Page 65 of My Russian Obsession

Her hand on the masher relaxes, and her eyes soften as she stares at me. “You really love him, don’t you?”

“More than anything,” I say without any hesitation, but then my shoulders drop, and I suddenly feel very tired. “But he doesn’t want to see me right now.”

“Why on earth not?”

I smile at the angry tone in my mom’s voice. She may not be thrilled about our relationship yet, but she’s immediately on my side, and I love that about her. I sink deeper into the stool and start from the beginning, telling her a PG-rated version of what’s happened so far. By the time I’m done, supper is growing cold and she’s on the stool next to me sipping on her second glass of wine.

“He’ll come around,” she says, and the matter-of-fact way she says it comforts me more than I can say. “Men can be so incredibly dense, Gina, but it’s obvious he loves you.” She pats my thigh and gives me a smile. “He’ll realize he can’t live without you. Your dad was just as stubborn. He’d just joined the force, and he thought it would be unfair to make me a cop’s wife, so he broke things off.” She laughs and takes another drink. “In less than a week we were engaged and haven’t looked back since.”

I lean closer and rest my head on her shoulder, smiling when she wraps an arm around me and kisses the top of my head.

“I hope you’re right, Mom. I can’t lose him, not when I know what it’s like to have him.”

She strokes my head, her touch more comforting than any gallon of ice cream or bottle of liquor. We stay like that until Adam’s growling stomach brings him into the kitchen, asking about supper. I force myself to eat, knowing it will make my mom happy, and try not to worry about my dad or what’s going to happen with Dima.

When I go back to my room, I send a text to Dima, warning him about what my dad said and pleading with him to call the fight off. He never answers me, and I fall into a restless sleep several hours later, my phone still clutched in my hand.

The next two days aren’t any better. Jamie meets me after work for a coffee at the Morning Brewhaha on Friday, and the first thing she says is, “Damn, Gina, you look like shit.”

“Honesty is not always the best policy,” I say, grabbing my coffee and adding in way more sugar than I normally would. I need the kick to keep me going, though, so I toss it in and take a big drink. “Did you tell Aleksei what I said about my dad knowing the fight is coming up?”

She plops down in the seat across from me and takes a drink from her own iced coffee. “I did, and he said he’d pass it on.” She gives me a pointed look while sucking on her straw, something not too many people can accomplish, but Jamie nails it. When she comes up for air, she says, “He also said that Dmitri is acting like an angry bear, and everyone is staying the hell away from him. No one will even spar with him, so he just punches the bags.” She gives a shrug and a small laugh. “I guess he’s broken like three bags already.”

“Well, if he would just talk to me instead of being a giant stubborn ass, then maybe he wouldn’t be so damn angry.”

Jamie gives me a wink. “There’s my fighting girl. It’s about time you stopped moping around and feeling sorry for yourself. Get pissed, Gina. You have every right to be.”

I take another drink and think about her words. While I’m deep in thought, Ren comes out from the back, takes one look at me, and gives me a sympathetic smile while walking over.

“Oh, honey, your aura is all out of whack.”

“You should see the other guy,” Jamie deadpans.

Ren’s lips quirk up in a smile, but her eyes stay on me, looking slightly above my head rather than directly into my eyes, no doubt studying the mushy mess my aura must be. Her eyes narrow as she studies me closer, making slight wrinkles appear on her usually smooth forehead.

Satisfied with what she sees, she drops her eyes to mine and gives me a smile. “Hang in there, kiddo. You’re stronger than you think.”

“That’s what I keep telling her,” Jamie says, smacking the table lightly.

“Well, when this gets sorted out, come back with your man, honey, and let me meet him.” Ren gives my shoulder a soft squeeze before walking off to help the teenager behind the counter who looks beyond frazzled at the large coffee order being placed.

“See?” Jamie says with a smug grin as if Ren’s aura reading has just settled everything. “Told you it would all be okay.”

“She can read auras, Jamie, not the future.”

“Same difference.”

Before I can argue, Jamie laughs and throws her napkin at me. “So, are you going to sit here drowning yourself in caffeine, or are you going to go kick some very toned ass?”

I think about what she said, wondering why in the hell I’ve decided to just sit around and wait for Dima to come to me. Why can’t I go get him? The more I think about it, the more determined I become.

“I know that look well enough,” Jamie says with a laugh. “Go get him, tiger.” She gives a ridiculous roar that sounds more like a hungry kitten, but it works, and I start laughing, even as I’m grabbing my purse, more determined than ever to be done with stressing about whatever the hell Dima is thinking or if he’s going to text or call. Fuck that. I’m going to him, and I’m going to make him listen to me.

Jamie laughs and waves goodbye before yelling, “Text me later and let me know how it goes!”

I wave back and push the door open, my head held high as I walk to my car. I get about halfway to the Red Wolf before I’m overcome with worry and doubt. I really thought the determined, go-get-‘em attitude would at least last until I pulled into the damn parking lot. When I finally do pull in and park beside Dima’s sleek car, I’m shaking and about five seconds away from just turning around and getting the hell out of here. It doesn’t help that it looks like a big storm is coming and it’s dreary as hell outside.

It’s after eight, so the club is already closed, and I’d really rather not go into the Arctic Fox on a packed Friday night. I’m still wearing my damn scrubs from work, for fuck’s sake. Why the hell didn’t I think to go home and change? Pushing everything aside, I get out and walk to the boxing club doors, trying them just on the off chance that they might open. They don’t open, of course they don’t. I cup my hands and peek in, but it’s completely empty, lights off and everything.

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