Page 25 of Between Us

Behind her, the doors opened again, and Alek stepped out, a cigarette already hanging from his lips.

“Hiding?” he asked with a half-grin, procuring a Zippo from his jeans’ pocket and lighting his cigarette.

“Kind of,” she admitted, watching him blow out smoke.

“Can't say I blame you. Vitaly can be a dick of epic proportions, and he doesn't even have to make an effort.” He held out a hand. “Nice to officially meet you.”

She took his warm hand with a smile. “You call your father by his given name?”

Roman had done the same thing. Her own father would have never permitted his children to call him anything other than “Papà” or “Dad”.

“It's his name, no?”

“Doesn't he find it disrespectful?”

“He actually prefers it. The only one who calls him 'Dad' is my sister.”

As if being summoned, Tatyana chose that moment to walk outside and join them on the patio, her glass of chilled wine in hand.

“I had a feeling I'd find you here,” she told Alessandra with a smile. “You haven't called.”

“I didn't have much time,” she lied, unable to think of a better excuse quick enough. She hadn't really felt like socializing in her first week of being married. It was draining enough trying to adjust to her new life in a strange house with an equally strange man she now called husband.

“Right,” Tatyana said, not looking convinced.

“Leave the girl alone,” Alek intervened, blowing out another cloud of smoke. “Don't you have your girlfriends to keep you company?”

“I wasn't talking to you.” She gave him a dirty look, but her words had little bite to them. “You should goback to your date. Poor thing is having her ear chewed off by Yana. I don't know what you were thinking deciding to bring her here. You know how seriously Dad takes this stuff.”

“So what, just because she's not Russian, I can't bring her along?”

Tatyana avoided looking at Alessandra, saying more quietly, “It matters to him. You know that.”

Alek met Alessandra's eyes, apparently not as delicate with his words. “No offense, but we're still in shock that Vitaly actually went through with the wedding. He has a traditional mindset, like most men in the Bratva. Usually, it's either a Russian bride, or no bride at all.”

“None taken,” she responded with a tight smile. “I think us Italians are even more traditional than you, and I still married a Russian man. It was a shock to everyone on both sides.”

“How do you like the house?” Tatyana asked, deciding to change the subject, which Alessandra was grateful for.

“It’s nice. I love the swimming pool.”

“You swim?”

“I do. I used to spend most summers in Sicily when I was a kid. One of my aunts has a house right by the lake. It’s really beautiful.”

“I learned how to swim when I was five,” Alek said with amusement as he recalled that part of his childhood. “One day, Vitaly just threw me into the pool without warning. He said that’s how he’d learned, and I wasn’t getting any preferential treatment.”

Tatyana shook her head disapprovingly. “He did the same thing to Roman.”

Alek smirked. “But not to you.”

“You know how he is.”

“Yeah,” he said, and there was a hint of something Alessandra couldn’t determine in his voice.

“If you need help with redecorating or doing stuff around the house, let me know,” Tatyana said. “I have time on my hands.”

“Thanks,” Alessandra said with a smile. She hadn’t, in fact, discussed the house with Roman, except for that first night when he’d given her the green light to do whatever she wanted. Her Black Amex card didn’t have a limit, but she didn’t think she could engage in spending large amounts of money without first running it by him.

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