Page 31 of Vas

His face morphed into an expression she couldn’t read—his gaze a bit pensive yet very intense.

“What?”

“I like the idea of spoiling you.”

Thank goodness she didn’t have any food in her mouth because she for sure would’ve choked on it. “I—” She quickly took a sip of her water. “I don’t think you’re supposed to say things like that on a first date.”

He raised a brow. “I shouldn’t say what I’m thinking?”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to even be thinking that on a first date.”

He leaned back in his seat, looking thoughtful. “So what should I be thinking?”

“I don’t know. Something more first date-ish like what I look like without clothes on.”

One side of his mouth hiked up into a devilish smile. “Oh, I’m thinking about that too.” Then his smile grew even bigger and she knew she was in trouble. “Are you?”

Yep. Big trouble.

Chapter 12

It was clear he’d made Anya uncomfortable. Vas watched as she took a sip of her water, using it as a stalling tactic. Then she cleared her throat and completely changed the subject. “So, did you grow up here? In the States, I mean. I only ask because I noticed your accent is very faint.”

He hid a grin. He’d give her that. Other than a slight lift of his eyebrow—just to let her know she wasn’t fooling him—he smoothly made the transition in topic. “I was born in Russia. Moved here with my mother and sister when I was ten.”

“Not your dad?” she asked before taking another bite of pizza.

Sitting across from her, watching her eat, made it very hard for him to concentrate. He discreetly adjusted himself with the pretext of getting more comfortable in his chair and pulled his gaze from her mouth.

That mouth of hers would be his downfall.

She was waiting for his answer. What did she ask him again? Oh, right, his dad. “No. He stayed behind. My mother had a cousin who lived in Reseda that we moved in with for a while before she was able to afford an apartment for us.”

Anya wiped her mouth with her napkin, excitement filling her eyes. “I grew up in Tarzana and went to Reseda High School. I know you would’ve been several years ahead of me, but still, small world.” She continued her line of questioning. “Did you go to college here, as well?”

“I actually didn’t go to college. We didn’t have the money, and I didn’t have good enough grades for a scholarship. I was lucky enough to get in with a small company, who did what I do now. I worked my way up, learned what I could, then went off on my own.”

“Wow, that’s definitely a success story.”

He grunted in response, taking another slice of pizza and biting into it.

Anya didn’t have a problem filling his silence with more questions. “Does your mom still live in Reseda?”

Vas took a page from Anya’s book and took a sip of water in order to stall. He didn’t like thinking about his mom. “No. She died when I was seventeen.”

She set her pizza down, her expression turning solemn. “I’m sorry. That must have been tough.”

“She lived a hard life even before coming to the States.” He left it at that.

She moved on but not to a subject he wanted to talk about any more than the last. “You mentioned you don’t talk to your sister,” she said hesitantly, leaving the unasked question ofwhydangling for him to pick up.

“She got married a few years ago. And let’s just say, her husband doesn’t like me very much.”

In truth, he didn’t even know of Vas’s existence. Yana had wanted it that way. Vas may have saved her from a life on the streets by providing her with the money she needed for beauty school, and though she might be grateful, it didn’t change the fact she’d known how that money was made. Vas didn’t blame her for wanting to keep her distance after meeting a good man and starting a family.

He wasn’t sure how their conversation had gotten so deep or centered solely on him, but it was time for another subject change. “Should we decide what movie to see?” He took out his phone and pulled up a local theater site, feeling Anya’s gaze on him the whole time.

“Sure,” he heard her say.

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