34. Arsen
34
ARSEN
“What are you doing here?” Gedeon has his shoes kicked up on my coffee table and a cookie Polina baked wedged halfway in his mouth.
“In case you’ve forgotten, this is my house.” I knock his feet off the table. “Where’s Dominik? He was supposed to bring Kira over today.”
I glance through the front window, but the driveway is still empty. No cars have appeared in the twenty seconds since I last checked.
Laila isn’t going to see Tyler anymore. And as platonic as things seemed with Kevin, I’m not going to let her water the soil of that particular friendship. So, unless I want Laila to keep texting with Gedeon through meetings—which I don’t—getting her connected to some of the women in my world seems like the right move.
Luckily, Dominic said Kira has been hounding him for months to finally introduce her to Laila. Win-win.
“Oooh,” Gedeon sing-songs, looking smug enough to burst. “I see.”
“I doubt it,” I mutter. “Why are you here on a Saturday?”
“I was invited, as a matter of fact.” He’s having a little too much fun imparting that piece of information. “Laila wanted a buffer in case she doesn’t hit it off with Kira.”
“And she chose you?”
Gedeon just grins. “Some people find me charming.”
I want to punch the smile off Gedeon’s face. Before things can trend towards violence, Laila slides into the room in fuzzy white slippers and a daisy yellow sundress. There are diamond-shaped cutouts over her ribs, and I’m torn between wishing they were larger and wanting to tug my t-shirt over her head to cover her from the world.
“Are they here yet?” Laila scans the driveway the same way I just did, stretching onto her toes. “I feel like I’m going on a first date.”
“And that’s what you’re planning to wear?” Gedeon winces playfully.
“Shut up, Ged.” She whirls around to smack him on the arm, but her mouth falls open when she sees me. “Arsen. What are you doing here?”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that? This is my fucking house.”
Before Laila can say anything, Polina sticks her head in. “They’re here.”
A panicked yelp squeezes out of Laila’s throat, and Polina pats her on the arm. “You have nothing to be nervous about. Kira’s wonderful just like you. You two will get along great.”
I’m not even sure Laila hears her. She’s busy chewing on her bottom lip, casting nervous glances in the direction of her “buffer.”
“Gedeon,” I bark, “there was an anomaly with the security systems this morning. Go check on it.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
He barely hides an eyeroll, but shoves to his feet. He squeezes Laila’s shoulder as he passes. “I won’t be long.”
Laila looks at him like he’s her last lifeboat disappearing over the horizon. She shuffles from one foot to the other, fidgeting with her dress and her hair.
“Do you need a sedative?”
She scowls at me. “I’m new at this, okay? I’ve never gotten along very well with other women.”
“How is that possible?”
Our relationship has been rocky, but based on the way everyone else fawns over her, I’m an outlier. Laila is nice . Who wouldn’t like her?
“You’d have to ask them.” She’s tearing at her bottom lip so much I’m worried it’s going to bleed.
I cross the room, and she’s so focused on the driveway that she doesn’t notice me until I’m standing right in front of her. I brush a hand across her cheek. “She’s going to love you.”
I’m still admiring the blush on her cheeks when Dominik and Kira arrive.
A second ago, she was worried about meeting Kira. Now, Laila practically sprints to the woman to put some distance between herself and me.
Kira ignores Laila’s extended hand and goes straight in for a hug. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Dominik has told me all about you.”
Laila cringes. “Don’t listen to a word. It’s all lies.”
“I told her you’re a pain in the ass, mostly.” Dominik shrugs.
“Like I said—” Laila playfully scowls at him. “—all lies.”
Kira slaps her husband’s arm. “Ignore him. He’s been doing nothing but sing your praises for the last eight months.”
Laila wags her brows at Dominik. “Oh? Then I changed my mind. Dominik is a fount of truth. Now, I want to hear everything.”
“So do I,” I agree.
Kira turns at the sound of my voice. “Wow, a rare sighting of the elusive Arsen Adamov. How lucky am I?”
“Not that lucky,” Dominik says through a smirk. “He comes around more often when Laila is here.”
I ignore my second and give Kira a hug. “Congratulations are in order, I hear.”
She beams, curling both hands around her belly. “Feels strange walking around while a little alien kicks you from the inside.”
“It’s so trippy,” Laila says.
“Finally! I’ve been dying for a little more estrogen around here.” Kira links an arm with Laila’s. “Walk with me, talk with me, Laila darling.”
The women head out to the patio while Dominik turns to me with a knowing smile. “Fancy seeing you here on a Saturday.”
“Shut it.”
Dominik chuckles. “Shutting.”
“Did you look into this Kevin O’Neil mudak we met last night?” I ask as laughter drifts towards us from the patio. If we’re talking business, we can’t be accused of eavesdropping.
Dominik peeks out onto the patio, distracted as he rattles off what he knows. “He’s corporate. Banks, loans, boring shit I fell asleep reading about. He’s not connected to our crowd. Totally legit from what I could see.”
