Page 13 of Between Us

“Yeah,” Tatyana agreed with a single nod of her head. “But don't worry, my brother is a decent guy.”

“That's comforting,” Alessandra joked, managing to find her sense of humor despite the heavy burden of the day. Not even a minute into their conversation, and she already knew that she liked her sister-in-law.

“Well, it's the best we can hope for.”

Tatyana did have a point. As depressing as that sounded, in their world, often times the best a woman could hope for was a decent man for a husband. Not someone to love and cherish her, but rather someone who wouldn’t use his unfair advantage bestowed upon him by their antiquated social rules. Someone who ultimately wouldn’t abuse her. After a moment of silence, Alessandra looked down and noticed there were no wedding rings on Tatyana’s finger.

“I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you...” She gestured to her hand. “Uh, you know.”

“Engaged or married? Not yet, though judging by my father's latest decisions, who knows what I'm in for. No offense, of course.”

“None taken.”

“That’s Alek over there.” Tatyana pointed to the man talking to Roman. “He’s the youngest.”

Alessandra looked that way, just now noticing the resemblance. Much like his older brother, Alek had an angular face, dark hair and light-colored eyes she assumed were also blue. “How old is he?”

“Twenty-two. I’m twenty-four, and I guess you already know this, Roman is twenty-eight.”

Alessandra hadn’t, in fact, known how old her husband was, but she was grateful for Tatyana’s input on filling in the gaps with information no one had deemed important enough to share.

“I’m nineteen,” she said, feeling the need to offer something in return.

Tatyana gave her a smile that looked almost sad. “I know.”

The girls chatted for a few more minutes, mostly about trivial things, until Roman's shadow fell over them.

“I see you've met my sister,” he told Alessandra.

Tatyana gave her brother a pointed look over her shoulder. “Someone had to keep her company.”

“I was only gone for a few minutes, and you're in my seat. Go find yours.”

That wasn’t exactly true, but Alessandra wasn’t about to correct him on that statement.

Tatyana rolled her eyes and gave Alessandra a smile as she stood. “Call me if you want to hang out sometime.”

After she left, Roman sat in the now empty chair. Taking a sip of his drink, he gave Alessandra a look that she couldn't decipher. His blue eyes coasted over her face before they fell on her left hand. “You like your rings?”

She followed his gaze to the pair she wore on her slim finger. The platinum wedding band was encrusted with small diamonds, while the engagement ring was adorned by a sole three carat, oval stone. She appreciated the way they complemented each other, and she told him that. “I like the balance, and they look good together. Did you pick them out yourself?”

“I did.”

Alessandra smiled because she hadn't expected him to care enough to do so. “That was nice of you. Thank you.”

“You have nothing to thank me for. It's how the custom goes.”

She tried not the be put off by his flat response. “Tradition doesn't dictate that the groom has to buy a house when he gets married.”

He went to take another drink from his whiskey and paused. “How do you know about the house?”

“My father told me.”

This time, the hint of a smile touched his lips. “Couldn't have you live in my bachelor's pad. It would’ve been a dick move, even for an arranged marriage like ours.”

For a long moment, silence stretched between them, until Alessandra gathered the courage to try and satisfy her curiosity. “Why did you agree to it—this marriage?”

She had an ideawhy, but she thought that as the heir to his Russian legacy, maybe he had a little more of a say in the matter of choosing his own wife.

---