Dimitri whistled. “I never thought I would see the day that my friend would be completely taken by someone and willing to alter their life in ways.”
“Just do it.”
“Yes, sir.” I could hear the smile in his voice.
Moving one way or another would make the commute shorter for either of us. That meant I would have more time with him.
By the time West dropped into his seat again, our meals had been delivered. I waited for a reaction from his food, but instead, he looked guilty about something. He rubbed his hands up and down his forearms and looked everywhere but at me.
“What?” I demanded.
His eyes clashed with mine. “What, what?”
“Something has happened in the time you went to the restroom and here. What was it?” Did I have to hunt someone? Hurt someone? Kill someone? I ground my teeth together and glanced around while I waited for an answer.
“Okay, so it was nothing really.”
“West,” I bit out.
“The waitress caught me in the hall and asked if I needed help to get away from you.”
“What?” I snarled.
“I told her she was a fool and that I didn’t. Don’t stress about it. I didn’t want to tell you because of the way you would react, but I’m no good at keeping things in.”
I stood. West moved quickly to shift in front of me. His hands landed on my chest. “No. This will not ruin our first date. Who cares what she thinks? I set her straight, so it’s fine. Please, for me, sit back down and enjoy our time here.”
I stared down at him and tried to calm my thoughts. It irritated me that she had the balls to approach him after everything. Still, for West, I would be reasonable for once.
Only West must have read something different from my expression because he blurted, “I know what myela voush means.”
An abrupt laugh dropped from my mouth. “What?”
His face heated. I loved how he blushed so easily. “You know, what you call me.”
“Moya lyubov’?”
“Yes, that.”
Grinning, I gestured to the seat, letting him think his distraction had worked. “Please, we will eat, and you can tell me how you have heard of it.”
“Oh… um, okay.” He nodded and started to move back to the table. Before he could escape, I took his wrist in mine and quickly planted a kiss on his neck. His pulse in his wrist increased against my fingers. I smiled inwardly before I released him and took my seat.
I placed the napkin over my lap while I waited for West to say more. When he stayed silent, I looked over at him. He was already shoveling food into his mouth.
“This is good. So good.”
I shook my head. “Moya lyubov’, you got away with the change of subject before by saying you had to think about it. I will need to know how you found out about your name.”
He set his fork down, cleared his throat, and after a sip of his drink, he said, “Google Translate.”
I drew my brows up, surprised. “And it understood your pronunciation?”
“Did I mince it up?”
“A little. But I found it cute.”
He scraped his bottom lip with his top teeth in thought.
“What, moya lyubov’?” I asked.
His soft gaze rose. “You’ve called me that since… then.”
“Da.”
“Why? It means, ‘my love,’ right? Why would you call me that back then?”
“Because I knew I could not live my life without you in it.”
His eyes closed, and he drew in a shuddering breath. A small smile touched his lips. “Okay,” he whispered. Opening his eyes, he nodded toward my food. “You’d better eat before it gets cold.”
There it was: acceptance. Elation filled me that West acknowledged my truth. I had been worried he would not care for my words, but having had him take on what I said and move on, told me I did not need to hope he was mine.
He already was.
Chapter Twenty
West
Dinner was amazing. On top of the company and comfortable conversation, it had been the best risotto I’d ever tried. When I told Adrik, he had a taste and informed me that his was better. On the drive to the condo, I pushed my nerves down enough to mention, “You know I can’t cook. I can bake but not cook.”
Would he worry about that?
“Da, I remember those muffins. I will teach you if you would like?”
Warmth spread through my body. “I’d love that.”
He took a hand off the steering wheel to take mine and rest it on his thigh. “Good. I have many dishes to teach you.”
“But just remember it’ll be your fault if I ruin a delicious dish.”
“With you saying delicious, it reminded me of the times you ate my meals and moaned like you had just come in your pants.”
I gasped. “Adrik,” I snapped. I couldn’t believe he’d just said that.
“It is true. I had never been so hard before.”
I pulled my hand free and pushed at his shoulder. I loved his teasing, but my face burned in mortification. I hadn’t realized I’d moaned like that. “Oh my God. I can’t believe you said that.”
“What? The truth?”
“Well… even still, it’s embarrassing I moaned like that, and it was the first time I met you.”
He retook my hand. “I will forever be grateful I went through the business to gain company, or I never would have met you.”
I squeezed his hand. “I’m glad too, but… why did you? You’re a hot guy with an accent. You could have found anyone.”
“I wanted it on my terms and where you would expect nothing from me but my company. At the time, I wasn’t interested in finding a partner. I went on dates, but they wanted things I didn’t want to give—more of my time or money.”
“You did go on dates?” Jealousy reared its ugly head in my gut.
Adrik glanced at me and grinned. “Da, but it had been a while, long before you came along. It is good to know you become jealous as I would.”
Rolling my eyes, I mumbled, “Whatever.” Of course he chuckled. I understood where Adrik was coming from. He was lonely in a way where he craved company but didn’t want to have to put on the charm for a date. He was mostly himself right from the start, and I loved knowing that. The first night had been a test to see if we connected, to ensure I wasn’t dazzled with his condo and such. With the rest of our time together, he let himself show in more ways than he had the first.
I was just happy I had the real Adrik.
We drove into the underground parking area, and Adrik stopped close to the elevator. I got out and went to grab my bag from the back seat, but Adrik already had the back door open, taking it. Smiling at his chivalrous behavior, I walked around the car, and we made our way to the elevator.
“Isn’t there usually people around?”
“Dimitri called ahead and got rid of them.”
“Why, and where is Dimitri?”
“Because I wanted to do this.” He slid his card through the keypad and then faced me. Dropping my bag to the ground, he cupped my face and kissed me. I stumbled forward, bracing my hands on his hard chest when he deepened the kiss. He pulled away, and I whimpered. His smirk was cocky. “My men fear me. If they see the sap I have become around you, they would think me soft.”