The word had been so quiet I almost missed it, but as I walked back to Elena, I did a little victory dance.
She chuckled. “What was that?”
“That was me establishing trust. It’s the first step to getting a wild animal to accept you.”
She burst out laughing then covered her mouth. “First off, that’s not true at all. Second, did you just call my boyfriend a wild animal?”
“Yes, but one you’d see in a zoo. He’s used to being around humans but you still have to tread carefully.”
She sighed and shook her head. Something our father had done a million times when talking to me. I snickered in response.
Nikolay stood up from the couch, empty plate in hand, and walked toward us. As he passed, he patted my head twice. “She can stay.”
I turned to Elena, who was wearing a perplexed expression, and mouthed, “I told you so.”
She shook her head and moved to the other side of her kitchen where her phone was charging. “I’m going to let everyone know you’re here. Madi wanted to have some people over for dinner so they could meet you. Is that okay?”
“Sure, sounds good.” I tried to sound indifferent, but it was better than good. I’d get to meet the Utah Fury players in person. Not only was I a sports fan, but these were the guys I eventually wanted to work with. Well, maybe not them specifically, but professional athletes. Any opportunity to spend time with them was something I wouldn’t pass up.
“I have a few more boxes in my car, too. Mind giving me a hand?” I batted my eyelashes at Nikolay, hoping he’d take pity on me.
He released a heavy sigh, then pushed away from the counter and walked toward the door. “Let’s get this over with.”
We rode the elevator down in silence. Elena told me he was quiet even around her, but I was itching to get past the awkward stage with him. I wanted to get to know the man my sister fell in love with. I wanted him to know me and to be comfortable with me around, but I didn’t know where to start. The only things I knew about him were that he was Russian, his sister and mom were here from Russia while she was getting cancer treatments, and that he loved Elena and treated her like a princess. None of those were easy conversation starters.
When the doors open, I led the way to my car and opened the trunk. I only had maybe a dozen boxes total, but it would still take a couple of trips to get everything upstairs. I picked up a box and turned around to call the elevator again.
“Hold it open. We can load it then bring everything up at once.” His idea was brilliant, so I hurried to hold the doors open while he brought the remaining boxes over two at a time. The elevator’s annoying alarm went off, and the doors kept trying to shut, but I stood with my back in the way and cheered him on.
“That’s it. Keep it moving. Hustle! Hustle!” I clapped like I was his coach while he glared at me for the remaining two loads.
Once everything was in, he pushed my shoulder so he could pass and pressed the button for their floor.
“You didn’t like my cheerleading?” I asked.
His eyes darted to mine, and he slowly shook his head. He said something in Russian that sounded like it could be a curse. I watched him as he stared up at the ceiling as if help would drop down.
“Too many sisters.”
I barely caught his words. “Sorry, what was that?”
He turned and glared down at me. “I already have too many sisters. Now I have another one.” He rubbed his face with a large hand. “It will never be quiet again.”
I bit my lip to keep my grin under control, but inside I was bursting. He said he had another sister. Me! He already thought of me as his sister. His complaint made me giggle, and I couldn’t wait to meet the rest of the women responsible for driving him crazy. I had a feeling we would be good friends.
The doors opened again, and we slid the boxes out quickly, then scooted them along the floor to Elena’s door. I pushed it open, and we continued our path to the living room. Elena watched us from the corner of the kitchen with an amused expression. “This is efficient.”
“Yeah, your man’s a regular Einstein. He loaded all the boxes in the elevator at once rather than making multiple trips.”
“Working smarter not harder. Good job.” She moved across the room and kissed his cheek. His face softened as he gazed down at her, and I almost made a gagging sound. They were too precious. The way he looked at her like she was the sun and moon and stars and kittens and cupcakes all in one was disgustingly cute. The big gruff man was putty when he was with her.
I shook my head and continued pushing the boxes down the hallway toward my room. Elena gave me a tour the last time we did a video call so I knew what to expect. She had a tall queen bed set up for me with a plush, white comforter and at least a dozen pillows in various shades of blue ranging from navy to teal. There was a dresser and nightstands on either side of the bed. I also had a small walk-in closet, so I had plenty of room to store everything.
They followed behind with the rest of my boxes, blocking me in.
I put my hands on my hips. “Is this a message?”
Elena chuckled. “Yeah, no leaving until everything is put away.”
Nikolay smirked, an actual upward movement of his lips. “And you have twenty minutes.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Is that a challenge, Kozlov?”
He eyed me as if sizing me up. “Yes.”
I glanced at my watch and nodded. “Fine, I’ll be done before we need to leave.”
Elena looked between us and shook her head. “Yeah, right. You might want to change before we go.”
I looked down at my oversized Baylor shirt and ripped jeans. “Don’t want people to see me like this?”
She smiled. “I don’t care, but you might not want this to be the first impression the single players have of you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Single guys?”
One of her eyebrows raised in a challenge. “Cute ones.”
I glanced at Nikolay for confirmation. He rolled his eyes. “There are a few guys on the team that are single.”
I tilted my chin up. “And they’ll be there tonight?”
He shrugged. “Probably.”
I nodded pretending like I wasn’t nervous at all at the prospect of meeting them. I hadn’t dated since the relationship that went terribly wrong, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to get back on that particular horse yet.
I checked my watch again. “Crap I’m down to eighteen minutes. Get out of here so I can get to work!”
They laughed before walking down the hall. I opened the first box and smiled at my secret cheat. I’d kept my clothes on the hanger and put a trash bag around them so they remained in place during the move. I only put them in the box because it was easy for me to carry. I went through the first seven boxes, filling my closet, then opened the remaining ones containing my folded clothing and put those in the drawers of the dresser. I only had two remaining boxes of mementos and decorations, so I spread those items around the room before breaking down the boxes and folding them near the door.
I had five minutes to spare, so I grabbed a pair of dark skinny jeans and a gray oversized sweater. I changed and pulled my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head. I was overdue to wash it, but that was why dry shampoo had been invented.