Now.
Talia answers first, but Valery is close behind her.
"Are we all here?" I ask tensely.
"Yep, we're all here? How are you guys?" Valery asks. I have the phone on speaker, sitting in the library with the phone held in front of me and my eyes locked onto the front gate of his estate. I need to know the moment he gets back.
"I'm super good. A little anxious, though. I don't want him to catch me on the phone," I sigh.
"It was so amazing to see him at the market last weekend. I can't believe how happy he looked," Talia says.
"Do you guys think it went well?" Valery asks.
"It went really well," I answer.
"Ok, so that was the first step. Now he knows his family still loves him. Do you think it's time to move to the next phase?" Valery asks.
"I don't think we have any choice. We're running out of time before someone's ego explodes and things get out of hand. My brothers aren't going to sit and do nothing for much longer," I tell them.
"I agree. Things are starting to heat up. We need to do somethingnow," Talia adds.
"You're ok with all of this?" Valery asks her.
"I am. I want what's best for my brother. He's a stubborn idiot right now, and we just need to make him see that he doesn't need to be."
We discuss the ins and outs of our plan, setting a time and place, and promising each other that we're all in for the next part, which is going to be the hardest part.
"It's going to work out," I say, trying to sound confident.
"It will, Kit. We'll make sure it does. We won't stop trying until it does," Talia reassures me.
"I'll see you girls soon," Valery says.
We say goodbye, and I end the call just as I see Bardil arriving home. My heart flips several times, but it's relief, not panic. That was perfectly timed.
I hate lying to him, and I hate keeping things from him.
Everything between us has been going better than I could ever have imagined.
But I've come to accept that I simply can't talk to him about his or my family without him shutting down, and in desperation—this has become my only option.
Because I can't wait anymore.
I'm waiting for him at the front door when he walks into the mansion.
"Oh, this is nice, getting welcomed home by an angel," he grins. Then he narrows his eyes, and his smile gets cheeky. "Wait, I get it. You're after the pizza, not me," he teases.
"How did you know? I thought I was being sneaky enough to hide it!" I laugh.
"Mm. I know that look in your eyes. It's the very dangerous line between hungry and hangry, and we're incredibly close to crossing over into a war zone… "
I punch his arm playfully, and he feigns injury, grasping at his shoulder and pretending to almost drop the pizza boxes.
"Not the pizza!" I declare. "Save the pizza! We'll come back for him… Let's get the pizza to safety first," I say as dramatically as I can.
Bardil holds both pizza boxes in one hand and grabs me with the other. He slings his arm around my waist and lifts me, carrying me like a rag doll at his side. I squeal and laugh and wiggle, but really, I have no intention of escaping.
This playful side of him is my favorite. This, and his tenderness. The moments when he bares his soul as naked as truth to me.
