"But you are their only child…"
"They didn't want me." He grimaced. "I was an accident."
"I'm sure that they wanted you. They probably just weren't good at expressing their feelings."
He looked at her with an indulgent smile. "They had no problem reminding me of that fact every time they were disappointed in me for some reason. They are dedicated party members, and climbing the political ladder is all they care about." He took a sip of cold coffee. "They weren't around much when I was growing up. I spent most of my childhood with my grandmother."
Her eyes widened. "So did I, and I was also an only child. We have so much in common."
He smiled. "Did you enjoy spending time with your grandmother?"
She hadn't had much choice since her parents had died and her grandmother had taken her in. "Gran was fierce. Tiny little woman, barely five feet tall, but she could stare down anyone. She was demanding, but she also demanded a lot of herself."
"She sounds like a formidable woman."
"She was." Mattie's throat tightened. "I miss her."
Dimitri reached across the table and covered her hand with his. The gesture was simple, comforting, and she let herself lean into it for a moment.
"I'm sorry for your loss," he said.
"Thank you." She cleared her throat and pulled her hand back.
The conversation had taken a sad turn, and she wanted to get back to the easy and light. "So, any girlfriend waiting for you back in Russia? Wife? Kids?"
He smiled. "No wife and no kids. No current girlfriend either, unless you are willing to assume the role."
She knew he was teasing. "It's only our first date, and the jury is still out. Any former girlfriends?"
"Not many." He chuckled. "Shocking, I know. A handsome guy like me should have had more."
He was handsome, but apparently he didn't think he was.
"Anyone serious?"
"One."
"What happened?"
He was quiet for a long moment, turning his empty coffee cup in his hands. "I thought she was the real deal, but the only real thing about her was her acting ability. Mila was a lab technician on the last project Petrov and I worked on before we were brought here. Turned out she was a party informant, and she reported everything I told her to her handlers." His jaw tightened. "I was about to propose when I was arrested, charged, and thrown in prison."
"Oh God." Her hand flew to her chest. "That must have been devastating."
"It was. My life as I knew it had ended. That's why, when I was offered the opportunity to work here, I took it without asking a single question about it. All I knew was that Petrov pulled some strings to get me out, and I was grateful."
"Are you sorry you agreed to come here?"
He shook his head. "Anything is better than a Siberian gulag." He looked around the deserted kitchen and leaned closer to her. "As impossible as it seems to escape from here, I think I have a better chance at it than I had there. I have some freedom of movement here. I had none there."
Hearing him say that he too was looking for a way out thrilled her, but she didn't trust him enough yet to admit that she was looking for the same thing, even though he had given her the perfect opening, and not even when collecting informationabout possible escape had been the excuse she'd given herself for agreeing to this date.
Instead, she returned to a safer topic.
"Was Mila pretty?"
He considered the question as if trying to remember. "Yes. She was beautiful. Long dark hair, blue eyes, elegant features." He met Mattie's gaze. "But not nearly as beautiful as you."
Heat rushed to Mattie's cheeks, not because she was embarrassed but because she knew his perception of her was wrong. She was damaged, but he didn't know that yet.
