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Ashe laughed. She definitely had relaxed a little. “I love that. I think Timur will be like that with any children we have. He’s a man who will want to be a huge part of our child’s life.”
“I haven’t met him. Does he come here often?”
Ashe nodded. “I met him here, actually. He’s Evangeline’s husband’s younger brother. Worked out for me. You said your date didn’t go well, so I’m assuming you don’t have a significant other in your life.”
“No. I have very poor taste in men. I think I’m doomed to be a cat lady.”
Ashe burst out laughing. Ania liked her laugh. It was inviting, and she noticed that both of the men she’d deemed bodyguards smiled. Neither looked their way, but they definitely heard Ashe laugh.
“I doubt that with your looks,” Ashe denied. “I’ve never seen anyone with skin like yours. I was going to ask you what products you use, but thought I’d better get to know you a little better or you’d think I was hitting on you.”
“Are you?” Ania tried a straight face.
Ashe laughed again. “I’m tempted. You’re so lucky.”
“Thank you. Seriously.” Ania touched her face. She wasn’t going to pretend she didn’t know she was beautiful. She’d been born with her looks. It wasn’t something she’d earned. “My grandmother and mother had gorgeous skin, and I was lucky enough to have those genetics passed on to me. I lost them a couple of years ago in a car accident, and every time I look in the mirror, I see both of them.”
“That’s beautiful,” Ashe said. “They must have been wonderful.”
“They were. They laughed all the time. My grandmother used to say, ‘Don’t frown, Ania, laughter is so much better for the world. Give your family and friends that gift always.’ She practiced what she preached. If I frowned, she kissed me over and over until I was laughing. Sometimes I frowned just to get her kisses. Momma did the same.”
Telling Ashe brought those memories close and she felt lighter for it, and yet tears were close for the need to see them both.
“I love that. I’m going to remember that, and if I ever have children, I’ll be quoting your grandmother. She sounds as if she was a very wise woman.”
“She was. She’d love knowing you were quoting her to your children.”
Evangeline slipped into the chair on the other side of Ania. “I need to get off my feet.”
“Should you be working?” Ania asked. “I heard a rumor that you’re pregnant.”
“That rumor is true, and I get very sick sometimes, so if you see me running to the back, you know why.”
“Fyodor doesn’t want her working at all,” Ashe supplied. “He’s all grumpy when he comes in to see her.”
“I banned him for at least a week,” Evangeline added.
“I tried taking over for her,” Ashe said piously.
Evangeline burst into laughter. “She nearly burned down the bakery. Don’t ever help me again, Ashe, as much as I love you, my beloved bakery wouldn’t survive.”
Ania raised an eyebrow.
Ashe shrugged. “Can’t cook. Can’t bake. Timur loves me anyway ’cuz I’m really, really good at other things.”
Ania found herself laughing with both women. It felt, for the first time in her life, like she had friends. As if she fit somewhere. She was all about family, and she stayed close to her father, especially now. It had been the two of them for a long time, and he needed her. His health was deteriorating rapidly, and more than ever, she didn’t like being away from him for too long.
She’d taken complete control of their business and hired nurses to help, but she oversaw every aspect of his care. She wasn’t leaving that in strangers’ hands. All of that took up time, leaving little for herself. She hadn’t had friends since she was a young girl in school.
“Should you be working, Evangeline?” Ania persisted. “And does your husband actually listen to you when you ban him?”
“I love what I do, but I tried staying home. I promised him I would while I was pregnant, but it made me so sad, he agreed to let me come to work as long as the doctor signed off on it. I’m careful. If I get too sick, I leave. Fyodor has insisted I have help, so I can call when I need someone to come down. At rush we have a couple of others working. We need more space, though, before that can really happen. As for Fyodor abiding by my decree . . .”
Ashe burst out laughing again, the sound contagious. “Fyodor is a law unto himself. He checks on her about every other second.” She looked up toward the door and waved.
Ania followed her line of sight and spotted the camera hidden cleverly in what appeared to be wide molding along the wall.
