Page 87 of Sapphire Tears

“Eventually,” he agrees with a nod. “But it doesn’t have to be right away. We can wait until after the baby is born. We can plan it properly this time. We can—”

Ping.Kolya picks up his phone with annoyance. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I rasp.

He glances at his screen. As he reads, his eyebrows knit closer and closer together. My heart starts thumping in tandem. All I can think is,What now?

Eventually, a second or a century later, he looks up at me. “Apparently, your father’s campaign is in full swing.”

“My father’s campaign?” I repeat. “My father’s—wait, what?”

Kolya nods. “He’s got himself a backer.”

Those words carry weight below the surface. Implication. There’s a meaning behind them, and probably a pretty ugly one, if Kolya’s furrowed brows are any indication, but I need to piece it together out loud.

“My father isn’t exactly a rising star. Who would fund his campaign? Who would put that much money behind a wannabe politician with more ambition than experience?”

Kolya’s expression is troubled as he puts his phone away. I want him to say the answer out loud so I don’t feel like such a tinfoil hat, nutcase conspiracy theorist. But all he is, “We’ll have to find that out.”

Uneasiness spreads across my chest like heartburn. He turns away from me for a moment and I feel the loss like the sun moving behind a cloud. Then he cracks his neck, faces me once again, and smiles.

“But I’ll deal with that later. We’re here today for you.”

I want to swim in those words forever, but it feels forced. The easy chemistry of just a moment ago, when every twitch of his smile made my skin flare, is gone. I feel like we’re two ends of a cut wire, both crackling but failing to make a connection.

I take his hand and squeeze it gently. “This is kinda what I mean,” I tell him. “There’s a few too many things going on to think about… all that stuff. Stuff like moving in together, getting married. I feel like there are so many unresolved issues that need to be worked out first. You need to figure out stuff with Adrian. I need to figure out stuff with Geneva. Not to mention my parents. That’s a whole other can of worms.”

It seems like he’s only half-listening. Then he blinks and focuses on me. “Have you contacted Geneva?”

I cringe a little. “I’ve been procrastinating actually,” I admit. “I have a feeling she’ll just hang up on me.”

“So then we go to her apartment,” Kolya suggests. “We pay her a visit. She can’t avoid you then.”

I consider that. “I’ve heard worse ideas.”

“We can swing by her place after we get back to New York.”

“Well, actually… would you mind if I went by myself?” I venture. “It’s just that I think showing up with you might get us off on the wrong foot, and I really need to be able to talk to my sister. Like, actually talk to her. Connect with her, you know.”

I can tell he doesn’t like that idea at all, but in the end, he gives me a curt nod. “Alright. I suppose I can allow that. If you go with security.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“It’s either between a team of security or me. Your choice.”

I sigh. “Okay, fine. I’ll compromise.”

He nods, but the pinched expression doesn’t leave his face. I’m not really in the mood to keep shopping, but I go through the motions anyway.

And somewhere between the rust-colored pantsuit and the little black dress with the thigh-high slit, I start enjoying myself again. Marcel brings the bundles of clothes I pick over to the dressing area.

Kolya promptly makes himself at home on the sofa and snags a macaroon off the coffee table. “Okay,” he says through a mouthful of sugar, “I’m ready for the show.”

I throw him an amused glare and walk into the dressing room, where Marcel has already hung up everything I selected.

I try on the first piece, a sleeveless nude wraparound dress that ends just above my knees. The silk is so soft that it feels as though I’m wearing a negligee, but when I turn to the full length mirror in the dressing room, I’m underwhelmed with what I see.

I’m definitely not a nine-foot tall Amazon queen with a six-pack and Olympian legs. I’ve never been the former, but at least I used to have the latter to fall back on. Up until recently, that is.

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