“Yes,” Sadie said it so low only he could hear. “That’s what I said. I don’t want a repeat. After we eat, you have to get me out of here.”
“Why are they making you stay?” And why were they both whispering?
And what the hell was the dog doing to his… Aw, man. He jostled his foot to remove the chihuahua. It didn’t work—apparently, that only seemed to get the little guy going with more gusto.
“Stop it, Lothario.” Sadie leaned down, grasped the dog in her arms, and held him.
“Seriously, why are they making you stay?” Roman asked again.
Sadie nibbled at her bottom lip before looking around to apparently ensure she wasn’t being listened to. “Because they’re terrified to be parents. Don’t tell anyone I said that.” She did the shifty eye thing again. “Are you going to help me?”
“Okay,” he mouthed and nodded.
She stroked Lothario’s head. “Okay?”
“Yeah, okay.”
“What, okay?”
What part of okay was she not getting?
“I’ll get you out of here after we eat.”
“How exactly are you going to do that?” She glanced to where Marlee was resting on the sofa, nearly asleep herself.
“I have many ways.” Oh boy, did he have his ways.
After being raised in a family of Dvornakovs, he could have added escaping uncomfortable family situations to his military resume.
“I need to know you have a plan.” Sadie looked as unconvinced as Lothario, but Roman totally had this.
“Babushka is my grandmother; I’ve been escaping after eating for decades. I’m surprisingly good at it.”
“Oh.” Sadie drew in a huge amount of air. “What do you want from me in return?”
“Nothing.” He blinked rapidly.
“Nothing?” she asked. “Everyone wants something.”
This wasn’t a negotiation. She’d asked for his help. He’d agreed. “Why would I want something in return?”
“Because that’s how these things work. I ask for something. You counter. We come to an agreement.”
Is that how things worked in SadieLand? That’s not how things worked in his world. “Maybe I just want to help you out.”
“That’s not how this works though.”
“It could work this way.”
“Not in my world.”
“Then you are living in the wrong world. People don’t do things because of some lame negotiation.”
“Negotiation isnotlame,” she said with a huff.
“Okay, you want me to want something?” He bit at the inside of his cheek. “Have a real dinner with me sometime when it’s just us and we can connect.”
“Done.” She held her hand out for him to shake.
