Damien squeezes my foot and then kneads his thumb along the arch of my foot, nearly making me moan for a very different reason. He rubs out all the tension while I look over at Talia and say, “I’d love to stay again if it’s okay with Aunt Svetlana.”
Svetlana smiles and says, “You know you can stay as long as you want if it’s okay with your parents.”
“I’ll talk to my mom,” I tell her.
It’s never mattered that I’m eighteen. Now that I’m an adult, it makes no difference, so I’m not surprised that I still need the go-ahead from my parents to do things around here. If I didn’t have my dirt bike, I’d go crazy. I think that’s why my dad never tried to discourage it. He knew I’d need an outlet, an escape that gives the illusion of freedom.
“Perfect,” Talia says, grinning over at Allie and me. “You two should hang out here tonight. Max will be back later, but I’m sure Damien and Ev are bored out of their minds.”
I can practically feel the hesitancy coming off Svetlana, and Talia must sense it too because she quickly adds, “My brothersmentioned something about coming over, too. We’ll probably order pizza and watch a movie.”
That seems to appease Svetlana’s fears of us being alone with two men who haven’t pledged their life and loyalty to the Medvedev family. She still gives her daughter a look that makes it clear she expects her to behave herself. I hear Allie’s soft snort of a laugh before her mom finally says, “Well, I’m sure that’ll be fun.” She looks at Ev and Damien, who’s still secretly rubbing my foot under the table. “Are you both enjoying your visit so far?”
“We’re having a great time,” Ev says. He turns his head and grins at his cousin. “What about you, Damien? Having fun?”
Damien smiles at Svetlana and caresses my ankle before hooking his fingers into my sock so he can touch the top of my foot. “It’s easily the best time I’ve ever had. I love it here.”
“It is gorgeous,” Svetlana agrees. “I fell in love with it as soon as we moved here. It’s so much quieter than Moscow. I bet it’s going to be hard for you to get on that plane and go back home.”
My body stiffens at the reminder, but Damien clutches my foot tighter, both hands now holding onto me while his fingers continue their gentle, reassuring touches.
“I’ll definitely miss Oregon,” he says while dragging his thumb along my skin, “but I’ll be taking a piece of it with me when I leave.”
My heart speeds up while Allie’s mom thankfully misses the real meaning of his message and says, “It is a place that sticks with you.”
“It sure is,” Ev agrees.
When Lyra starts baby talking from her highchair, I chance a quick look at Damien. His dark eyes are already on me, and when our eyes meet, he gives me a wink as he squeezes my big toe. A smile plays at his lips, and I return it before I force myself to look away.
Before I do anything that reveals how I’m really feeling, I wiggle my toes against his hand and then pull my feet away so I can help clear the table. When Damien and Ev start to help, Talia says, “No, no, you guys just relax. We’ve got this. Don’t we, girls?”
She’s looking directly at Allie and me, so we both nod while Svetlana grabs Lyra and smiles. “I’ll babysit.”
As soon as we’re in the kitchen, Talia sets the plates she’s carrying on the counter and turns to look at us. With one hand on her hip, she stares at us with a raised brow.
Allie laughs and leans her hip against the counter. “Wow, Talia, you’ve definitely got the mom stare down.”
Talia takes a second to grin. “Thanks. I’ve been working on it. I need to perfect it before Lyra hits her teens.” Getting back on track, she looks at me and asks, “What the hell is going on between you and Damien?”
Allie lets out another laugh and crosses her arms over her chest, leaning back so she can watch the show.
“What do you mean?” I ask, playing dumb.
The hurt look on Talia’s face has me regretting my words immediately.
“Why are you lying to me? Just because I got married and had a baby doesn’t mean I’m not still your cousin and your friend.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” I tell her and then give her a quick hug. “I just didn’t want to make things hard for you. I thought the less you knew, the better. Hell, the less everyone knows, the better, but that plan is falling apart.”
“Yeah, because you two can’t stop eye-fucking each other,” Allie says.
Talia grins. “You really can’t. I thought I was going to have to throw a pitcher of water on the two of you.” Looking at Allie, she adds, “I can’t believe your mom didn’t notice.”
Allie shrugs. “She’s too busy worrying about me keeping my virginity intact. She’s not too worried about anyone else’s cherry at the moment.”
I start loading the dishwasher while Talia says, “I thought my inviting you both over was a pretty smooth move.”
“It was,” I tell her. “Thanks for that.”
