Miles for Love Series Box Set, page 35
Mallorie chuckles from behind her hand. “I’ll talk to you both soon.”
As she hangs up, I see her swallow. “He hasn’t said ‘I love you’ since he was like…two.”
“Probably your mama says it to him all the time.”
A tear falls down her cheek. “I’m sorry.” She waves, and then she wipes her face with the backs of her hands. “I’m never emotional.”
I rub her back, and then drape a loose tendril over her ear. “You miss him.”
“I never thought I would so quickly, but yes.” She swallows and sniffs. “Things happen quickly when you’re a mom. I fell in love with him the instant he was born. Actually, I was probably in love with him when I was pregnant.” She snuffles. “I used to talk to him in my belly all the time. Brent used to think I was insane.”
“It is not insane.” I do not know if it is proper for me to stay sitting beside her, but I figure if she wants her space, she will tell me. Reaching for my plate, I pull it over closer to me. “Do you mind if I sit next to you while we eat?”
“No, not at all.” She says, and I hear her voice crack again. I wrap my arm around her.
“It is not easy being far away from family.” I say, bringing her plate closer to her, handing her her fork from the side of her plate.
“It was always easy for me.” she says, wiping her tears again. I hand her the napkin that my utensils were wrapped in, so she can dry her eyes. “Until now. I was away for years without seeing my family.”
“It is all different when you are a mama.” I take her fork from her hand, since it does not look like she wants to eat.
“It is.” she agrees. “But he’s so grounded. He didn’t even ask me when I was coming home.” Her voice cracks again.
“He loves your mama and papa. He feels safe.” I take the liberty of placing a piece of fish on her fork and putting it near her face. “Try. It is delicious.”
Just when I think she is going to take the fork from me and give me a look like I am being a controlling asshole, she opens her mouth, and allows me to feed her. A slight eye roll. “My God…that’s so good.” She says as she’s chewing.
“It is?” I say, taking a forkful of my own fish.
She laughs. “I thought you were telling me that it was delicious because you’ve had it before.”
“I wanted you to eat. I have no idea what it tastes like. I have never been here before.” I pause to chew. “It is good.”
Another laugh. “You’re hilarious.” She smiles at me. I swallow and give her the same eye roll she gave me when she first ate the fish.
“God…that is so good.” I mock.
She elbows me but giggles. I take her fork and scoop up a forkful of her potatoes. “Here. Try.”
“What am I, quality control?” she teases, but allows me to feed her again. Another eye roll. “Jesus…so delicious.”
“Really?” I squeal, feigning disbelief, and I take a forkful of my own potatoes. I roll my eyes as I chew and swallow.
Another elbow. “You suck.” She jokes.
“I…suck?” I laugh because of the grin on her face.
“You’re making fun of me.” she elbows me again. I elbow her back.
“Be careful. I may start a food fight.” I warn playfully, forking up a load of seasoned, grilled vegetables, and placing them by her mouth. Despite the jibes, she opens her mouth and eats my offering.
“I have four brothers.” She comments after chewing. “You would be killed.”
I fork up more for her, and as I do, she grabs my fork and fills it with the vegetables from my plate. When she offers it to me, I eat it quickly, as I place her forkful by her mouth. Before we know it, we are consecutively feeding each other while conversing. One would think it is weird, but it is the most natural thing. When our plates are empty, she wipes her mouth with my napkin, and hands me her napkin, so I can wipe my mouth. “I haven’t fed anyone since Henry was a baby.”
“Well, then you are one up on me. I have never fed anyone before.”
“It tastes better.”
“It always tastes better when someone else cooks it, too.”
“Exactly.” She inhales, drinking in the surroundings. Twilight is starting to set in, so the LED lights are more evident. “I haven’t enjoyed a meal that much in a long time, Aleks. Thank you.”
“It was my pleasure.” I watch her mouth quirk into a smile, and then I ask her something that I haven’t asked a woman in a long time. “Do you want to have dessert?”
