.”
“If you’re going to have affairs then I don’t mind, just be discreet.” She did mind but—it wasn’t fair of her to ask him to be faithful. It wasn’t like they were in love. Or even friends.
Pavel appeared even more surprised, his eyebrows drawing together. “You seem very determined that we will live separate lives.”
“Well, I can’t expect you to be happy with this arrangement.”
“Are you?”
“I’ve been sold off like cattle—of course I’m not happy.”
Pavel’s jaw tightened a little. “I know I’m probably not the type of man you expected to marry, but you had to know this was coming. This is the way of things.”
Natalia snorted. “The way of things. Does this mean you’re happy with the turn of events?”
“You know I can’t say that I’m not.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Pavel sighed. “I’m a lieutenant. I do as I’m told and I have to be happy to do as the boss says.” He sounded tired, like he wanted to back off, but Natalia’s blood was up.
“And you just let it happen?”
Pavel narrowed his eyes at her. “It’s not as if you’re fighting back, either. You’re here.”
“I’m here to see what kind of person you are. I haven’t made up my mind on whether or not to say no.”
“At which point your father will either make you
or will pair you up with someone else.”
Natalia’s temper rose in her like an oncoming wave. She knew that it was unfair to Pavel, in a way. She was angry at her father for using her like this, like a pawn, and she was angry at Irena for going along with it and acting like this was all fine. “I’m offering you a dignified way out, I’m approaching this like the business matter it is, and you’re—what, offended?”
“I was hoping that we might actually like each other,” Pavel shot back. “But you’ve decided not to like me already. I’m not happy about this either, but I at least thought we could get to know each other before we wrote off any possibility of… romance.”
He looked uncomfortable as he said it, blushing just the slightest bit. It was oddly adorable, and Natalia harshly shoved that thought down. She wasn’t going to give into the odd charm that he exuded, a combination of awkwardness and earnestness that was unlike anyone else she’d ever met.
Natalia forced herself to ignore that. Sure, he was attractive and there was something about him that she found herself drawn toward—whether she liked it or not—but that wasn’t something to build a relationship on. And she had no intension of building a relationship with someone that she was being ordered to marry.
“What, you thought it was going to be love at first sight, or something?”
Pavel glared at her outright for the first time, and Natalia was pleased to see there was a little bit of steel in his gaze now. “I thought at least you’d want to get to know me. I wanted to get to know you.”
“I want to make sure that I won’t hate you. That’s about it. And that you don’t have any ideas about controlling me.”
“You’re doing an excellent job of making me hate you. Are you so used to being a princess that you think you can treat people however you want and you’ll get away with it?”
Technically, the daughter of a powerful bratva boss had no title, but such women were often called the ‘princess,’ either out of respect or derision. Natalia had always hated that term and it didn’t fail to make her bristle now.
“And you’re the one they call the puppy,” she snapped in return. “You think that’s going to make me excited to marry you? It sounds about as manly and helpful as a goldfish.”
Pavel was definitely blushing now, but his jaw was also clenched and his eyes held a fire that suggested there was more to him than just his nickname. Natalia ignored the part of her that pointed out it was also quite attractive. “I suppose now you’d like me to apologize that I’m not up to your standards.”
“That’s a start.”
“If you apologize for not being up to my standards, then we can call it even.” Pavel smirked at her, as if he knew that would set her off.
Natalia’s mouth fell open in rage. Not up to his standards? She could look in the mirror, thanks, she knew she was gorgeous.
She also wasn’t sure why she was so upset about this, seeing as she didn’t want him to be attracted to her. She wanted to make it clear that this was just going to be a business arrangement, nothing more.
“I could send you back and ask for another model,” she shot back at him. “I’m already lowering myself to marry the lieutenant of a smaller family.”
“And I suppose you expect me to kowtow to that?” Pavel asked. He didn’t sound angry—or rather, he sounded like he was trying to keep calm. “To apologize for my existence? That’s not a fair way to treat anyone. And I think you know that, Natalia Mikhailova. I think you know that what you’re doing is unfair. You may be angry at this situation all that you want, but you are not allowed to take it out on the one person who had just as much say in it as you did.”
With that he got up, and Natalia could see his jaw clenching and his eyes dark and heated, like a stormy sea, just before he turned and stormed toward the bathrooms.
He was angry, that much was clear. And he was walking away, going somewhere she couldn’t follow—removing himself from her, either because he needed a minute to cool down or because he didn’t want to make it worse by unleashing his anger on her, or both.
Guilt stabbed at her. He really was just as stuck in this as she was. And she’d been taking it out on him.
It wasn’t like this meeting was supposed to go well, anyway, not with Kate and Irena clearly listening in. She could see the expressions on their faces and knew that there had to be a listening device around this table somewhere—multiple, probably, if she knew her sister. How on earth were she and Pavel supposed to get to know one another honestly if people were eavesdropping on their every word?
