He cursed under his breath, blushing.
“Okay, Bubba. I’ll make you a deal. How about I talk to Tori and try to feel her out for you first? Find out if there’s a chance before you sh*ot your shot?”
“You would do that for me?”
“Bubba,” I said, hooking me arm through his, “I was ready to marry you for washing my dishes. Of course, I’ll talk to her.”
He grinned at me, then hugged me tightly. We finished our workout. He escorted me back to my bedroom so I could shower quickly. Once again, he waited outside my door. And once again, I hopped on his back after I walked out of my room. I could get used to this mode of transportation through this giant house…
I was taken to his room, so he could get a quick shower. He walked out of his bathroom in a fresh pair of sweatpants, holding his shirt in his hands. Good Lord, were they all this chiseled? Tori better jump at the chance to get to know this Adonis better.
He pulled his shirt over his head as he walked to his door. “Come. You hungry?” he asked.
“Now you are speaking my love language,” I said standing to follow him. He stopped in his doorway, slightly squatting down, with his arms wide at his side. I immediately jumped on his back, laughing. “Don’t tell Viktor. You’re my new favorite.”
He patted my leg, “your secret is safe with me.”
Once in the kitchen, he backed up to the island so I could sit while he rummaged through the refrigerator. He started pulling random things out and setting them on the counter.
“Is there a plan here or are you just so hungry that you’ll eat anything?” I asked, eyeing the strange combination of food he had compiled on the counter.
“There’s a plan. Trust me.”
“If you say so…” I said, still very unsure about what was going to happen next.
He ultimately ended up being a very good cook. It was unorthodox, I’ll give him that, but his combination of like six different meats, potatoes, and peppers was delicious. Or I was just so hungry that I would’ve eaten anything. It could go either way.
Sephie
As we were cleaning up, Tori walked through the kitchen. She looked like she was on her way to the gym, and she stopped to ask, “is there anyone in the gym?”
“Nope,” I said. “Everyone else is gone and we just got done.” I caught her face fall briefly. She looked to Andrei, who was looking down like he was petrified of looking at her directly.
She’s not Medusa, Andrei. I smiled at her, shrugging my shoulders, and jerking my head toward Andrei. She blushed slightly and continued on her way. When she was out of the kitchen, I smacked his arm. “What the h*ll was that? You didn’t even look at her!”
“I get nervous.”
I sighed. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “You can like kill people with just your thumbs, but you’re scared to talk to a girl?”
“Basically.”
I shook my head. “Okay, that’s it. I’m going to talk to her right now. You guys are going to keep playing this game forever unless someone intervenes on your behalf. You can wait outside the gym,” I said, walking back toward the gym.
As we got closer, he started to get more nervous. “Are you sure this is a good idea right now? I mean, we could wait until later. It might not be a good time. We should wait.”
“Nope. We’re ripping this band-aid off right now,” I said, opening the door to the gym. “Wait here.”
As I walked in, Tori was just finishing her warm-up on the treadmill. She gave me a small smile, but she was looking past me to see if Andrei was going to follow me into the gym. I glanced behind me, following her gaze, to make sure he was waiting outside.
“Hi Tori,” I said walking up to her.
“Hi,” she said somewhat unsure of what I was doing there.
“Okay, so this is weird and I’m just going to come out and say it. Andrei really likes you, but he’s also terrified of you. He wants to talk to you, to get to know you, but he’s so scared that you’ll turn him down that he won’t let himself even look at you, which is why he acts like a buffoon anytime you’re around.”
Her eyes went wide in shock. “He does???”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.