Chapter 12
Mallorie
When Aleks walked into Babushka’s house, I had to practically glue my lips together so my jaw wouldn’t drop to the floor. He cleans up like no other. With his dress pants hugging his perfect rear end so nicely, his linen shirt outlining his broad shoulders and pecks, and his accent…good Lord. As he spoke to babushka, I thought I was going to melt. His handholding and sweet talk…are all men this charming in Russia?
He’s got a secret, and I don’t want to pry, but I’m dying to know what happened with his last girlfriend. He seems so sweet and caring. How could his love be a hoax? His demeanor with kids is great. The way he spoke to Henry melted my heart. You can tell that he’s got teacher’s blood in his veins. The way he comforted me after speaking with my son…it was…unforgettable. Somehow him feeding me was more about pampering and soothing than it was a sexual thing. It didn’t feel sexual at all. He has a way with words and touch that is so…healing. I suppose that’s why he’s a coach and a personal trainer. It suits him well.
“I’d love dessert.” I say in answer to his question. “Do they have cheesecake?” I joke, remembering my statement from the first time we met.
He remembers, too, and he shakes his head, grinning. “Yes, I am sure they have cheesecake. You want to share?”
“Sure.” I lick my lips. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something.”
He puts his arm around me like we’re buddies. Physically, it’s so natural to be close to him. I suppose it’s another trait because of him working so closely with people for both jobs. “Feel free.”
“The kissing on the cheeks.” I say bluntly. “I can’t get it right. Or at least, I think I’m doing it wrong. Is it just like…” I butt my cheek against each of his cheeks quickly, to demonstrate how I do it. “Is that right? No actual lips touching the skin, right?”
He chuckles. “My manners. Oh my gosh, I completely forgot to greet both babushka and you properly when I came to the house.” He clucks his tongue, as though chiding himself. “See the influence you have on me.” he tips his chin up in jest and winks...oh, that wink.
Looking down my nose at him I say. “That’s not an answer.”
He plays along. “Here, let me show you in slow motion.”
Leaning forward, he slowly leans his cheek against mine, presses his lips softly together, and then winds around to the other side and does the same. “So, I’m right then…no actual kissing on the cheek. Air kissing.”
“With my mama I do kiss for real, yes. But nobody else.” He clarifies.
“And do you do the same with men?” I ask.
He snuffles a laugh. “No, with men you shake hands or hug like this,” he throws one arm over my shoulder and pats gently.
“I see.” I nod.
The waitress comes around and collects our empty plates. Aleks says something to her in Russian, and then she leaves us.
“Did you ask for a menu?”
He shakes his head. “No, it is not necessary. I just ordered one piece of cheesecake.”
“She didn’t offer to fill our wineglasses again?”
“No.” he tilts his head downward. “My manners again. Would you like more wine? I will call her back.”
I lift a hand. “No, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I smile at him. He’s close enough to me that I could kiss him right now. God, what is wrong with me? I don’t want to get caught up in anything right now. The last time I had my heart broken, I went along the same path, and look where that landed me? I ended up sleeping with someone who meant little to me at the time, getting pregnant, and wasting half a dozen years with him. I’m not going to go through that again. “So, you never did answer my million-dollar question from earlier.”
He purses his lips together, and the warm brown in his eyes fades, as he lowers his head, almost in shame. “I was afraid you would remember at some point.”
My face falls. “Oh…no, that’s okay. We don’t have to bring it up again. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
He places his hand on mine. “It is only fair. You shared personal, painful things with me. I should do the same.”
“You don’t have to, Aleks. Really.” I feel compelled to put my hand on his shoulder, and I do. The moment I do, I regret it. Because it makes me want to do more. Suddenly, my hand finds the soft, wavy hair at the back of his neck, and I’m running my hands through it. I’m going for the soothing touch that he used on me earlier, but really, I want to straddle him in the middle of this little bistro, with onlookers watching us from all directions.
