Page 111 of Twilight Sins

“Zaddy vibes,” she agrees. “I’m into it.”

“Every woman is into it. Why do you think I named my cat Gregory?”

She wrinkles her nose. “Naming your cat after your Hollywood crush is high-key creepy, Luna. Don’t tell anyone else that.”

“Too late. I already told your brother.”

“And he’s still into you. It’s a miracle. Actually,” she sits up, “the real miracle is that he let a cat into this house. Do you have any idea how long I begged for a pet?”

“Years. Until you took matters into your own hands and adopted a wild squirrel.” I smile at the astonishment on her face. “Your brother told me.”

She grins. “He talked about me on your date?”

“I don’t know if he told me that on our first date. It was a little later. After I was already living here.” I shrug. “Maybe on our second date. If you can even call it that.”

I don’t realize I’m rambling until I look over and see Mariya staring at me, jaw open. “Hold on. Pause. You were living here before you’d even gone on two dates?”

Shit. I’m supposed to be hanging out with Mariya to get a better idea of what she’s going through, and yet here I am, blabbing about my own life with her. This is what happens when I don’t have a friendly outlet.

“It’s complicated.” I wave it off. “You probably know what that’s like. Any ex-boyfriends you want to talk about? Current boyfriends?”

It’s a lazy subject change and Mariya doesn’t fall for it. She swivels in her seat so she’s facing me. “What is the deal with you and Yakov, anyway? It’s so hard to read what’s happening with you two.”

You’re telling me. I’ve been on a nonstop roller coaster since Yakov and I met.

“I think it would be better if you talked to Yakov about this. I don’t want to overstep and?—”

“That will never happen. He doesn’t talk to me.” She slouches down in her seat, arms crossed. “Now, you won’t tell me anything, either. Cool.”

She has a point. I’ve been mining her for all the Kulikov family tea over the last couple days without giving her anything in return. If I want her to trust me, I need to trust her a little, too.

I wince. “Fine. I can tell you a little bit. Some of it.”

Mariya bounces back immediately, turning to face me, eyes wide and eager. “How did you meet?”

“It was a blind date.”

She gasps. “My brother was on a blind date?”

“Not exactly. I was there for a blind date and I thought he was the man I was there to meet. Yakov decided not to tell me that I’d made a mistake. I didn’t find out until about halfway through the dinner when my real date showed up.”

“Oh my God, this could be a movie.” She rocks back, cackling. Then she gets serious. “Also, you have to confirm that shit before you sit down next time, Luna. Blind dates are like rideshares. Get in the wrong car and you could end up limbless on a beach.”

“Ew.”

“The hard reality of being a woman these days.” She shrugs and leans closer. “So what happened next?”

I’m not sure how much I am or am not supposed to tell Mariya about the threat looming outside the house. I don’t even have the SparkNotes version of what’s going on myself.

“Well, Nik called and there was… something going on outside the restaurant, I guess. Yakov thought it might be dangerous.”

“Snipers?” Mariya asks it the same way someone might wonder if he kissed me goodnight.

“Er, no. I don’t think so.”

“You’re still living here, so whatever it was must have been bad.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s always something.”

Right. Mariya was born into this world. This is normal for her.

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