know you.”
“But she knows this marriage is… temporary, right?”
He winced. “Not exactly. She would never understand that.”
I couldn’t judge. I had no idea what kind of relationship he had with his parents. “Okay, that’s okay.”
“You sure?”
I looked towards my bedroom. There were two guest rooms, but only one of them had furniture. “Where is she going to sleep?”
He paused and faltered. “Can we give her the guest room?”
Which meant I would sleep in the master bedroom. I didn’t even want to think about that, but I would do anything I could to help Mica out. “Of course.”
I would deal with sharing a bed later on.
“We need to move your stuff into my room and make it look like we are together.” He sounded pained.
“What time did you say she’s going to be here?”
He glanced at his watch. “Twenty-five minutes?”
Together we hustled. I cleared out my entire closet, moving all my clothes into Mica’s closet. Same with my dressers. I worked to erase all traces of myself from the guest room. Mica cleaned the bathroom and changed the linens.
When the room looked picture-perfect, Mica checked his watch. “We have about five minutes.”
“I need to shower.” I raced into his bedroom. It felt strangely intimate to use Mica’s shower and see my toothbrush lined up next to his. While I got dressed, I could hear a female voice speaking in Russian.
I took a deep breath and moved around the corner. She was a beautiful older woman. Her hair was jet black, and she had the same angular features that Mica had along with identical bright blue eyes. She looked polished. Diamonds glittered in her ears, and she had multiple huge rings on her fingers. Her clothes looked like they were haute couture, and she held a squirming, fluffy white puppy in her arms.
Mica looked up at me and her eyes followed. She studied me back, no expression on her face.
“Mother, this is Charlie, my wife.”
Her accent was heavy. “So, this is my new daughter.”
I felt inexplicably nervous. I worked a smile on my face. “Hello.”
She snapped her fingers. “Come here. Let me see you.”
Wishing I had opted for something more fashionable than jeans and a sweater, I moved to stand closer.
She stepped forward and looked me over before speaking to Mica in Russian. I made eye contact with him.
Mica spoke in English. “Charlie only speaks in English.”
“I am Mica’s mother, but you can call me Yelena.” She stepped forward and held up the puppy. “This is for you.”
“Oh.” I couldn’t hide the surprise in my voice. “Thank you.”
She put the squirming ball of fluff in my arms. “His name is Sasha. He is a purebred Samoyed.”
I lifted the puppy up to my face and looked into his round black eyes. He was adorable. I smiled and kissed his face. “I love him.”
“She’s on the thin side, and something needs to be done with that hair, but she’s cute.”
I froze, realizing she was talking about me.
“Mother,” Mica warned.
“Mica, please move my bags to my room.”
I cuddled the puppy as Mica, without speaking, began to move the half-dozen Louis Vuitton bags that were stacked at the door.
“Would you like some coffee or some breakfast?” I offered, valiantly trying to get us on the right foot.
She ignored me. “Mica, when are you going to move out of here into a place more respectable? You’re no longer a bachelor. You need a real home.”
He responded in Russian.
I set the puppy down on the floor. Sniper crouched down and inched towards the puppy, reaching with his nose to sniff. His tail was going crazy. In response, the puppy squatted and peed on the floor. Mica walked by with some bags.
“He’s not house trained yet, but that is good training for you. First a puppy and then babies.”
I hid my face as I bent over to wipe up the mess with a paper towel. When I stood up, she eyed me critically. “Are you pregnant yet?”
Holy shit. I looked towards the guest bedroom, willing Mica to return. “Um, no.”
“Are you sure?” She stared at me. “Sometimes women don’t know.”
Pretty sure. “I’m focused on my career.”
“What do you do?”
“I work at a sports agency.”
“Pssht. Mica has enough money. Your job is to make big, healthy babies for him and to stay home and make a nice home for him.”
I had no idea how to respond to that. “I like my career.”
She dramatically rolled her eyes. “You need to focus on my son. Are you planning on breastfeeding?”
I felt like