He doesn’t seem to mind the contact. If anything, it spurs him on to open up to me. “A year ago, I was a very different person, Malloriya. My last relationship, although it was not real, it taught me so much.” He searches my eyes, as the waitress drops off the cheesecake and two forks, I note. “The women I used to date were very beautiful. They were models. I only ever dated models. Until the last one. She made promises to me that she broke, and she also broke my heart in the process. After her I vowed to never date another woman again.”
As I’m listening to him, I can see the anguish in his eyes. My heart breaks for him. And then the last sentence hits me like a ton of bricks. “Well, those are all good reasons to give up your pursuit. I don’t blame you one bit.” I release his hair and grab the fork. Scooping up a forkful, I wrestle with whether to feed it to him or take it for myself. Right now, feeding him seems like more fun, so I bring the fork to his lips and the ghost of a smile appears on his otherwise downturned mouth.
“So, you are going to share with me.” he comments, and then he opens his mouth and eats it.
“Good?”
He doesn’t answer, but he takes my fork and forks up a load of it. I eat it and draw in a deep breath. My eyes close and a small moan escapes from my throat.
He lifts a brow.
“That’s like sex on a fork.” I comment after swallowing.
He smiles and coughs out a laugh. His shoulders are heaving up and down he’s laughing so hard. He almost sounds like a girl and it’s contagious as hell. I start laughing, leaning into him as he leans into me, as if we have to hold each other up we’re in such a fit of hilarity. Finally, he mewls, wiping his eyes. When he finally draws in a deep breath, he looks at me and says. “You…without a doubt…are the funniest girl I have ever met in my life.”
I take another forkful of cheesecake and place it in front of his lips, trying to keep a straight face. “Shut up and eat your cake.”
“Well…” he giggles like a girl again. “I have not had sex in such a long time…so if this is like sex on a fork…” he laughs again, but takes the forkful, still laughing.
“Hey,” I bark teasingly. “Where’s mine.” I demand. “Quid pro quo.”
“Okay, okay…keep calm.” He chuckles, playing along, slicing some with a fork and serving it to me.
After I chew and swallow, I say. “I think I just had a mouthgasm.”
“Well, if that is all I have to do.” He says, half laughing, trying so hard to get it out without laughing.
We’re both giggling and carrying on. Onlookers are lifting their eyebrows at us like we’re crazy. “I usually like to pay for the meal before that.” He adds, laughing. I love it that he lets his guard down with me. Except my dad and my brothers, no man has ever just been themselves around me, Brent included. Now that I think about it, we never laughed together ever. Something tells me that Aleks has never laughed with a woman before, either. Well, if he’s only dated models, it’s almost certain that he hasn’t.
When the cake is gone, we’re sad. “That was really good. Best meal I’ve had in a long time.” I comment.
“I have to introduce you to my mama.” Aleks says. “This…do not get me wrong…was terrific. But my mama is the best cook in the world.”
“I’d love to meet her.” I say and mean it. Anyone who has had such an influence on Aleks, I’d like to meet.
“Would you like to meet her for dinner tomorrow night?” he offers.
“Don’t you have work? I thought you said tonight was your only night off?”
“I can work around it.” He says fairly. “It will be a later supper though, if that is okay.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Then I pause as the waitress comes to bring us the bill. She sets it on the table and walks away. “I’ll come meet her on one condition.”
He looks at me seriously. When I smile his face softens. “You let me pay for tonight’s dinner.”
He cranes his neck. “Oh, no, I could not.”
“Please. It’s the least I can do. You’re spending your only free night taking me out. Let me pay for it.”
“Malloriya.” He says, placing his hand on mine. “This is your vacation. I asked you out to dinner. It would be an insult to me if you paid for it.” He throws in for good measure. “It’s a European thing.”
“But you have so little time off. You already gave me two tickets to last night’s show, you already gave me ten minutes of personal training free of charge. This is a very upscale restaurant, and this is not a date. It would be selfish of me to let you pay.”
