“I assumed as much,” I admit, trying not to frown. “I’m really not trying to do anything untoward. I like Anya. She’s cool, and nice. But I’m not looking to date or court or whatever you called it. I don’t think she would even be interested if I was. I’m not exactly a hot commodity for her. I live several thousand miles away, I’m a ninth son, and I definitely don’t deserve her.”
Anya is like a diamond as far as I’m concerned. More akin to perfection than she probably realizes. And I’m far from a precious gemstone.
“I’m not sure how to get you to believe me, Sir,” I add honestly. “I’m afraid that this is the kind of trust that you just have to wait for. If I could do anything to reassure you, I would.”
He grunts, and I don’t know how to interpret the sound.
“I will put you on probation.”
He pauses, saying nothing else to clarify.
“Uh, am I supposed to know what that means?”
“It means I will be watching you. Carefully. I will be watching my Anya, too. If I see anything that I do not like, I will have you sent to my cousins in Russia who will make you wish you never asked my daughter to dance.”
Goddamn,the man knows how to make a threat.
“Understood,” I say, doing my best to sound sincere. The last thing I need to do is to piss him off with some sarcastic quip.
“Good,” Anton grunts, firm and final.
“But Sir?”
“What,” he all but snaps.
“Nothing your cousins do to me could ever make me regret offering a dance to your daughter. Not torture, not fist-fighting a polar bear…not anything. And if you think I’m wrong, then you clearly didn’t see the way Anya was smiling while we danced. Nothing could make me want to erase that moment from my memory.”
As if struck dumb, Anton Morozov blinks at me.
I wait for a proper response, but it never comes.
“Anya will talk to you tomorrow.”
The screen goes black as soon as the last word leaves him, and I can’t stop myself from grinning. Somehow, him cutting the conversation short, threatening me, and hanging up on me still feels like victory.
What an odd evening.
Chapter Eleven
Anya
Nothing could make me want to erase that moment from my memory.
The words I overheard through a crack in my bedroom door last night don’t feel real. So much so that I’m almost convinced I dreamed them. Matteo professing that he would never regret dancing with me, even if he was tortured for it, just doesn’t add up logically.
It was a short dance, not even truly a dance, depending on who you ask. We swayed closely together to slow music—that wasn’t easy to hear with all the conversation around us—while I barely touched his shoulders and he couldn’t even hold me in return. So to claim that he’d never take it back, it seems unreasonable.
And if you think I’m wrong, then you clearly didn’t see the way Anya was smiling while we danced.
I stopped being able to process information and eavesdrop properly when he mentioned my smile. And quickly after, I had to hurry away from the door and stand awkwardly down the hallto pretend I didn’t hear a thing. If my father suspected that I was listening in, he didn’t make it known when he gave me back my phone.
I was almost surprised that he returned it and didn’t hold the device hostage after he hung up with Matteo. Though he handed it over, he also told me not to call my friend back, or talk to him for the rest of the day. It was such an odd order that I didn’t know what to say other thanwhy?
Dad only replied that he needed to think about something. When I pressed for more of an explanation, he told me nothing and walked away. I didn’t dare follow, too confused by his actions to address them openly.
The men in my family have always been good at being stubborn—Dad especially. So I figured if he wasn’t going to expand on his declaration, it was probably useless to try and get him to change his mind. Though, I could have used my phone to text and appeal to Aunt Irina.
She probably wouldn’t have had any problem storming over here and pressing my father for a proper response, but I decided against it quickly. I didn’t want to push, even though I was quite upset that he barged into my bedroom unannounced. It actually unnerved me more than I expected, and it took me hours to process that.
