Page 40 of Shining Through

Now that the Lake Shosha skaters had arrived he was busy with his friends and preparing for the competition. There was no time or place for her. What they’d shared last week was over.

She ached at the thought of letting it go. Daniil, in all his tattooed guy-lined glory, saw something in her no one else did. She’d told him things she wouldn’t have told anyone else.

Could that have been the problem? When he’d said he preferred to see and know the person she really was, she’d hoped it was true. But the real Tabitha was coarse and common. Her family was broke. He came from a world of billionaires, trust funds, and glamorous mothers who divorced dukes. She couldn’t blame him for staying away.

Their time together had given her something she’d always treasure, and for that, she was grateful. A phone call seemed pushy, but she could message him. Nothing heavy or emotional, just good luck wishes. She took out her phone and typed a brief note, but couldn’t bring herself to send it. Instead, she clicked around on social media, when something caught her eye—an interview Daniil had done this morning with a Canadian TV network.

She clicked it open and wished she hadn’t.

Daniil sat beside Yelena Baryatinskaya, holding her hand. As a nervous Yelena struggled in broken, accented English, Daniil jumped in with the right word, so in tune with her thoughts, he could finish them. The interviewer was charmed. “You two are just adorable. How long have you been together?”

Yelena’s face froze with the awkward stiffness of someone who’d just been outed. Daniil looked over at the redhead and smiled. “We’re not dating. Just close friends.”

Tabitha almost choked on her tea.

So there was a woman back in Russia. That must have been what he wanted to tell her Sunday night, all about his “close friend” Yelena. She’d known whatever he’d been about to say, she didn’t need to hear it. Thank God, she’d listened to her instincts.

She tossed the phone on the table and dropped her head in her hands.

“Howdy!” Brett Stafford’s familiar greeting made her look up. Her friend was on the sidewalk headed toward the hotel and had spotted her as he passed the café.

She looked up and forced a smile. “When did you get in?”

“Two hours ago.” He held up the drug-store bag he carried. “As usual, I forgot a few things. Want company?”

“Sure. Why not?”

He went inside for a cup of coffee and joined her a few minutes later. He pulled his chair up and leaned in close. “I’ve got news,” he said, in a sing-song whisper.

“Oh?”

Brett glanced over at the neighboring tables. No one was paying them any attention. He kept his voice down. “Sergei’s coming to see me on Saturday!”

“All the way from Moscow?”

“No, he’s playing in a tournament across town that ends Saturday afternoon. He says he’s planned something special.” Brett smiled. There was giddiness in his blue eyes she understood all too well. “And you know how Russian men are. Very romantic.”

“Oh yeah. They’re romantic all right.”

Brett missed the sarcasm. “Thank God you’re here to cover for me! If I don’t come back to my room, people will just assume I stayed overnight with my main squeeze.”

Since the International Series required participating skaters to room with a family member or same-sex teammate, Tabitha’s solo hotel room gave Brett a plausible alibi. “Hey, why not? It’s not like I’ll have any hot and heavy plans.”

Sensing she was upset, Brett leaned forward. “Sounds like trouble.”

He shrugged and scooted his chair closer, to put his arm around her shoulder. She rested her cheek against his faded US Figure Skating t-shirt, which felt soft against her skin. “Come on, Tabs. Spill. You keep my secrets, I’ll keep yours.”

They’d been friends long enough that she knew he wouldn’t let it go until she did. He’d warned her and she should have listened. She deserved a few told-you-sos. But Brett would also take her side and comfort her the way he always did. So she told him the story, and even fished out her phone, so he could watch the incriminating evidence.

Surprisingly, he seemed unimpressed. “So what? He said he and Yelena were just friends. You and I are close enough to finish each other’s sentences, too.”

“I don’t think their relationship is quite like ours.” She returned the phone to her purse and slumped down in her chair. “This past week, everything was wonderful. I was thinking this guy might be different. But I was wrong.”

“On the basis of one interview, where he says he’s not dating the girl?”

“It isn’t just the interview. I told him things about myself and my crazy family that would make most guys run. Then on Sunday night we kissed, and I got really into it. Except it wasn’t a real kiss. He was only trying to get me into character for my program. I made a complete fool of myself, and in the cab on the way back to the hotel, it was very awkward. He hasn’t even tried to get in touch with me since then.”

“I’m sure the fact he has a major competition in three days has nothing to do with it. Have you reached out to him?”

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