“Stop that, Ashe,” Evangeline said. “He’ll take it as an invitation to come and nag me to go home.”
Ashe wiggled her eyebrows. “He likes you in his bed.”
“Will you stop? You have sex on the brain,” Evangeline accused, wadding up a napkin and throwing it at her.
“I have to agree with Evangeline,” Ania said. “I just got through telling you my date was an ass, so no sex for me. Lately, I think I’m going out of my mind. Do not believe it when they say men aren’t needed. Toys are no substitute for the real deal.”
Both women looked sympathetic immediately. Ania realized what she’d said and looked around quickly. She couldn’t believe what she’d just revealed to the two women. She’d been coming in for the last few weeks, but she didn’t really know them that well yet.
The two bodyguards were suddenly a little more alert. Color began to climb. They were both a distance away, so hopefully neither had heard her.
“There isn’t audio on those cameras, is there?” she asked, lowering her voice even more.
Ashe shrugged. “Who knows what that paranoid brother-in-law of mine actually has installed down here.”
Evangeline narrowed her eyes at Ashe. “Don’t scare her. Fyodor hasn’t wired the place.”
“Don’t act like he wouldn’t. If you didn’t threaten to hit him over the head with one of your baking pans, he’d have you in a padded room naked, waiting for him.”
Evangeline rolled her eyes, but she blushed as well. “Probably true. I’m not saying another word.”
Two customers came in and Ashe jumped to her feet, waving Evangeline back into the chair. Immediately, Ania felt the difference in the two women. In the two bodyguards. Both men shifted in their seats. They’d looked sprawled out and lazy. Now they looked ready for action. Evangeline and Ashe exchanged a long look that clearly was of concern.
“I can handle them.” Ashe hurried to the counter. There was no smile of greeting like there normally was.
For some reason, and Ania had no idea why, she moved her chair just a little, just enough to cut off the two customers’ vision of Evangeline. If they wanted to see her, they would have to step out away from the counter and make it obvious to all occupants in the room.
“Who are they?” Ania asked. It wasn’t her business, but already she felt protective of Evangeline. She liked her. She found she was drawn to the bakery not only because she wanted to see Mitya again, and the lattes and baked goods were the best, but because she genuinely liked the two women.
“Cops. They’ve done things, tried to use me and this shop to find evidence against my husband. They have never found anything, but they won’t stop harassing us.” Honesty rang in Evangeline’s voice. “Those two pretended to be my friends. I’ve asked them repeatedly not to come back here. The last time it seemed as if the entire police department was here. Clearly they had hoped my brother-in-law Timur would come in before closing so they could make a scene and possibly destroy my business.” There was hurt in her voice as well as honesty.
“Should you call your lawyer? If you don’t have one, I do,” Ania said. “That’s not right.” She knew better than to jump into something when she didn’t have all the facts, especially si
nce she’d met Mitya and there was no doubt that he was a criminal, or at least was very familiar with that world.
“No, it’s all right. They wouldn’t dare pull anything. They know we have cameras in here.”
One of the two cops stepped deliberately from the counter to face Evangeline. He glanced at each of the bodyguards and took a step toward her. Both men stood immediately. The tension in the room ratcheted up significantly.
“Evangeline, now would be a good time to head to the ladies’ room.” Ania stood up.
Evangeline stood as well.
“Evangeline,” the man called out, ignoring the two bodyguards. “I’d like a chance to talk with you.”
“Keep walking,” Ania said. “Don’t even turn around.” She fell into step behind Evangeline, not once looking in the direction of the policeman.
Evangeline headed straight to the women’s room and threw herself into the wide armchair just inside the door. “I can’t believe he would think I would want to talk to him.”
Ania was a little disconcerted by her color. Evangeline looked pale. “Are you all right?”
“I have something called hyperemesis gravidarum. I get very sick and can’t stop vomiting at times. It’s been a little better lately. I’m hoping it goes away. The doctor assured me that it does in most cases after the fourth month or so. I’m not quite there yet, so I still have hope.”
