“Uh…” I stammer, standing up straight and pushing my hand through my hair as I scan the familiar faces. I turn to the young woman first.
“Belinda?” I smile at Benedikt’s sister.
“How did you know?” she asks.
“Family resemblance, I guess,” I smile, holding out my hand to shake hers, then realizing it’s probably clammy, I draw it back. “Sorry, I need a shower. It’s hot as hell out there.”
“I can’t believe you went running, man. Why not use the treadmill upstairs in the air conditioning?” Benedikt asks.
“I needed fresh air and to clear my head,” I say.
He nods.
“And you guys. It’s so good to see you. Where is my sister?” I ask, speaking to her four husbands.
Viktor smiles and says, “Hi, you look well!”
Lev raises his hand in greeting, and Kolya and Dimitry both say, “Hey man,” at the same time.
Viktor gestures vaguely behind him. “Leila’s inside, she went ahead to get some water,” he explains just as she comes around the corner, waving her face in front of her hand like a fan.
“Oh my word, it’s a thousand degrees…Joe!” she shouts, running toward me to hug me.
“Ew,” she complains when she realizes too late that I’m drenched in sweat.
I chuckle. “Hey, kiddo. How’s life? To what do we owe this pleasure?”
Leila shoots me an overly sarcastic glare.
“Really, you can’t guess what might have brought us all here today? No big secrets you’ve been trying to keep from me? Nothing comes to mind?” she muses, her brows raised, lips pursed.
“We were going to find out sooner or later, man,” Kolya shrugs.
I sigh and look up at the ceiling for a moment. “I was going to tell you. It wasn’t exactly a secret. I just wasn’t sure how to…I didn’t want to upset you,” I sigh again.
“I’m not upset. Not yet. I decided to come here and get the story from you myself. And I thought Belinda might want the same from Benedikt,” Leila says, glaring at Benedikt as though he’s also in trouble.
He shifts under a sharp gaze and throws me a panicked look.
Belinda giggles. “She called me and told me about the marriage. I can’t believe you kept it a secret, Ben,” she scolds her bear of a brother.
Ben looks at me again, and I shrug. “I guess we should get some iced tea out and fry some bacon?” I suggest.
“Sounds good to me,” Leila says, turning and walking into the mansion. Her husbands follow after her.
Belinda slips her arm around Benedikt’s waist and gives him a side hug. “How are you, big brother?” she asks as they walk toward the living room.
“I’d better go tell the chef and wake everyone else up to join us for breakfast,” I say.
Chapter 16 - Artur
There is a happy buzz of energy around the breakfast table.
Benedikt and his sister have been joking around nonstop since we sat down. Their friendly banter is grating on my last nerve.
Leila, Joseph’s sister, is cheerful and sickeningly in love with every single one of her husbands, who all gush over her.
This is a fucking disaster, and all I want to do is get up and leave the table.
