Isn't It Bromantic (Bromance Book Club #4) - Lyssa Kay Adams Page 0,74
Elena realized.
“Shall we sit?” Michelle gestured toward the living room just beyond the kitchen. The house was a wide, open-concept style, which was probably good for a mom. She could cook dinner and still see the kids.
Elena followed Michelle to a long sectional couch and sat down on the end opposite her. Various toys were strewn across the floor, and a suspicious cat stared from behind the leg of a decorative table.
“What is your cat’s name?”
“Dolphin.”
At Elena’s questioning glance, Michelle laughed. “The girls named him. They thought it was hilarious.”
“Vlad loves cats.”
Michelle tilted her head. “Yes, he has told me that before.”
Elena looked around the room again. As much as it pained her to admit it, Vlad would fit in so nicely here. Michelle’s house was soft and homey. Cozy and welcoming. Mismatched pillows decorated the couch, big fluffy things that would be perfect for a nap on a football Sunday and for cuddling on cold winter nights.
“Do your kids like Vlad?”
Michelle’s coffee mug stalled halfway to her mouth. “Um, yes, of course. I mean, they don’t know him very well, but—”
“Vlad is very good with children. He will make an excellent father someday.”
“I’m sure he will be . . . someday.”
“You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats animals. And Vlad is so gentle with animals.”
“I suppose that is true.”
“Are your girls asleep?”
“No. They are with their father this weekend.”
“What—what happened with your husband?” Elena shook her head and winced. “I’m sorry. Forget I asked that. We barely know each other. Sometimes I forget that not everyone is an interview subject.”
Michelle let out a quiet laugh. “It’s okay. Really. I don’t mind talking about it anymore. And frankly, I don’t have a lot of female friends my age, so it’s kind of nice to talk to someone, I guess.”
More tension eased from her shoulders. “I don’t have a lot of friends either.”
Of any age. She wondered if Michelle noticed the omission. Except for Vlad, Elena had never had any real friends. Her father’s job made it too risky for her to venture outside the tiny circle he trusted when she was growing up. While other kids her age were out having fun, playing sports, and dating, she was at home or at Vlad’s.
“My ex-husband,” Michelle said, inhaling. She let it out slowly. “He’s a lawyer and worked, works, long hours. I have a degree in library science, but I was working part-time because of the kids and his hours. I came home one day not feeling well, and he was here. And he was not alone.”
“He was cheating on you?”
“In our bed.”
Elena swore in Russian.
Michelle tipped her mug in Elena’s direction. “I have no idea what that means, but ditto.”
“It means he is a pig.”
“Yes. Very much.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I discovered during the divorce that the woman I found him in bed with was not the first. He’d been cheating me on since our first year of marriage. I got the house, went back to work full-time at the Nashville Public Library, and the girls and I are making a new life.”
“You are very strong.”
“I have to be for my girls.”
“You are alone in Nashville?”
Michelle’s face turned compassionate, as if Elena had revealed some kind of hidden subtext in her question. “No. Not at all. I mean, my family lives two hours away, so they can’t help much on a day-to-day basis. But we get by. We have amazing friends.”
“So does Vlad. He has built a very good life here. I’m—” Elena bit her lip. “I’m glad you’re part of that.”
Elena sipped her coffee to cover the tremble of her bottom lip.
“Elena,” Michelle said gently. Her tone suggested a lot of practice dealing with stubborn children. “I think I know why you’re here.”
“You do?”
Michelle nodded and set her mug on the coffee table. “So, I think I should just be straight with you.”
“It’s okay,” Elena said, jumping in before Michelle could continue. “I know . . . I know about you and Vlad.”
“Yeah, see, that’s what I think I should be straight about. There is no me and Vlad.”
“Maybe not now, but it’s obvious there is something between you two—”
“Elena, there is nothing between Vlad and me. I like him very much. He is one of the sweetest men I’ve ever known, and maybe there is a part of me that might be tempted to pursue something with him, because who wouldn’t? But there’s just one massive problem.”