past toasts, I’d paid tribute to Lady Luck, but if these people expected a roast toast . . . I loved limericks, had even won a contest once, so I cobbled one together.
“Here’s to my Vice-Vice Baby”—Jessica gazed meaningfully at me—“for being single, seeing double, sleeping triple . . . and having multiple.”
I was still laughing when, sure enough, everyone turned to me. I raised my glass to Jessica. Feigning an Irish burr, I said, “There once was a looker named Jess, who always knew just how to dress. At a party like this, she’d land more than one kiss; who she’d fuck was anyone’s guess. Sláinte!”
Jessica guffawed. Natalie and Lucía howled. Aleks and Maksim cracked up.
Dmitri hadn’t laughed, but his lips curled again, and his eyes were lively, crinkling a touch at the sides.
Everyone seemed delighted—and surprised—by even that mere response.
Jessica commanded, “Lick, shoot, suck, my bitches!”
After that shot, the night sped by too fast. Despite an occasional glare from Vasili, I ended up having a great time. I’d had to remind myself I was working, a career first.
Dmitri was unfailingly attentive, asking if I was comfortable or if I needed anything. Once he found out my favorite cocktail, a fresh rum and Coke was always in front of me.
Jess was one of a kind, and Lucía and Nat were seriously cool. I admired how tight those two had their husbands locked up. Devoted didn’t really cover it.
Whenever Nat left Aleks’ side, his gaze would clock her, as if he counted the seconds until she returned to him. Maksim couldn’t seem to touch Lucía enough, and he often whispered things to her that made her eyes shimmer.
My sister and I had a theory that three percent of the masculine population was good. How else could we reconcile all the scrotes we met in our business with the great guys in our family and among our KAs?
Were the Sevastyan brothers in that tiny percentage?
Maksim was the most charming of the three, confident and friendly. Aleks seemed more introspective and intense. He laughed with the group, but he didn’t talk much.
Dmitri was quiet too, seeming to catalog like a computer any information I divulged. . . .
The Caly’s midnight light show had just concluded when Maksim pressed a kiss to Lucía’s head and rose. “I think it’s time for a cigar with my brothers.” Aleks stood, but Dmitri didn’t.
“Come, Dima, let them do another round without us,” Maksim said, then added something in Russian.
Seeming resigned, Dmitri rose. But he told the girls, “Do not scare her away.”
Though they laughed, I didn’t think his tone was playful. I thought his tone said, Do not motherfucking scare her away.
As soon as the brothers had stepped outside, questions from the girls came rapid-fire. “What do you think so far? Will you go on another date with him? What are your intentions and can we do a threesome?” That one came from Jess.
I answered, “I think he seems . . . nice. He hasn’t asked, but I’d probably go out with him again. I’m not into threesomes, and I have no intentions.”
Natalie frowned. “But you like him, right?”
I get high on his scent. His body makes mine feverish. I could suck on his tongue for hours.
I kept it noncommittal: “I’m local. I know better than to get involved with a tourist.” This was true. No matter what they told you, they would always leave. Men and their promises.
Lucía smoothed her long, glossy hair over one shoulder. “Dmitri really likes you. A party this rowdy is a special kind of hell for him, but he’s staying because you’re having fun.”
“He doesn’t enjoy parties?”
“He’s more of a lone-wolf type. This crowd must be trying for him.” Almost to herself, she said, “I was so surprised he recommended we celebrate in Vegas.”
I sipped my drink, logging info. “I can’t believe he’s single.”
Jess snorted. “Despite my best efforts.” She poured another round of shots. “But now I can rest.”
As if he were no longer single? “It’s all very sudden.”
“You wanna know a secret?” Natalie asked with a hiccup. Only always, Dr. Nat. “That’s how the men in this family are. Aleks told me he knew I’d be his wife after one look.”
Wait, had she just said wife in a sentence even remotely associated with me?
Lucía nodded. “Máxim told me that as soon as he got close enough to see I had freckles, he knew he was ‘fucked.’ Clearly, we had some things to work out. But the point is,