“Why are you making so much food?” She craned her head to look at the pot. It smelled like beef stroganoff. “I can’t eat that much.”
There were already roasted potatoes warming in the oven and fresh-baked bread on the counter. The scent was delightful, but Tatyana would barely be able to eat three bites before her stomach was full.
“You’ll eat this.” Anna looked at her over her shoulder. “You look pale. I think you’re not getting enough iron.”
“I drink blood every night. I think I’m getting enough iron. I’m pale because I’m a vampire.”
“That’s no excuse.”
“It actually is though.”
Anna clearly did not care what kind of medical advice Tatyana was getting about her immortal health. She was probably adding beef liver to the stroganoff.
“Where is your husband?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why isn’t he with you?”
“He’s off… doing things. With Mika. Secret things that he won’t tell me about.”
Anna humphed. “Do you tell him everything?”
Like how she was planning to murder his brother as soon as she could figure out a way to make it not look bad for Oleg?
“No,” Tatyana said. “We have our own lives. We can’t tell each other everything. That was an agreement before we got married. The first time.”
“So why are you pouting?”
“I’m not pouting.”
“You are,” Anna muttered.
“It’s not… pouting, Mama. I just don’t understand why he insisted on this massive affair, then acted like it was all being forced on him.”
Anna looked up from the pot she was stirring. “You’re asking me? There’s a reason I never married.”
“It’s like he forgot that we are already married and this is all for show. And it’s a show that he wanted. He wanted this. Not me. Him.”
“He still wants it,” Anna lifted the spoon to her hand and touched the sauce to her skin before she tasted it. “Trust me. Oleg was here two nights ago, asking me how to make things right with you. This needs more salt.”
She blinked. “He what?”
Anna added a pinch of salt before Tatyana could stop her. “Yes, he said he was supposed to be at some fancy party but he was avoiding his responsibilities. I think you hurt his feelings.”
And her mother was just now telling her this? “I don’t think it’s possible for me to hurt Oleg Sokolov’s feelings.”
“Are you blind?” Anna turned to her, shaking her head. “Sometimes I wonder if being a vampire made you stupider. Or are you just more selfish?”
“Thank you, Mama. I’m so glad I’m such a disappointment.”
“You’re not a disappointment, but you can be obtuse sometimes.” She turned back to the stove. “He said you didn’t like that he made a scene with his brother. Is this brother someone you like?”
“No. I hate him.”
“So why do you care?” Anna glanced at her. “I know why you care. Because you care too much about what other people think. You do not want to offend anyone—you care about being respectable—and your husband does not care about such things.”
“It’s not about offending people or being?—”
