Did Tatyana know her? Had they met? She had the strange feeling the woman knew her, and she wondered what kind of awkward conversation was coming. It was inevitable that she would run into people she knew when she was younger, but it rarely went well because her memories of school were terrible.
Tatyana tried to ignore the dark-haired woman’s stare. She glanced at the singer on the stage. “Is she your friend? She’s good.”
They were probably tourists, but that was no excuse to be rude.
“We’re friendly.” The woman looked at the empty chairs at her table. “Can I join you?”
Oh no. Thiswasgoing to get awkward.
Then again, the woman seemed friendly enough, and she was around Tatyana’s age. This could be a new friend. Wasn’t that why she got dressed up and went out in the first place? She wanted to meet people.
“Um, sure.” Tatyana moved her purse to the chair on the other side. “Why not?”
“I’ll buy the next round.” The woman rose and walked over. She wasn’t tall, but she was stunning with legs that almost looked too long for her body, further elongated by four-inch heels.
The woman was glamorous. She looked rich, and she clearly spent far more time and money on her appearance than Tatyana did.
Tatyana was racking her brain, trying to figure out where she might know her from as she sat in the chair to Tatyana’s left.
She put her own purse in the remaining chair and leaned an elbow on the table. “It was getting loud over there.”
“If your friends don’t cheer you on when you’re attempting ‘The Greatest Love of All,’ are they really your friends?”
The woman held out her hand. “I’m Zara.”
“Tatyana.” She shook the woman’s hand and felt a strange wash of giddiness rise up.
Well, the vodka was finally kicking in.
“Are you visiting the city?” Zara asked.
“No, I just moved back. Right before all the…” She waved a hand. “You know.”
“Ah.” Zara nodded. “We live in interesting times.”
“Isn’t that a way of cursing someone?” Tatyana asked. “To wish that they live in interesting times?”
“It’s better than being bored.” Zara had beautiful dark eyes that glinted in the lights of the club. “Don’t you think?”
“No, I like boring.” Not boring exactly. “I mean, I like knowing what to expect. Then again, I’m not working, so maybe that’s why.”
“Really?” Zara raised a manicured hand and waved for a server. “What do you do?”
“I’m a bookkeeper.” She clarified. “My degree is in accounting and mathematics, but I was working as a bookkeeper before I had to move back.”
“Why did you move?”
“Family reasons.” She didn’t want to elaborate. “Do you live here?”
Zara smiled. “For the moment. My family is rich. Very rich.”
“That must be nice.”
“It is.” Her smile was coquettish. “But I wanted to see if I could make my own money, so my father set up an import-and-export business for me to run here in Sevastopol.”
“Wow.” Tatyana couldn’t conceive of having so much money you’d set up a company for your daughter like playing at a tea party. “How is it going?”
Her family must be in organized crime. Maybe they were connected to the government. She had better watch what she said. Tatyana suddenly wished she’d never offered a seat to Zara.