Yes. Such a charming place.”
“Natasha!”
“I am a grown woman.”
He matched my snap with a growl that had more teeth. “You’re with Lachlan MacKenzie.”
15
NATASHA
DidPop know where I was … with Lach? What would he think?
While my heartbeat clanged in my ears, I tried not to squeak when I spoke. My thumb ran smooth over a nautical blue resin epoxy vase beside the bed.You’re on vacay, Tash, be chill.“You got me, Uncle Sim. Hopefully, this situation eliminates those old-school Russians.”Is Father aware?
“Old school?” He scoffed at our generational differences. “Edik Mikhailov can protect you. Lach?—”
“Chased down a guy in New York,” I snapped. “Lach reacted courageously. We had no clue if he had a gun or?—”
“Stop. Talking.” The bite in his tone made me pinch my nose and smother a retort. “You don’t have to marry Edik.”
Good. I need to figure out how to tell Lachlan he exists.Hell, I hadn’t seen Edik in two years. Every time our parents connected, I fished for a convenient reason not to meet. An arranged marriage? What the heck. Matching my uncle’s confidence, I asked, “Does Simona have the option to decline his older brother?”
An acerbic chuckle broke through. “I was calling for that very reason. Nyet. Not about Rurik, but aboutmoya doch’. My sources say Simona isn’t with you in Greece. Where is she?”
A vulnerable feeling washed over me as I rubbed my shoulder. I never grasped the unexpected falling out between Simona and her parents. After she moved back home at age fifteen, she vanished again as soon as she was legal. She came and went to this day.
“I don’t know, Uncle Sim.”
He heaved a sigh. “Whatever she tells you?—”
“Sima doesn’t tell me anything.”
“Oh? I’m just curious about what’s on her mind. Why … she hates me.” The sound of liquid followed a deep swallow. “Listen, this entanglement with the baseball player will give your father a heart attack. If you wish Vassili to be adedushkasomeday, don’t do anything improper.”
Don’t have sex. Understood. Of course, my family had to be old-school Russian. “That wasn’t part of the plan. But … are you telling Pop?”
He said, “I’ll tell myself later on tonight. I’m more …”
“Resnov than anyone else” we ended together.
I never understood how he was more Resnov than my father. The motto didn’t sound arrogant, either. But something was there.
“Thanks, Uncle Sim. Love you. And … whatever Simona is going through … she loves you. When we talk about you,”—which is super rare—“she seems homesick. Like she wants to jump across the chasm, offer you and Aunt Anastasiya a big hug. I dunno. Maybe that’s book talk.”
His chuckle seemed forced. “You read so much, Natasha. Just like me. Read better books,dorogoy.”
“No thanks. Did you miss her birthday? Call her one of her sisters’ names? You know how the twins are when you mix them up?”
“Da,tirany. But nyet and nyet.”
“Did she see you … in the family attic?” Pop had forbidden us from playing there in the past. A stern look and stiff wagging finger. Didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why it remained off-limits.
“Don’t think so.”
Occasionally, our calls seemed to help him cope with Simona’s distance. However, a knock sounded on my room’s inner door, cutting the call short.Lachlan.
I hope someone helped Simona through whatever she experienced. She was your typical Russian. Every pain, every hurt, locked in.
