Page 65 of Cruel Love

I step into the kitchen with Lucian. Nina and Markov stand beside each other near the counter. I open my mouth to greet them, but I instantly stop as his lips graze the dimples in her smiling cheeks.

Nina’s hands fall from his sides the second she sees me but the bright rouge in her cheeks gives it all away.

Oh, my.

Markov clears his throat and takes a quick step away from her. He bows his head as he passes to avoid eye contact with me, but I see the same bright red color on his face.

“Miss Sofia,” he says.

“Markov,” I say, bowing back.

Nina turns to hide her face as he marches off into the hallway.

I lower Lucian into his wooden highchair and wander over to the refrigerator to fetch the juice I promised him. The silence is deafeningly loud but neither of us wants to break it. I don’t want to say something I shouldn’t, just in case I didn’t really see what I thought I saw.

I grab a cup from the drying rack by the sink and fill it up for Lucian, an act that draws her loving eyes up to admire her grandson as I set it down in front of him.

“Privet, Sofia,” Nina finally says into her coffee mug.

“Privet,” I greet her.

I move to stand beside her, slowly reaching into the cupboard for a mug while she eyes me carefully.

Maybe I really did see what I think I saw.

I crack a short smile, breaking the tension. “Nina, I am the last woman in the world who will judge you for taking comfort in a man other than your husband,” I say. “At least you kept your vows.”

She exhales the stiffness from her neck. “Thank you,” she says.

I glance over my shoulder, listening for eavesdroppers but I sense nothing but Markov’s wide gait echoing down the hall. “You’ve hidden it well,” I tell her.

“Luka doesn’t know?”

I pour some coffee into my mug. “No.”

Relief fills her blue eyes. “Slava bogu,” she mutters.

Thank god.

I chuckle. “You two don’t have to hide, Nina,” I say. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

She takes a slow sip from her mug, her eyes drifting from Lucian to the floor. “Niko, he…” Her lips twitch with hesitation. “He told me once that if I should go first, he’d die a lonely bachelor. I told him I would do the same, but he shook his head and said no. I would never be alone. There would be someone beside me to live out the rest of my days with. I said that was ridiculous. No man would ever love me like he did, so why would I bother? He just smiled, like he knew something I didn’t.” She pauses. “His best friend...”

“You never noticed how he looks at you?”

“No,” she answers. “Markov has been with us for so long. So loyal and kind and I…” Her voice drops as she blushes. “To wake up one morning and suddenly see a man so differently, it’s…”

“Exciting,” I finish.

She nods. “And strange. But surprisingly, not surprising.”

“I know what you mean.”

“I worry what my boys will think,” she says, her eyes turning to mine.

“I think there comes a time in every son’s life when he must learn to see his mother for what she really is,” I say. “Human.”

Nina smiles, her face gathering hope. “Thank you, Sofia. And I would appreciate it if…”

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