Page 22 of White Rabbit
Valariy smirked. “Correct. and beside him are Maksym and Danik.”
“The twins.” I looked at them, noting one wore dark-rimmed glasses. “Identical?”
“Yes,” the one without glasses said. “I’m the one you met.”
I grinned. “Right. The best and most handsome brother, isn’t that what you said?”
“Shh, don’t tell secrets,” he admonished with a laugh.
“She thinks I’m most handsome,” Valariy growled.
“Did I say that?” I teased quietly.
He dipped to my ear. “Remember what I said about that mouth.”
My thighs clenched, my core going liquid. Oh. My. God.
“And next to my smart ass brother is my stepsister, Nikita.”
Unlike all the others, the woman didn’t smile. Her lips compressed, she scanned my up and down then acknowledged me with a slight chin lift, before she picked up her glass and looked away.
“And at the other side of the table, we have Josef and Bohdan, the last of my brothers—”
“That you know of,” they all said, apparently sharing a running joke.
Valariy glared at them. “And this is my closest friend, Aslan. He’s my second in command, and this is his wife Emma and their daughter Dinah.”
“Dinah…” I murmured, glancing at the adorable little girl then up at him. “You were visiting her in the hospital.”
“Yes,” he said, sounding surprised I know that.
I smiled over at the child. “How are you doing? We were at the hospital at the same time.”
“Good. Peacause, Uncle Val made sure I had all the bestest doctors and stuff to get better.”
“I’m glad. He’s been helping me, too.”
“I’m sure he has,” Nikita muttered into her glass, and I only heard her because Valariy had held out my chair for me to sit as she said it. Okay, Nikita didn’t like me at all. Why? Did she see me as competition for Valariy’s attention.
I forced a smile as he made his way to his seat. “I’m glad to meet all of you.”
I was saved from saying more as servers came in with our food. Except for occasional snide comments to me, Nikita ignored my presence and pretty much everyone else, too. The men all talked about business, naming names and places I didn’t know. Someof it sounded…questionable. But then I only heard bits and pieces so I didn’t really have a grasp of full conversations.
Emma, and to some extent Dinah, saved me from being and isolated island at this dinner party.
Emma loved to read, too, and we chatted about books. We talked about meeting for tea one day soon. Apparently, she and Aslan lived in a nearby house on the compound.
“Are there dinners like this often?” I asked her over dessert.
“About once a month. That’s about how often Valariy can manage to get everyone together.”
“Don’t worry,” a snide voice cut in. “You probably won’t be here for the next one. None of Valariy’s woman last long.”
My mouth dropped open, but before I could even think of a response, Emma placed her hand on my arm. “Brecklyn, Dinah’s flagging fast and these guys will go one about business for a bit. Let’s go to the lounge so she can lie down and we can chat.”
Anything to get away from Nikita.
Pushing back my chair, I stood. Valariy immediately went to his feet too and circled the table to me. He took arms in his, cupping my elbows. “Everything alright?”
