Page 62 of Sergei

“I’m about to take care of that.” He opened the door, waiting as I stepped into the hall. “There’s a coffee shop just around the corner.”

I nodded and stepped into the hall. He locked the door behind me, and we were on our way. When we got to the car, he opened the door and waited until I was inside and settled before circling around to the driver’s side. As soon as he started the engine, I asked, “So, where are we headed?”

He backed out of his parking spot as he said, “We’re going to get coffee.”

“And after that?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

I honestly didn’t care where we were going. I was just happy to be with him, so I leaned back and let the cards fall where they may. We got our coffee, and the rest of the day blurred into something I would’ve never expected. Our first stop was his mother’s house. When we pulled through the gate, I thought we were just going back to the stables to see Moya and the other horses.

And then, I spotted Tabitha standing on the front porch. My mouth dropped with a slight gasp, and Sergei reached over and placed his palm on my thigh. “I can’t keep hiding you forever.”

“You could’ve warned me.”

“I didn’t want you to worry.”

“Too late for that.”

“It’s going to be fine. Mom always thought the world of you.”

“That was a long time ago. A lot’s changed since then.”

“Yes, but you’re still you.”

He pulled up to the house, and once he was parked, we got out and started up to the house. Once we reached the porch, Tabitha held her arms open and wrapped them around me, hugging me warmly. “Alina, it’s so good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, too.” I hugged her back as I said, “It's been a while.”

“Yes, it has,” she agreed. “You’re all grown up and so beautiful.”

“Thank you, Tabitha. That’s very sweet of you.”

“I can still remember you in those cute little pigtails, chasing Viktor around. That seems like a lifetime ago.”

“Yes, it does.”

We talked about the weather and Moya. We even talked about some of her favorite hot spots that Sergei needed to take me to. But at no point was there ever any mention of Alek or why I had come there. There was no polite inquiry of what had happened or what my future plans might be.

Not a thing.

It was strange.

She had to be curious what I was doing there and why I wasn’t dead like it was reported on the news. I could only assume that she already knew the answer. If that was the case, she had to know about the rift I’d caused between her sons and the danger I’d brought to their doorstep.

I could only guess that Sergei had told her not to mention any of it, or maybe she’d simply decided on her own that silence was kinder than pretending. However, while she was easy to talk to, my guard stayed up. I was afraid I would say the wrong thing, and everything would blow up in my face.

We talked for a bit longer, and then, Tabitha asked, “Don’t you want to come in for coffee or…”

“We aren’t staying,” Sergei interrupted.

“But you just got here.”

“We have a full day ahead.” Sergei leaned over and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. “We will be back by soon.”

“That would be great. I’ll make dinner and maybe Preacher can be here.”

“Sounds good. I’ll call, and we can work out something.” Sergei reached down and took my hand in his like he’d done it a million times. “You ready?”