Page 26 of Between Us

Their conversation was cut short when Roman made an appearance, his tall frame nearly blocking both doors. He took in their little ad-hoc gathering, a storm brewing in those turbulent blues of his.

“We're leaving,” he announced, gesturing to Alessandra that she should get moving.

Not daring to question him, she said goodbye to Tatyana and Alek and walked inside the house when Roman moved to the side to let her pass. He lingered outside for another minute before joining her in the foyer. Without meeting her gaze, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the front door, not stopping by the dining room.

“Everything okay?” she asked in a quiet voice when they were alone in the car. “We didn’t say goodbye to your father.”

“Everything’s fine,” he clipped, not even sparing her a glance. The car's wheels screeched as he pulled it out of the driveway a little too aggressively.

Something had obviously happened while she’d been absent from the dinner table. With a quiet sigh, Alessandra leaned her head against the leather seat and glanced out her window. She didn't like that he was in such a bad mood, but she was relieved they were leaving. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to see much of her father-in-law in the future.

11

“So, he’s nice?”

Alessandra frowned down at the dress shirt in her hands. She tried to remember what color it had been when she’d put it in the washing machine. She didn’t think it had been light blue.

Crap.

Hadit been blue?

She glanced back at the laundry basket, her eyes landing on one of her dresses. It was brand new and… bright blue.

Double crap.

Why did she ever think it was a good idea to try her hand at doing laundry when she hadn’t done it before? At home, they had maids doing it. But since moving in with Roman, he hadn’t mentioned anything about hiring help, except for a cook who was supposed to start in acouple of days.

“You there?”

Her attention snapped back to the phone tucked between her ear and shoulder, where Mia was still talking to her.

“Sorry, I’m here.”

“You haven’t answered my question.”

“What question?”

“About your husband. He seems nice from what you’ve been telling me.”

Alessandra stood, taking the laundry basket with her. She set it down on the wooden counter covering the washing machine and dryer. “Yeah, he’s okay.”

Mia paused for a beat before speaking again in a lower voice. “You didn’t tell me about your wedding night.”

Alessandra glanced at the ironing board, sawing her bottom lip as she contemplated how much she wanted to share with her friend. “He was… considerate, I guess.”

“Did it hurt?”

“A little.”

“But he didn’t force you, or anything?”

“No.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

She sighed. “What’s with the inquisition?”

Mia let out an amused breath. “Don’t answer a question with another question.”

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