Natalia got up and marched toward the bathrooms like she was going to use the women’s restroom to calm down, the same way Pavel was using the men’s restroom. But in reality, she planned to apologize.
It was wrong of her to have treated him like that. But just maybe, if she apologized…
Pavel was just about to enter the restroom as she reached him. She couldn’t let him get out of her reach.
“Wait.” She grabbed his wrist.
Pavel turned to stare at her, and Natalia took a deep breath.
Time to see if she could fix this mess she’d made.
Chapter Five
“Wait.”
Natalia grabbed his wrist as he turned to go. Pavel paused.
She really was a beautiful woman, and she had a fire to her that he could appreciate. He just wished she wasn’t so dead-set against him. He was stuck in this thing as much as she was. They could be allies instead of convenient targets for each other’s anger.
“I’m sorry,” Natalia blurted out. The words came out awkwardly, and Pavel had a feeling she didn’t have to say them often. “I—I’d like to get to know you, I think. Away from my sister and your boss’s wife and just—everyone. We can’t stop them from doing this to us but we can maybe get to know each other more honestly away from them.”
“You’re asking me to take a huge risk,” Pavel replied. He didn’t shake off her hand, even though he knew that he probably should. But she was holding on still, and her grip was firm and warm, and he couldn’t quite bring himself to get her to let go. “If they find out we met without permission… first of all, a man of my station isn’t supposed to interact alone with someone of your station. Second of all, if anyone catches us meeting privately and then they hear that the wedding is announced, or the engagement—they’ll think that we had our own affair and that your father and my boss are having an alliance just to cover it up. They’ll think we’re scrambling. It’ll make both of our families look bad.”
“I know,” Natalia assured him. “I’m aware. But I’m—I’m sorry. I was awful to you and I shouldn’t have been like that, and… I want a chance to start again.”
Pavel glanced around to make sure that Irena Mikhailova hadn’t gotten suspicious and was coming over to protect her sister’s integrity. “That doesn’t change how much trouble we will be in if they catch us meeting or if we disgrace them and make them look weak.”
“We’ll be discreet,” Natalia insisted.
Pavel couldn’t help but wonder if he was being used as a way for Natalia to rebel. She didn’t like this arrangement, she’d made that clear. She apparently opposed it on several levels. And if they were caught, she’d get in far less trouble than he would. She would be berated; he would be dead meat.
But he also couldn’t deny the appeal of getting to talk to her without her sister, or his boss’s wife, or anyone else keeping an eye and ear on them from a couple of tables away. They could be more real with one another without the prying eyes of others constantly on them.
And Natalia’s forceful personality was something that he liked. She seemed almost to be trying to goad him into fighting back rather than just expecting to walk all over him.
It was different from how most people treated him. His respect as Ivan’s lieutenant was a recent development—very recent. Most of his time had been serving as the errand boy for Ivan’s father, Bogdan—the previous Sokolov boss—and that had been far fr
om ideal. Most people still acted like Pavel could be walked all over.
Not Natalia. She was acting offended, almost, that he wasn’t pushing back more, that he was backing down from her.
Well, if she wanted someone who was willing to take a few risks, then fine. If it blew up in their faces, she’d have no one to blame but herself. And he wasn’t a part of the bratva because of the predictable days and the cushy paycheck. He was used to danger.
“Fine,” he told her. “We can meet. But just the once.”
“I can ask you whatever questions I want,” Natalia said. “And you can ask me whatever questions you want. No holds barred, nothing’s off limits. And we’ll see if we can really make this work.”
“You’ll give it an honest try?” He had to stop himself from saying ‘me’ instead of ‘it’. He knew that it was probably stupid of him to expect a woman to give him a chance when she had no choice about marrying him. But it stung to be summarily dismissed, as well.
Natalia shrugged. “As you pointed out… it’s not as if either of us are getting out of this, no matter how much we dislike it. We might as well try to make the best of it.”
Pavel thought he might be imagining it, but for a moment, it sounded like he could hear a note of respect in her voice. “Where should I meet you, then?”
“Neutral ground.”
Obviously, Pavel managed to just barely stop himself from saying aloud.
“There’s a park,” Natalia said. “It’s in no man’s land, between Reilly territory and Farcese territory. Robinson Park.”
“I know it.” That park was right near the edge of Sokolov territory, only twenty minutes from his apartment. It was amazing how just five minutes in one direction or another could take you from a safe zone to the heart of the enemy’s territory.
“We can meet there, at the park bench by the fountain.”
“All right.” They settled on a time and day and Natalia finally let go of his arm. Pavel told himself that he didn’t miss the touch. “You’d better go back first.”