“Sure, we can do that.”
I helped her into a life jacket before slipping on mine, then we pushed the canoes into the water. I helped her get into hers and gave her an oar before stepping into mine and pushing off. Sienna was clumsy at first, but a few minutes later, she found her rhythm.
She glanced at me. “You know, I'm surprised you chose a place like this. You don’t seem like the outdoorsy type.”
“Are you judging a book by its cover, Mrs. Safin?”
“Not at all. I’m just saying it was a pleasant surprise. But…did you pack a math book in that canoe?” she batted her eyelashes.
I chuckled. “Let’s make a wager.”
“A wager?”
“Mm-hmm. First one past that tree wins the title of King of Outdoor Things.”
“Or queen,” she countered.
I smirked. “We’ll see.”
“So, Mr. Avit, what are we betting?”
“A week of home-cooked food.”
She groaned. “Fine, fine,” she muttered, squaring her shoulders. “But if all you get is mac and cheese, don't blame me. And don’t cheat. You Bratva men don’t play fair.”
“With other people we don’t,” I said, eyeing her. “But when it comes to our wives? She might just be our weakest link,” I winked.
She flushed. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Safin. But shouldn’t I get a head start?”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
I watched her paddle forward at a snail’s pace before glancing back. “This good?”
“Yeah,” I called. “We’ll go on three. One, two, three…”
It was as though a switch had flipped in Sienna. Her whole body snapped into focus, and she shot forward like she’d been training for this her whole life.
That little cheat.
I laughed.
This definitely wasn’t her first time in a canoe.
I paddled hard and gained on her, but not fast enough. She went past the finish line first and lifted her oar over her head with a victory shout.
“You sneaky little cheat,” I said, splashing water at her.
She burst out laughing, splashing water right back. “A wager is a wager. So I’ll be getting home-cooked food for a week. That’s a dream.” She paused. “Wait, can you even cook?”
“I can,” I said. “With three younger siblings to take care of after our parents died, while Lev, Jaroslav, and Marten held the faction together, I had no choice. We didn’t trust outside food, so I had to learn out of necessity.”
Her expression softened. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“It’s okay.” I smiled. “How about we head back and grab some water?”
“Sure thing, Chef,” she grinned.
After we got back to shore, we had some water and a light snack, then grabbed the picnic basket and headed to one of the paddle boats.
