“Lucky me.” He rolls his eyes. “In all seriousness, I’m glad she feels comfortable enough to text you. I won’t lie and say I expected this. I was surprised she danced with you, but I assumed the fact that she didn’t expect to see you again afterward helped her get up and do it.”
“Pfffft.” I wave a dismissive hand. “No one can resist my charming good looks, dear Ivan.”
His smile flattens. “And this is what I mean. You can’t help yourself.”
“Do you think I’m flirting with you?” I taunt, tilting my head. “Because I can show you what me flirting actually looks like.”
He steps back immediately as if burned. “Just be nice to my sister, all right? I can’t kill you because Jade would be devastated, but I can cause a lot of pain without ending your life.”
“You say the sweetest things,” I deadpan. “You don’t have to worry about my friendship with Anya. I wouldn’t hurt her.”
My phone pinging draws my eye, and he takes that as his cue to leave. Thank God, because he just gave me emotional whiplash. I thought I was going to have to fight him in the middle of the kitchen and then Jade would be upset all day. Martha too, since there’s no way we wouldn’t break something while brawling.
Anya
They’re close in age, they essentially have the same job, and their kids are married. That seems like a good recipe for relationship building, doesn’t it? It’s not like they can betray each other without hurting their own kids and grandkids.
Anya
So, it’s like built-in trust, isn’t it?
A smile lifts the corners of my lips.
Matteo
Wow, you’ve really thought this out, haven’t you?
Anya
For about ten minutes now. I have to be honest, it seems like an excellent idea to me.
Matteo
Well, you make a lot of solid points. But they are also on opposite sides of the country.
Anya
So are we…
Matteo
Yes, but we’re young and tech savvy. They’re old and technology vexes them. Do you really see them texting and FaceTiming like frat buddies in college?
Now that’s a funny thing to picture. Dante Moretti and Anton Morozov at college age—in frats, no less.
Anya
Do you think it’s dumb, then?
I frantically type to deny her assumption.
Matteo
Not dumb. I guess I just don’t understand where this is coming from. If you want to play Daddy Matchmaker though, I’m 100% in.
Anya
Really? You’ll help me? I just think that he needs a friend. He’s always taking care of everyone and never takes time for himself. He says my uncles are his friends, but Uncle Mikhail is antisocial and so are his sons. And Uncle Lev has a wife and daughter that he wants to spend all his time with.