I should be happy to hear that. But something doesn’t sit right. “He seemed to know more about Charles than he let on.”
“You did say that he and Laila lived down the block from each other. It’s probably neighborhood gossip.” When I don’t respond, he claps me on the shoulder. “You can’t murder every man she comes into contact with, ya know?”
“You underestimate me.”
“The security system was fine,” Gedeon grumbles, slouching back into the room. “You were just trying to get rid of me, weren’t you?”
“Join the club.” I don’t miss the wink that Dominik sends Gedeon’s way. “You might have to cough up soon, buddy. I’m so winning this one.”
“Excuse me?”
Gedeon gives Dominik an annoyed glare. “And you say I’m the one who can’t keep my damn mouth shut. This was on the down low.”
Dominik ignores him and explains. “We have a little bet going that you’ll cave at the end of this little experiment and keep Laila around permanently.”
Gedeon actually takes a step back as my glare ping-pongs between the two morons in front of me. “You bet against me?” I growl.
“Actually, I’m betting for you,” Dominik clarifies. “I’m betting on you and Laila making it. If you think about it, Gedeon is the one who’s betting against the two of you.”
There is no “me and Laila.” Once the Italian threat is neutralized, Laila and I will divorce. We’ll co-parent, and she’ll… remain single for the rest of her life, content to raise our daughter without ever needing another man.
I consider explaining that to my idiot friends, but they aren’t worth the time. Plus, explaining myself will only drive home their misguided belief that I care about Laila more than I pretend to.
So I spin around and march out to the patio.
Behind me, Gedeon smacks Dominik on the back of the head. “Thanks a lot, asshole.”
I head out towards the pool, squinting against the sunlight to search for my wife. When I find her, my jaw hits the pavement.
Laila has ditched the yellow dress she was wearing in favor of a deep green, knit bikini, and I can’t move. All of my brain power is spent taking in every exposed inch of her skin—perfect, perky breasts just barely covered by the half-cups of her bikini top, long, slim legs that seem to go on for days. Her long blonde hair drapes down her back in careless waves.
But I keep coming back to the swell of her stomach where she’s carrying my child.
My cock strains against my pants, but since there’s no chance of a release anytime soon, I walk over to the two women. They’re too engrossed in conversation to see me coming.
“You haven’t had one yet?” Kira gasps, pulling her dark hair into a high ponytail. “Well, we have to change that!”
Laila shakes her head. “No, no, seriously. That’s kind of you, but I don’t need a baby shower.”
“But you have to have one! It's a rite of passage for any new mother.”
But Laila isn’t any new mother.
This isn’t any regular pregnancy.
The look on Laila’s face tells me she’s thinking the exact same thing.
She drops into one of the pool chairs and reaches for the sunscreen. “I’m okay, really. It’s completely unnecessary.”
“But—”
“I think Dominik is looking for you, Kira,” I interject.
Both women look over, surprised to see me. But my gaze is locked on Laila as she spreads sunscreen over her arms.
“He is?” Kira glances over to where Dominik is standing by the doors, talking to Gedeon. “That man is so damn needy. I’ll be back in a jiff, Lai.”
Laila waves her off, her smile dropping the second Kira is gone. Her eyes are unfocused and far away when I pluck the sunscreen from her hands.
“Hey, I was using that!”
I squirt some sunscreen into my palm. “Turn around.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“With me around, you don’t have to.” I circle an impatient finger in the air. “Now, turn.”
For a second, our time in the P.T. studio flashes between us. Laila’s cheeks flush. Thanks to all of her exposed skin, I get to watch the way it crawls down her neck, too.
I sit down beside her. “Nice bikini.”
She combs her blonde hair forward so that it curtains her face from view. “The lady from the boutique left it behind. Apparently, she thought you would appreciate it.”
I make a mental note to send that woman a tip.
“I didn’t wear it for you, though.” She looks over her shoulder at me to make sure I catch the distinction.
“Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.”
I massage the sunscreen into her back and shoulders, barely resisting the urge to tug on the tie and watch the scrap of fabric fall away.
If the bet my vory made wasn’t hanging over my head right now, maybe I would. As it is, I enjoy this little sliver of her I get to keep.
“You were right, by the way.”
My hands falter. “About?”
“She seems really nice.” She tips her head towards where Dominik and Kira are laughing about something. “Dominik is really in love with her. He really— ow. ”
I drop my hands. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” she laughs, pointing down at her stomach. “The assault is coming from inside the house.”
I glance down at her belly and have to double-take to make sure I’m seeing what I think I’m seeing. “Is that a footprint?”
“Crazy, isn’t it?”
She takes my hand without warning and presses it against her stomach where the impression has just disappeared. A second later, there’s another kick. And another.
“I think she’s saying hi.”
I lift my gaze and our eyes lock. The purple in Laila’s eyes is brighter than I’ve ever seen it.
“Hi,” I murmur, holding Laila’s gaze.
Our daughter kicks back.