Page 40 of The Bratva's Innocent Pregnant Bride
No matter how hard I tried to ignore him, I could instantly tell whenever he was near. The air around me crackled and my breath hitched in my chest. The only thing that was remotely similar was when I had a monster crush on a fellow snowboarder back when I was in tenth grade. After that I was so busy with competitions and maintaining my grades that I had no time for boys. Once I entered the workforce, the men at Axon completely soured me.
Now it looked like I had a crush again, one I had to fight as long as I was employed by his family.
The town got the roads cleared of the blizzard’s aftermath in record time and after only a few days we were able to head down the mountain for a much needed shopping trip. With only a week to go until Christmas, the kids were eager to pick out a tree to decorate. The moms had lists as long as their arms, with everything from tinsel to lights and of course, more presents. There was already a big pile near the stairwell in the entry hall where the tree was going to go, but everyone was bemoaning all the things they forgot to get for each other.
It was sweet how much they all loved each other, whispering secrets about who was getting what. Was I a bit envious? Maybe. But not because of the gifts. I was sure I’d find a package from my parents waiting for me at my apartment when I got back, if I ever went back. It would be something practicaland useful but not at all personal or meaningful. I’d send them an online gift card on Christmas day, and we might have a ten or twenty minute phone call.
It wasn’t always like that. We used to be somewhat like the Fokins, though not as fun loving and raucous. It was such a blow how easily it all fell apart when I didn’t meet their expectations. Even though Alina’s father was stern and she jumped at his commands, she also ran laughing into his arms whenever she saw him. Would he ever cut her off for going against his hopes and dreams for her?
I was supposed to bring an extra car down, solely to transport all the ornaments and gifts that overflowed the three SUVs the others who were part of the shopping trip were piling into. I watched them, waiting for them to take off so I could follow, glad to have a few minutes of quiet. I had grown attached to the kids, but they could beloud.
At the last second, Dan jumped into my car, with that grin that had been melting me every time I glimpsed it.
“What happened to you not needing anything?” I asked, remembering his cousin Masha cajoling him to join them. He’d been pretty adamant that he’d rather do almost anything else than spend the afternoon being treated like a pack mule. His firm dismissal looked like it kind of hurt her feelings.
“I remembered something at the last minute,” he told me, looking me up and down appreciatively. “And it’s been too long since we were alone.”
“More like not long enough,” I said, ignoring the tingle I felt everywhere his eyes roamed. I tried to get angry, consider him a jerk, but in truth, I liked it.
I liked the laugh that followed my statement, too. “If I say you look gorgeous, does that make me a pig?” he asked. Igrumbled, feeling my cheeks start to burn. “Come on, Paisley, don’t you miss me?”
“Not even a little,” I quipped, staring him down.
“Liar,” he said, eyes intense.
“You sure do like accusing me of that.” I couldn’t turn away as his eyes darkened even more and his gaze dropped to my lips.
“Should I prove it again?”
Every one of his expert kisses rushed my memory, bringing warm tingles to my skin. Oh, he’d like it if I melted, wouldn’t he? Hmph. Honestly, I would have liked it as well, but the lead car honked, signalling our little convoy was ready to move. There was no winning getting into an argument. They all ended the same way.
With a sigh, I followed the rest of the family down into town, trying to ignore Dan and failing miserably. Since I was there to herd the kids, there was no real reason for him to follow me once we were on the busy shopping street, lined with fancy boutiques and department stores. But follow me, he did, to the delight of Alina and Artem, who were both picking out ornaments for the tree.
“Slow down,” Dan told Artie, who was chucking anything and everything into the basket as we meandered down the aisles at one of the many Christmas themed shops.
“Only choose your favorites,” Alina said, carefully studying two different ballerina ornaments. She chose the one with the puffiest skirt and plopped it in with the others. “They’re supposed to be meaningful.”
“They’re all my favorites,” Artie argued. “This is the best Christmas ever.”
“Agreed,” Dan said, hoisting him onto his broad shoulders.
Why was my stupid heart finding this all so adorable? There was a yearning in me to really be part of something like what the Fokins had, and at the same time knowing it was all going to end in a little more than another week.
Then what? Where would I go? Would I ever feel safe again? As usual, I pushed those questions out of my mind.
“What’s the thing you want most for Christmas?” Alina asked me, after she made sure Dan knew exactly what she hoped to receive and Artie had listed enough toys to fill one of the SUVs all on their own.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I said. “I’ll probably get a new sweater from my mom and dad.”
She seemed to find this incredibly boring but I assured her I could always use more sweaters.
“No jewelry?” she asked. “My mama pretends not to like jewelry but she always loves it when Papa brings her something new.”
I could feel Dan’s eyes burning into me as he waited for my answer. “I don’t really wear any with my job,” I said, shrugging.
We made it out of the holiday shop and headed for the nearest snack stand. It was a perfect day, cold but clear and sunny. The snow was piled high on both sides of the street, but it was cleared from all the walkways and parks. People were dressed in bright colors, their parkas hanging open, their hats and mittens stuffed into pockets. As soon as we had our order and were seated at one of the picnic tables in the open air courtyard, Dan said he needed to go do something.
“I won’t be gone long,” he said. “How about you go into the perfume shop to get your mama that smelly stuff she likes and I’ll meet you there.”
