Page 69 of Mistletoe in the Mafia

“I quit. You have your job back, all to yourself like you wanted.”

I pull back slightly to look up into his eyes. “Too bad. We had the Secret Santa draw today. I played for you in your absence. You’ll never guess who you got.”

“Who?”

“Kenny,” I answer on a grin.

He automatically scowls. “It’s a good thing I quit, then.”

Madelyn laughs. “I’m still going to get him a gift in your place. Everyone deserves Christmas presents.”

“Oh yeah,” he murmurs, pulling me back into his chest. “What do you want for Christmas, baby?”

“You” is the first answer that comes to my mind. The second one is that I want the truth from him, too. Instead, I settle for, “A vacation gift card would be nice. I’ve never flown out of the country before. I want to go on a safari.”

Dominic chuckles. “Only you, Flowers.”

“So are you getting me the gift card or not?”

He hugs me tighter. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. I have a private plane at my disposal. Although I rarely use it and it’s currently in Moscow.”

“You have what?” I screech, pulling away again to look at him. “Just how rich are you?”

He shrugs, like it’s no big deal. The blasé attitude makes me want to hit him.

“Rich enough to own a private plane. Although it’s not mine, exactly. It belonged to my dad.”

I nod slowly. “Okay, and what did you mean by Moscow?”

“It’s where my family’s home is. I’m Russian, baby. Well, technically half Russian considering my mom was American. Anyway, I was born in Russia, although I’ve only been back there once since I was nine.”

“Holy shit,” I say in disbelief. “So your family is like rich, rich?”

He chuckles. “Yeah, my father’s company is still running in my absence. I can go back home anytime to claim it considering it’s my birthright, but I’ve never had an interest in becoming a businessman. At least not yet. Maybe when I’m older.”

“Wow,” I breathe. “Wait, can you speak Russian?”

“A little. I didn’t live around Russians growing up and had no one to speak it to me so I grew rusty. But sure, I can say a couple of sentences.”

“That is so cool. Can you say something to me in Russian?” I ask excitedly.

He smiles and his gaze grows softer. “Ty svet moyey zhizni.”

“What does it mean?”

He runs a hand through my hair. “I’ll tell you later.”

I’m about to protest when he pauses.

“Wait, why is your hair wet?”

I reach for my head. “Oh right. I went for a swim before I came over here.”

“You did what?” Dominic asks.

“A swim, Dom. In the pool.”

He blinks, staring at me for a couple of seconds before speaking.

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