She was in his house now. He’d get to the bottom of it, find out what she wanted. They were good together in bed. She didn’t hide anything there, didn’t hold back in her pleasure. They’d start there, and once he was past her guards, he’d find out what else she was hiding.
First, he had to get her to retract her rule.
But for now, he’d give her space. Let her unpack and settle in. Even though he wanted to help, he stayed in his office instead, pushing aside the contract and pulling up a spreadsheet of wine orders on his laptop.
The entertainment industry was an uncertain beast, and dance careers didn’t last forever. Nothing did. He’d learned from experience early on that the best move was to diversify his interests, and he went for low risk with maximum reward.
The restaurant had been a sure bet. Everything had lined up perfectly to make it happen, but he hadn’t gone public as the owner untilKrasavitsawas a clear success. It turned out he was good at running a restaurant, and of all his side ventures, it was the one he was most involved in, and left him most fulfilled.
But it wasn’t dancing.
His eyes wandered over to the bookcase in the corner, and the massive three-ring binder settled into one of the shelves, surrounded by classic Russian literature and gathering metaphorical dust.
Not real dust. Trina, his housekeeper, would never allow it.
An email popped up from one of the vineyards he did business with. Putting the binder, the contract, and Natasha out of his head, he got back to work.
Half an hour later, his phone buzzed, and the Yeti King’s epic theme song from theElf Chroniclesmovies rang out from his pants pocket.
He pulled the phone out and swiped it on. “You’re up late,” he said by way of greeting. “It’s almost midnight over there.”
“Yeah, but I knew you’d be up.” His cousin Alex sounded tired. “What are you doing?”
Dimitri closed his laptop and played with a pile of paperclips on the desk, pushing them into ever-changing designs and patterns. “Going over wine lists.”
“Ah, the best part of being a restaurant owner. Aren’t you glad I forced you to take that sommelier class?”
Dimitri grunted. Alex had not only pushed him into taking the wine class, but he’d facilitated the purchase and opening of the restaurant. He put the phone on speaker and leaned back in his chair. “I know you didn’t call from New Jersey in the middle of the night to discuss wine. Spill it.”
Alex was silent for a long beat. Dimitri abandoned the paperclips and sat up straight. Alex always hesitated before telling him something he didn’t want to hear.
Like the time they’d had to close their Broadway show. Alex had hemmed and hawed like an elementary school kid trying to get out of trouble before he broke the news. Despite great reviews, ticket sales weren’t where they’d needed to be. Dimitri had sunk everything he had into it, both financially—borrowing and scraping together every cent from other gigs—and professionally, working on all aspects of the choreography, the story, even the production and the marketing.
It hadn’t been enough. No matter how good you were, no matter how big your name, if the money wasn’t there to back you up, you were a failure.
The line was quiet for so long, Dimitri worried the call had cut out. “Sasha?” he said, using Alex’s family nickname.
“I have news, Mitya,” Alex finally said, using Dimitri’s own nickname.
“Tell me.”
“Marina’s pregnant. We’re having a baby.”
Dimitri blew out a breath. “Don’t scare me like that. I thought you were calling to tell me something bad. That’s great news.Pozdravlyayu.”
“Spasibo.”
Dimitri switched to Russian. “So, why don’t you sound more excited?”
Alex sighed. “I am. I’m thrilled. A little exhausted, because we just found out, and Marina’s been up early with morning sickness. By the way, don’t tell anyone else in the family. I’m only telling you.”
That was suspicious. “Why haven’t you told your parents yet?”
“We will, but we want a little time before they start smothering us.”
“I’m flattered you chose to share the news with me first, but why?”
“Two reasons. One, we want you to be the godfather.”
