Spying Under the Mistletoe (Love Undercover #2) - Stina Lindenblatt Page 0,57

were annoying little brats.” I laugh softly. “They were probably right.” I shift position, so I’m lying on my side, my head propped up with my bent arm. “We liked playing practical jokes on them. They didn’t appreciate it.”

“What kind of jokes?”

“Mostly silly, immature ones, but at the time, we thought we were geniuses. My aunt had a different opinion about the genius part. Especially after Nikolai and I glued his sister’s science project shut so she couldn’t open it.”

Landon laughs. “You really did that?”

“Not our finest moment, I’ll admit. She’d spent hours on the trifold display, so naturally, she wasn’t too impressed with what we did.” Understatement of the year. “Nikolai and I clearly hadn’t thought things through. Because his sister wasn’t above getting us back. We had to redo her project for her, which ended up looking better than anything she’d created. But that wasn’t enough for her to not get her revenge.”

“What did she do?”

“She took my favorite doll and soaked her in blue ink. The doll looked like a human Smurf after that. Nadia then painted Nikolai’s favorite Star Wars spaceship bright pink.”

That makes Landon laugh even harder.

“I believe that was the last time we pranked his sister.” Nadia had proved she was the master, and we were mere amateurs.

“He sounds like a great cousin.”

“He is. We haven’t spoken for a while now. He’s been busy.” Running the family business will do that to a person.

“Do you miss him?” Landon caresses my arm again.

“Very much. Nikolai wasn’t just like a brother to me. He was my best friend. He was there for me when my biological father left my mom and me. I was seven at the time and devastated. I knew my mom was hurting, so I had to be brave for her. But it was so hard. Nikolai was the one who was there for me, holding me when all I could do was cry. He was the one who did everything in his power to make me smile again.

“And then several years later, my best female friend died of leukemia. I didn’t have many friends at the time, so like when my father left, I took it hard. Nikolai was there for me again. The same deal when my stepfather left my mom. Nikolai was the one who held me when all I could do was cry.” He was also the one who told me I wasn’t jinxed when it came to the people I loved. And no matter what, he would always be there for me.

“He sounds like a great man.”

“He is. Life wasn’t easy for him, either. Not later on anyway. When he was sixteen, his parents and siblings were killed when their vehicle blew up. Nikolai was supposed to be with them that day. We both were. But I got the flu and couldn’t go. He was only going because I wanted to see the classical concert with him and his family. So he skipped out on the concert and went to see a hockey game with friends.”

“I guess, in a way, you saved his life.”

I smile at Landon. It’s not a huge grin, but it’s filled with sweet memories all the same. “That’s what he used to say, too. He said if I hadn’t gotten sick, we would’ve both died that day.”

Landon threads his fingers through my hair. “I’m glad you got sick and weren’t in the vehicle.” His voice is little more than a whisper. He leans into me and brushes his lips against mine. “I’m glad you didn’t die.”

“Me too,” I whisper back.

20

Landon

My mouth moves on Chloe’s soft lips, and a newfound respect for Nikolai Orlov burns in my veins.

But that still doesn’t change anything.

He might have been there for her when her father and stepfather took on the role of douchebags, and when her best friend died of leukemia, but that doesn’t alter who he is.

The boy who Chloe remembers and loves is nothing like the man he became. Somewhere along the way, he turned into a facsimile of their grandfather.

I pull away from Chloe just an inch. “What happened to your cousin after his parents died?”

A voice deep in the back of my head screams, What the fuck are you doing? You’re supposed to be kissing her.

I ignore it.

Or try to ignore it.

Chloe makes a small sound, a barely-there Do-you-want-to-discuss-this-now? whimper. “My mother offered for him to stay with us. I was so excited because that meant I’d get to see him all the time.