Page 85 of Wicked Proposal

Just a fraction.

Just enough to tell me he’s not pleased about this.

Oblivious, Eli jogs forward. “Hello,” he says shyly.

“Hello,” Yulian echoes in his deep rumble.

“Are you a spy?”

Please, Earth, swallow me whole.

“No,” Yulian answers, a little taken aback. If this wasn’t a PR nightmare for me, it’d almost be fun to watch. After all, how rare is it for the great Yulian Lozhkin to stumble? “I’m… not.”

“Are you sure?” Eli crooks his head. “You kind of look like Boris. He delivers our mail now.”

“Does he, now?”

“Mhmm. Mommy says he also keeps us safe.”

“That’s good,” Yulian says. “You can never be too safe.”

“I still think he’s a spy, though. He’s got the accent.”

“Bond villain accent,” I explain awkwardly. “He’s—very into spy movies.”

Yulian’s gaze flicks to me. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he looks almost amused. “I remember. You mentioned.”

“Are you Mommy’s boyfriend?”

Before I can be put through the emotional blender of answering that horrifying question, Maksim slips out of the car.

“Who’s the little one?” he chimes in, sounding amused. “Ah, a friend of Mia, I presume?”

“Heh.” I smile awkwardly, pulling him to me. “This is Eli. My—my son.”

Eli’s eyes fix on Maksim now. “Areyoua spy?”

“Maybe,” he says with a shrug and an air of mystery. “Wouldn’t tell ya if I was, would I?”

Eli seems to consider it. “That’s fair.”

“Alright!” I pocket my phone and ruffle Eli’s hair. “Now, Mommyreallyneeds to go, so?—”

“Sorry!” Kallie blurts, finally catching up to us. “I told him I could do it, but he said he was faster, and—well, he’s right, haha.”

Yulian doesn’t spare her a glance.

Maksim, however, immediately steps between us. “Well, well,” he drawls, “Mia never told us she had such a pretty friend.Enchanté.My name is Maksim Goncharov, but you can call me your most fervent admirer.”

Then he takes Kallie’s hand and brings it to his lips.

Oh. My. God.

I freeze. That’s gonna be trouble. Kallie isn’t one to tolerate unwelcome advances, not even for the sake of keeping up appearances. Last time a guy tried to dance her up at a bar, she threw her drink on his crotch and told him to sip his own straw.

Sorry, Maksim. Looks like you’re in for a world of?—

“Oh! U-um, likewise. I’m Kallie. Well, Kalinda, technically, but everyone calls me Kallie, so…”