Chapter 1 #3
Roma lugs the boxes over so I can fill both our bowls.
I get a tray, since he’s still pretty messy, and to erase the guilt for the sugary cereal, I add a banana and a glass of milk for him to drink.
I make a large coffee for myself and carry the tray of food into the living room.
Getting comfortable, we both dig in and watch cartoons.
We’re on our second bowl when the others wake up and join us. When Luka and Lara arrive, they find the adults laid out on the couch, Roma hyped up on sugar and dancing to whatever cartoon song is playing, and a happy Mira sitting in her saucer seat and slobbering all over her teether toy.
“Looks like you all are having fun,” Luka says, laughing when Roma hears his voice and comes running to jump in his arms. “I see your uncle fed you enough sugar to wake an elephant up,” he says, making Roma laugh even harder.
Lara pats my shoulder when she walks by and says, “He loves his mornings with his Uncle Damien. The psychotic sugar rush is worth it.” She leans down to kiss Mira’s head before looking at my parents. “How’d she sleep? Was her teething bad?”
“She was perfect,” my mom quickly says.
“Slept all night long,” my dad says, “and woke up with a big smile.”
While the others walk to the kitchen to grab some coffee, Luka sits down next to me, watching his son grab his dinosaur toys and start playing. “So you’re headed to Max’s?”
“Yeah, I finally talked Ev into coming with me,” I say.
“Good, that guy needs a break.”
I rest my head back against the couch and say, “Yeah, that’s what I told him. He needs to get his head out of his books, breathe some fresh air, get some sun.”
“I don’t know how much sun he’ll get there, but he definitely needs a vacation.”
We’re quiet while we mindlessly watch the cartoon that’s still playing and listen to Roma make dinosaur noises. Eventually, Luka looks over at me and says, “I expect updates. I don’t want to hear any big news second hand.”
“What are you talking about?”
He just raises a brow, and I have no doubt I’ll be seeing that same look on his son’s face when he hits his teenage years.
“I know you have a thing for Sitka.”
I dart my eyes to the kitchen while he says, “Relax, no one else knows. Well, Lara does because I tell her everything, but she’d never say anything. Mom and Dad don’t know yet, and lucky for you, neither do the uncles.”
I groan at the mere thought of our Uncle Vitaly catching wind of this. “What I have is nothing, and it’s going to go away and won’t be acted on, so you can forget all about it.”
“Uh-huh,” he says with a soft, infuriating laugh. “That’s what we all said.”
“She’s a bookworm,” I say, my tone making it clear that that’s that.
He just shrugs and asks, “So?”
I shake my head and pretend to become really interested in the colorful ponies dancing across the screen in front of us.
Luka doesn’t let me off the hook. He never has. He leans in and says, “Don’t you dare hide from her just because she’s a reader, Damien. There is nothing wrong with you. You’re not less than her because you take in information differently. Believing that is stupid, and you are not fucking stupid.”
I fight a grin and keep my eyes on the screen. “Are you ever going to get tired of giving me pep talks?”
“Yeah, as soon as you get your shit together so I no longer need to give them.”
I can tell he’s fighting a laugh, and as soon as he sees my grin break through, he lets it out and nudges my shoulder with his own. “You’re such a stubborn ass,” he tells me.
“Everyone needs to be good at something,” I say.
“All right, I’ll back off, but only if you give me your word that you won’t hide yourself from her while you’re there. Promise me you’ll at least give it a chance to see if anything is really there.”
“Fine,” I say, knowing he’ll never let it go until I do. “I promise.”
He grins like he’s the winner here, but I know it’s pointless. I’m not going to run and hide from Sitka, that was never part of my plan, but I’m also not going to kid myself into thinking she’s going to find my endless struggles with reading sexy.
The others start walking back over, but before they get too close, he whispers, “I want regular updates, brother.”
I groan but he doesn’t move until he sees the subtle nod of my head. Apparently, I’m now required to give reports on what is quickly turning into a complicated vacation.
“Be sure and give our love to Max and Talia and baby Lyra,” Lara says before my brother wraps an arm around her waist and tugs her onto his lap.
I tell her I will and then look away when the look they share with each other starts to feel a bit too intimate.
No one in my family can act normal once they fall in love.
My older brother went from only caring about his job to adopting a kitten and becoming obsessively in love with Lara.
When the Melnikovs fall in love, they fall hard and fast.
All the more reason for me to stay as far from it as possible. Being in love makes you vulnerable, and I don’t ever intend to be that way again.
Whatever happens during the next few weeks is not going to involve me hooking up with a psychopath’s book-loving daughter.