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What exactly was going on?
Did I fall and hit my head somewhere? The last I remembered, I was his captive,hisprisoner, and he was my abductor. Last I remembered, hewas threatening me in a parking lot, and there was nothing love-y about that.
I tried to read through his guarded expression, tried to understand the ploy of this new plot twist. And I found the crack I was looking for after he blinked.
This was just an act.
Nothing about this was real. From the conversation, I’d been able to deduce the situation. His grandpa was on his case about getting married, and Egor, being the rebel he was, had taken matters into his own hands.
He looked on expectantly, waiting for me to fall into character.
I reluctantly obliged.
I put a hand on his shoulder and smiled up at him, prompting him to widen his eyes ever so slightly. “I’m good now,my love.I was only shocked, is all.”
His grandfather hadn’t moved from where he stood, regarding me with close scrutiny and a lopsided grin on his face. “And why is that?”
I felt jittery and needed to do something with my hands, so my fingers glided up Egor’s neck and teased the back of his hair. For a split second, I got lost in the softness of it. “Um, initially, we agreed that we’d host a formal dinner, invite you over, and then tell you about, um, our plans.”
I looked at Egor for help, and he was looking at me with caution.
“But, as you said, he decides what to do when he wants to do it. I love him that way. I’m just finally glad the cat’s out of the bag. Keeping secrets is such a huge deal.”
That cracked his grandfather up, and he stopped assessing me like a security trigger.
“It’s good to see him ready to settle down now. Trust me, dear, it’s been a long time coming, and you seem like a sweet soul. You’ll be good for him.”
“And he’s good for me, too.”
I let out a soft, mid-century woman giggle and hooked my arm in Egor’s. The comment and action clearly surprised him.
We talked more about thefictionalupcoming wedding plans, joked about how many kids we were going to have, and had a surprising question flung at me by his grandfather.
“So, how did you two meet?”
Egor’s head snapped to the side, and we exchanged glances, wondering what story we would share. I knew my own version.
We’d met in an interrogation room. He was the culprit, and I was the detective. Funny how, in less than a month, we’d swapped roles. Now,Iwore the handcuffs, though invisible, and he held the key.
I smiled at the older man and saw a smirk brightening Egor’s face. He was also waiting to hear the story I’d cooked up.
“We met at a party…a party in a club.” I bit my tongue, hoping I sounded believable. I’d never gone clubbing, so this was a hard one. “I was dancing, and he was—”
“I asked Arlo to find out who she was and bring her to me. The rest was history,” came his low response from beside me.
The old man laughed. “Typical Egor.”
I laughed, too, somewhat grateful for the quick save. “It was a hate-love at first sight, but now I’m fully convinced that I’m crazy about him. He’s different in a very special way. And he treats me like a queen.”
“Ah. The king now has a queen.” His grandpa and I shared a laugh while Egor watched me from the corner of his eyes, subtly deciphering my words.
He didn’t really think there was any truth in them, did he?
“Good, good.” His grandpa nodded and exchanged some words in their language.
More of his extended family trooped in from all corners and joined in on the conversation. Soon, our small group became large, and the topics deviated to business.
I felt uncomfortable, and Egor noticed when I slipped out of his hold. Before I made it a few steps away, he held me back, pressing me into his side with his lips to my ear. To the others, we must have looked like a couple in love when, in reality, he was trying to keep me caged in.