He looks at me. “Malloriya, please.” He licks his lips, and for the first time, he glances at my lips, giving me an inward shiver. “There is nowhere else that I would rather have been and nobody else who I would rather have been with tonight. I have had such a fun time with you. It is my gift to you.”
I shake my head. “You have got to be the sweetest man alive.”
He smiles, “After that cheesecake?...there is no contest.”
I smile. “Fine. You can pay for dinner. But whatever we do after is out of my pocket.” My tone is warning but playful.
“Okay.” He nods once. “Let us get out of here. I have the perfect place in mind.”
As we walk through the Olde Town, it is a little bit crowded, surprising me for how late it is. At one point, as we walk through a bank of little shops, it is so crowded that I nearly lose Aleks while perusing a purse vendor. He takes my hand in his. “I cannot lose you now.” He says, grasping my hand tighter, looking both ways as we cross over to the other side. “Did you find something you like?”
“It’s all so beautiful. I have to be careful how much I buy so I don’t get raked through the coals with extra baggage on the flight home.”
“I can ship to you if you like.” He offers.
“No, that’s okay, but thanks.” I touch his arm, feeling the beefy bicep. He’s not even flexing it and it juts out like a hock of ham. I’d love to get a hug from him. I bet it feels marvelous. As we walk through a little village area with tables and chairs peppered on either side, I notice the middle is open, and a man with an accordion suddenly appears and starts playing. Some of the patrons that were sitting at the tables rise and start dancing. Huddled together, the couples swing slowly to the soft, romantic music.
Aleks stops and looks at me for a second, before embracing me, placing his hands on my upper and lower back. “You dance at home?” he asks me as our cheeks are pressed together.
“Not really. At my brother’s wedding I did, but that’s it.”
My arms barely span his shoulders, so he bends down slightly for me, as we sway in time to the accordion. The man begins singing such a beautiful Russian ballad. His voice quivers when he hits the high notes. “You know this song?”
“It is an old song. My babushka and dedushka used to sing and dance to it.”
With his girth, I expected his hold to be practically smothering, but he is a gentle giant. His hands are politely placed well above my rear end, at my waist, and he rubs up and down in time to the music. It’s like getting a massage-a-gram. “You are not tired?” he asks, speaking softly into my ear, giving me shivers.
“I could dance all night.” I say in his ear, wondering if it has the same effect on him. My hands find his hair, and I can’t help but softly comb my fingers through it. A moment later, I feel him doing the same with my hair. Never in my life have I felt so physically comfortable with mutual touch than with Aleks. Nestling my body closer into his, he inches in, until there is barely a gap between us. The contact is so warm and inviting, not vulnerable or sexual.
When the song comes to a close, the man starts playing a faster song. Aleks pulls back. “I am afraid I am not as good with the older fast songs.” His sheepish smile is adorable as he speaks over the music.
“That’s okay. Let’s keep walking.”
He takes my hand in his again, as we walk past the village, to a green area. The sun is almost gone, so the horizon is diminishing, lending a romantic ambiance to the meadow-like patch of nature. There are tiny streams and large, lush trees. A small area with a bank of benches lays beyond a garden, filled with an assortment of colorful flowers, which I won’t even try to name, but Aleks offers for us to sit on one of the benches.
“Are you enjoying Riga?” he asks, pulling my foot up onto his lap, and removing my shoe.
“I love it.” I say honestly, watching him knead my toes like a professional masseuse. “Good lord, you’re good at that.” I practically moan.
“My babushka had very bad feet. She suffered. Massage was the only thing that helped her. I used to massage her feet whenever we walked here after shopping in the Olde Town.”
“You’re a brave soul.” I say matter-of-factly. “Most people wouldn’t touch an old person’s foot with a ten-foot pole.”
“It does not bother me.” he softly smiles, while we look at the trees gently blowing in the wind before us. He pulls my other foot up onto his lap, and takes turns massaging both of them, until I’m in a state of sheer bliss. My eyes close as I take in the warm wind and Aleks’s touch. “You are tired?” he chuckles softly. It sounds so goddamn sexy, like pillow talk.
