Page 2 of Paved in Hate

Looking up, I see Alina standing in the doorway. She’s wearing the dress and heels I bought her, and she looks stunning. Her long, dark hair falls around her shoulders, and her big eyes are focused on a very uncomfortable looking Matvey. She’s nervous. I can see it in the way she shifts her weight and fidgets with the bottom of her short dress.

“You look beautiful,” I tell her. My words break the silence, but they don’t do shit to cut the tension. I walk over to her and look at the four men who look less than thrilled at my gift. Giving a soft laugh, I hold up my hands to stave off their fury. “She’s eighteen,” I say, trying to reason with them.

“They look really angry,” Alina whispers.

“For the love of god, whatever you do, don’t bend over,” I whisper back, making her laugh.

“You can’t wear that,” Roman says.

“Why not?” Alina’s starting to get pissed. She hikes a hand on her hip and stands her ground. “Vitaly’s right. I’m eighteen now, and it’s just a dress.”

“A really fucking short one,” he counters.

“She’s just in the apartment,” I remind him.

“For now,” she says, and I look over at her. I recognize the mischievous tilt of her lips. I know that smile well, and I know I’m not going to like what she says next. “I want to go out for my first official drink.”

“That was not part of the plan,” I remind her.

She lifts a dark brow. “It is now.” Turning back to her brother, she then eyes me, Lev, and Danil, the three men who might as well be blood related, until finally resting her eyes on Matvey, the man she’s been in love with her whole life. “I’m eighteen. I want to go and get a drink, and I’ll be safe as long as I’m with all of you.” She gives us all another once-over. “Or I can just go alone if you’d prefer that.”

“Not a chance in hell,” Matvey says, and with his gravelly voice it sounds a lot like a growl.

Hearing that makes her smile as she gives a soft nod. “Okay then. After presents and cake, we’re going to get a drink.”

Roman shakes his head. “What the hell just happened?”

I laugh and smack him on the back. “Your sister just put us all in our place.”

“This is a bad idea,” Matvey mutters, eyes still locked on Alina in her small, black dress.

I’d smack him on the back, too, but he hates to be touched, so instead I just say, “We won’t let anything happen to her. She won’t leave our sight for even a second.”

He grunts, and I take it as his agreement to the plan before I go to grab a plate of food. I eat while Alina starts opening her presents. She’s always gotten giddy at gifts. Even when we were all dirt poor and could barely afford anything, she’d get so excited about the smallest of gifts, always acting like it was the best thing she’d ever seen. Even now, she’s just as excited about the diamond and ruby earrings Roman got her as she was about the bookmark he bought her when she was six and that’s all he could afford. She still uses that damn thing, too.

“I love them,” she tells him, holding them up to her ears before giving him a big hug.

He hugs her back and then takes photos while she opens up the rest. Danil’s present is a new laptop, Lev’s gift is the new gaming system she’s been talking about, because the girl’s a bit of a gamer, and when she gets to Matvey’s gift, she takes her time. Blushing, she runs her hands over the wrapped box like she wants to savor the moment. When she finally tears it open, she lets out a soft gasp and stares up at him.

“You didn’t,” she whispers.

Matvey just shrugs and tries to hide his smile. Alina is the only one who gets full smiles from Matvey.

“What’s the mysterious gift?” I ask, leaning over while I pop another chip in my mouth.

She holds up the set of books with a huge smile on her face. “I can’t believe you found them,” she squeals, opening up the first book and then letting out another gasp. “They’re signed?”

Matvey laughs.

“She signed them to me? How did you get these?”

“I went to her website and placed an order and explained that you were her biggest fan in all of Russia,” Matvey says.

Alina strokes the set of fantasy books like they’re the most precious things in the world.

When it’s obvious this could last a while, Matvey gently nudges her foot. “You still have another one to open.”

She takes the box he hands her, and this time when she opens it, she lets out an even louder squeal, holding up the red hoodie while her mouth hangs open.

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