Page 2 of Love's Unexpected Surprise

“It wouldn't be any bother. Trust me, I understand what it's like to have people trying to plan out what you do.” He smiles at me, and I can’t help but return it. My stomach swirls with excitement at the mere idea of going on a date with him. “It doesn’t hurt that you’re beautiful, I might add.”

Jenny turns away from him, but I can feel her energy changing. So heisactually attracted to me? The prospect of it is exciting, but I'm nervous. He's noticeably older than me, and with that comes experience, I would imagine. I have none, and that might put a damper on things.

“That's very kind, but I don't really know you very well.”

“Well, why don't you sit down with me for a little while, and we can get to know each other?” He points at his table and the rest of the empty café, implying I don't have anything better to do anyway.

I'm about to tell him no, but Jenny turns around and steps up before I can. “I can cover here if you want to join him. Go ahead and take your twenty-minute break, Amelia.”

She turns and looks at me with a wide smile, and once again, I feel like I'm being forced to do something. Only this time, it'snot quite as painful as sitting across from Greg or dancing with Oliver.

I take off my apron and hang it on the hook by the break room door, then walk around the counter. Alexei takes my hand and guides me to the table. It’s a gentlemanly move, that’s for sure. I sit down across from him, acutely aware of how Jenny will hear everything we say.

“So your name is Amelia?” he asks, taking a seat across from me. “What a lovely name.”

“You would have to compliment my mom for that, not me. I didn't have much choice in the matter, but I feel like it's a fitting name. I don't know if I would want to be called another name, you know? Some people really look like their names. I don't know if I would look like any other name. You look like Alexei, for example.”

Great, my first real interaction with this guy, and I have some serious word vomit.

“You're nervous?” he asks, smiling at me with his hands clasped together on the table. I find the warm glint in his blue eyes comforting. I take a deep breath and nod, allowing myself to calm down. “I think that's cute.”

“Believe it or not, I don't go on a lot of impromptu dates with customers at the shop,” I say, leaning forward and returning his smile. “If I'm going to take you to this party on Friday, you should probably tell me a little bit about yourself.”

“Very well. My name is Alexei Romanov, and I’m from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Though I’ve lived in America since I was sixteen,” he says, listing off a few facts about him.

“Okay, so that’s where the accent is from.”

“Do you like it?”

“I do.” I laugh and smile at him, biting my lip softly. “I like hearing you speak. It sounds really nice.”

Before he can say anything else, the door opens again, and a group of office workers stroll in, laughing among each other. I sigh and look at him apologetically, knowing I'll have to get back behind the counter to help Jenny.

“Maybe you can hear more of it on Friday at the party,” Alexei says before I stand back up. “I don't have any plans right now, and it would be my honor to help you. It doesn't even need to be a real date.”

“Say I bring you as a fake date then, what's in it for you? I promise it's not gonna be anything glamorous.” I stand and look down at him with excitement growing in my chest. Alexei stands up, mere inches away from me as he looks down to stare deep in my eyes.

“If you take me with you, all I want is one kiss at the end of the night.” He doesn’t move while I run through the situation in my head.

A quick cost-benefit analysis tells me that taking him as my date will only be beneficial. I would get my mom off my back, not have to go out with someone like Greg, and I would get to kiss Alexei at the end of the night. My first kissever,I might add—with a handsome Russian businessman/lawyer. Easy choice.

I reach into my pocket and pull out my order notebook and a pen, then write my number down on it. “Sounds agreeable. I guess I'll see you on Friday, then.”

2

Traces of red mingle with the clear water as I stand in the shower. I lather the soap on my hands and scrub my arms clean of blood. I close my eyes to shut out the images of Peter Von Erich’s face as he saw me walking into his home with the gun in my hand.

I've never taken pleasure in my job. Taking someone's life isn't enjoyable by any means, but it's the only thing I've been able to build for myself. And I've built a pretty damn good life so far. I might not love my job, but anything is better than where I came from.

When the blood is rinsed off my body and the water runs clear, I’m rid of the memory. No more begging, crying, screaming, and cleaning. If I had to think about every life I've taken, I would go insane. I file it away. Besides, it's not like Peter was a good man. This was a long time coming, and in my eyes, he got what he deserved.

I might work for some unsavory people in the Russian mob, but that work is exclusively getting rid of people just like them. Maybe I’m just trying to rationalize for my own sake, but if I can rid the world of some evil, it might not be that bad of a gig.

But right now, I have something much more important to think about. Amelia.

It's been three days since I met her for the first time at the coffee shop, and it's been three days since I've been able to see her again. She's been running laps through my mind since the moment I laid eyes on her, and every moment I’m not with her feels like torment. She's perfect. Young and petite with a tight body and curves I would love to trace my fingers over. The way her big brown doe eyes stared up at me in surprise when I asked to be her date lingers in my memory.

Tonight is the night I take her out. Normally, I wouldn't do anything on Valentine's Day. It’s not a day I’ve ever cared to celebrate. Besides, in my line of work, it’s better that I don’t have serious connections to celebrate days like this with anyway.

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