be there this morning, but after last night’s debacle, Roman put me on lockdown. Not sure I have a job there anymore.”
Ninette flicked her lighter to life and fired up a cigarette. She huffed out a puff of smoke and smiled. “You don’t sound like you’re too happy about that development.”
It wasn’t an accusing statement. More like a woman who knew all too well what it was like to be around protective men and had long ago decided to pick her battles. She’d bet when Ninette decided to hold the line on something, absolutely no one got across it. Not even someone like Sergei. “Truth? I was pretty pissed this morning. But the more I think about it, it’s the smart thing to do. I mean, shit could go bad not just for me, but for other people around me. And if I’m gut-level honest, I think being pissed is more about not being in control than him being overbearing.”
With her elbow anchored on the armrest and her eyes on the festivities beyond, Ninette dipped her head in agreement. “Sounds like a pretty solid self-assessment.”
Quiet moved between them, an easy silence that should have been impossible with a stranger.
“So...” Ninette leaned forward and tapped her ashes into the ashtray. “How long have you and Roman been a thing?”
Cymbals crashing next to her ear couldn’t have snatched her attention quicker. “Say what?”
“You and Roman. How long have you been together?”
Even put that plainly, Bonnie still had to blink her eyes about a half a dozen times and replay the question in her head before she could formulate an answer. “We’re not together.”
“Oh, really?” Ninette’s expression didn’t reflect any sarcasm, but the tone beneath her reply suggested she didn’t believe Bonnie in the slightest. She shrugged, smiled and looked back toward the rest of the crew. “Could have fooled me, sister.”
“No, really. I only met him last Monday.”
Ninette circled the butt of her cigarette with her thumb, her smile not dimming in the slightest. “Fires only take a second to spark. After that, it’s just a question of how much air and fuel there is to feed the burn.”
No.
Ninette was wrong.
Cassie and Evette were wrong.
They had to be. Because entertaining the possibility any of them were right scared the hell right out of her. “Guys like Roman don’t go for women like me.”
“Says who?”
“Um, says me. Says life.” She motioned toward the pool. “Look at them. There’s not a couple down there that doesn’t look like they came as a matched set.”
Ninette’s chuckle was pure feminine wickedness and confidence, and the gleam in her eye was just as shrewd and knowing as her son’s had been when they left the table. “Sweetheart, you don’t give yourself enough credit. I watched that boy when Danny showed interest and mentioned taking you with him to look for shop locations. You may not think you and Roman have a thing, but Roman’s definitely on board. Not only that, he’s makin’ his play and stakin’ his claim. As someone coming in from the outside, I’m telling you right now—the two of you seem to be a helluva matched set yourself.”
For once in her life, no snappy retorts jumped to her defense. No denials and no potshots from her conscience.
But in the silence, a host of sensations clamored inside her. The frigid quiver of fear. The liquid heat of sensual awareness and the fragile breeze of hope. All too easily, the times she’d been connected to Roman physically came to mind.
The press of his body when he’d caught her. How strong his arms had been around her and how careful he’d been to assure himself she was steady before he released his hold.
The warmth of his body last night. The way he’d cradled her close, covered her with a blanket and stroked her hair until she’d fallen asleep.
And this morning.
The tenderness in how he’d cupped the side of her face and how profoundly his words had moved through her.
You are not alone anymore, and you have far more cards than you know.
Roman Kozlov interested in a girl like her? Was it really possible?
“It scares the shit out of me.” It was a confession. One she could no more fathom uttering to a woman she’d barely met than she could figure out how she’d ended up here today talking about such an unexpected topic.
But she’d done it.
And in doing so, felt a surprising lightness creep into her heart.
“Which part? That you caught the notice of a good man?