9. Marina
Marina”s stomach was churning as she walked alongside Peter, her arm linked through his. She knew she needed to come clean, to tell him the truth about her initial motivation for pursuing him, but it was so damn hard. Larissa was right, though. Secrets had no place in a relationship.
On the other hand, Peter had made it very clear that he was not interested in having a relationship with her when she moved to the village, so why bother?
On the remote chance that he would change his mind?
But why would he? She had maybe two more decades of being attractive, if that, and then she would look old.
It was so damn depressing.
Why couldn”t she be like Sofia?
Sofia”s mother was a hybrid Kra-ell and her father was a human, which was a rare combination. In fact, she was the only human whose mother was a hybrid Kra-ell, and as it turned out, the longevity came from the mother”s side.
Well, in Marina”s case both her parents were human, so she had nothing of the kind.
Besides, Peter might never forgive her and dump her even before the end of the cruise.
Oh, dear Mother above. It was almost over. They were almost over.
”Are you okay?” Peter asked. ”You seem tense.”
Marina forced a smile, hoping it didn”t look as brittle as it felt. ”I”m fine. You know how uncomfortable I am mingling with your kind.”
He frowned. ”I thought you”d gotten over that. You survived one wedding and even got to enjoy yourself. Why the sudden nerves?”
She scrambled for an answer. What she”d told him hadn”t been entirely untrue. She still felt like an imposter, playing dress-up in a world she didn”t belong in. But that wasn”t the reason she was so tense.
”It”s the chief Guardian”s wedding. Are you sure he won”t mind having an uninvited guest at his party?”
Peter lifted her hand to his lips for a kiss. ”You are an invited guest. You are my plus one.”
Marina stopped. ”What do you mean? What”s plus one?”
He chuckled. ”I keep forgetting that you know so little of the outside world. When people receive an invitation to an event, they need to respond and inform the host whether they are coming or not and how many people are in their party. When it”s just the guest and their partner, they respond with plus one.”
Marina looked confused by his explanation, but she nodded. ”I think I get it. But you couldn”t have responded with a plus one because you didn”t know about me.”
”I was speaking metaphorically.” Peter led her to the main promenade bar and swiveled a stool for her so it was easier for her to slide on top of it.
Vasyli, who was the barman on duty tonight, gave her and Larissa a bright smile. ”You both look so beautiful,” he said in Russian.
”Thank you,” Larissa said in English. ”Can I have a glass of vodka with orange juice, please?”
Marina had had her memorize that one sentence, and she”d said it perfectly.
Vasyli”s eyes widened. ”When did you learn to speak English?”
Larissa”s cheeks got red. ”Only a little bit.”
He turned to Marina. ”What can I get for you?”
”The same.”
He looked at Peter. ”And for you, sir?”
”Nothing for me or my friend. We have to leave shortly.” He lifted his wrist to look at his watch. ”The ceremony will start in ten minutes.” He leaned in to kiss Marina”s forehead. ”I”ll come get you as soon as the doors open.”
She nodded.
Humans were not allowed in the dining room during the ceremony, and Marina tried to imagine what secret stuff was happening behind the dining room”s closed doors. Were the immortals conducting some sacred ritual that no one was allowed to see?
She would have preferred to wait for Peter in the kitchen like she had done the first time he had taken her to a wedding. Being elbow-deep in dirty dishes and preparing canapés would have kept her occupied and distracted from the gnawing anxiety in her gut.
It was better than sipping on her cocktail and trying not to fidget while the weight of her impending confession pressed like an anvil on her chest.
”You”re making a mess of that napkin,” Larissa remarked, nodding at the shredded paper beneath Marina”s restless fingers. ”What”s going on with you?”
Marina took a fortifying sip of her drink, but the burn of the alcohol did little to calm her nerves. ”I”m scared,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. ”I”m a gutless worm who is terrified of telling Peter the truth.” She sighed. ”I don”t even know why. It”s not like what I did was so terrible. Women do those things all the time. Men too.”
Larissa”s eyes softened with understanding. She reached out, covering Marina”s hand with her own. ”If Peter truly cares for you, he”ll understand, and he”ll forgive you. And if he doesn”t, then he”s not worth your love.”
The word love prompted her to take another fortifying sip from her drink and then another. She loved Peter, but he didn”t love her back. Not enough, anyway.
”Hello, darlings.” Amanda glided into the bar with her husband, looking like a movie star in a silver floor-length gown. ”I have five minutes before I need to escort the bride to the altar, but I”m in desperate need of a drink.” She cast Vasyli a charming smile. ”I need something quick. Apple martini?”
”Coming up, miss.”
While Amanda was all charming smiles, her husband was an intimidating mountain of a man, with bulging muscles that strained against the confines of his tuxedo and a stern, almost forbidding air about him.
”You two look absolutely stunning,” Amanda drawled. ”Stand up so I can get a better look at you.”
”Thank you.” Marina pushed to her feet. ”You look as amazing as always.”
The immortal was the most beautiful woman Marina had ever seen, and she was also super nice, which was surprising on several counts. Amanda was not only gorgeous, but she was also the leader”s sister and a council member. People like her were usually stuck-up and condescending, but she wasn”t like that at all.
In fact, Marina had expected all the immortals to be as haughty and full of themselves as the Kra-ell purebloods had been, but most were nice and friendly and treated the staff serving them with respect.
Amanda waved off the compliment and snatched the martini from Vasyli.
Taking a sip, she fixed her gaze on Larissa. ”You, my dear, are a vision in that dress,” she said in Russian. ”I knew that you would look marvelous in purple.”
Larissa blushed, smoothing a hand over the fabric. ”I can”t thank you enough for lending it to me. I feel like a princess.”
”You look like one, too,” Amanda reached for a lock of Larissa”s hair. ”Did you style it, or did Marina do it for you?”
”Marina did my hair and makeup,” Larissa said.
”I must say, Marina, you”ve done an exquisite job.” Amanda put a hand on her shoulder. ”You can sit back down.” She smiled at the bartender. ”The martini is excellent, thank you.”
”You are welcome, miss.” Vasyli bowed his head.
Amanda”s husband didn”t ask for anything and remained standing behind her like a protective boulder.
A pang of jealousy pierced Marina”s heart. She wanted a man like him who would stand guard over her. Not that she needed a guard now that she”d been liberated, but back when she”d been in the compound, helpless to object to any demand from the Kra-ell, she”d often fantasized about having a strong protector like that.
Amanda turned to her husband and offered him a brilliant smile. ”Would you like a drink before we have to go?”
”No, thank you.” He looked at her with so much adoration in his eyes that Marina”s jealousy inflated into a big, ugly, dark balloon.