“Should I send Ashe in?”
Evangeline shook her head and pulled out her cell phone. “I’m going to text Fyodor. He’ll send a car or come himself. Thanks, though, Ania. I’m so glad I was here today and got a chance to visit a little with you.”
“Me too. It’s been fun. Lately, I haven’t had a lot of fun in my life. My father has been very ill, and the business is demanding.”
“Business?”
Evangeline was clearly trying not to be sick. Ania detested that she was getting worse right in front of her eyes, and she blamed the two men who had come in and upset her.
“Excuse me,” Evangeline said, and rushed into one of the stalls.
Ania stood there for a moment listening to the terrible retching and then she marched out, straight up to the two men just getting their baked goods from Ashe. She was furious. “She’s sicker than a dog, and you had no right coming in here and upsetting her. She’s asked you several times not to come in here and you don’t listen. I swear I’m reporting both of you to your superiors.”
Looking like a haughty princess, she ignored both men and turned to Ashe. “She’s really sick, and she didn’t have a chance to get ahold of anyone.”
One of the bodyguards had already stepped to the ladies’ room door the moment Ania had vacated, pushing it open and listening as Evangeline got sick. It occurred to Ania he’d made certain that she hadn’t done anything to harm Evangeline.
Ashe immediately had her phone out and was texting fast, even as she rounded the counter and hurried back toward the bathroom. As she did, the door to the shop opened and the bodyguard, the one Mitya had called Sevastyan, entered. Ania’s heart began to pound. His gaze swept over her, the cops, the bodyguards and Ashe running for the ladies’ room. His gaze came back to settle on Ania.
She didn’t like the look on his face. He had known she was there. She knew immediately someone had texted him. Evangeline? She doubted it. Ashe? Maybe. One of the bodyguards? How would they know who she was or that she’d met Mitya? She hoped they didn’t know she had come so often just looking for him. She’d never chased after a man in her life. Now she felt like a stalker.
She hurried back to the table, ignoring the entire drama. Embarrassed that she’d been so persistent in trying to connect with him when Mitya hadn’t felt the same need, she just wanted to go. She had her back to the door, but she knew the moment he entered. He had a presence, and it filled the room. She turned slowly to face him.
He was even more amazing than she remembered. It had been dark, and they’d only had a few minutes there in the small confines of the car, but he’d made a lasting impression. She could see why. He was sheer power. Dangerous. A predator among sheep. He wasn’t handsome in the accepted sense of the word. He was too rough-looking. Too scarred, his features too rugged. He looked masculine without one hint of a softer trait.
Her heart pounded harder than ever. From fear or attraction, she didn’t know which; she only knew she was in trouble with this man. Something wild in her responded to him. She’d tried so hard to stamp down the wild in herself, now especially when her father needed her to step up for him. Her iron will didn’t matter. Her body responded instantly to Mitya’s presence, growing damp and hot. Needy. It was crazy.
His gaze took in everything and everyone in the room, then settled on her before moving past to the two policemen who seemed frozen, caught there in the center of the bakery. Behind Mitya, two more bodyguards slipped into the room. She recognized them also from the other night, and then behind them, Miron, the man who had changed her tire. They spread out, boxing the cops in. She was in the direct line of fire. Mitya strode forward, Sevastyan moving with him.
“Evangeline?” Mitya nearly barked the question, still coming at her.
Sevastyan reached her first and stepped aside so Mitya could take her arm firmly and put her behind him so his body blocked hers from the two cops should they pull weapons. Sevastyan stepped in front of them both.
Ania had no idea who the question was meant for, but before she could find her voice, one of Evangeline’s bodyguards answered. “In there. She’s sick. Ashe called for Fyodor.”
Ania tried to loosen Mitya’s grip on her arm by subtly pulling back, but that only tightened his fingers so they felt like a shackle on her. She refused to be undignified, especially in front of the cops.
“I was just leaving.” She kept her voice low, not wanting to be part of the drama that appeared to be unfolding there in the bakery.
“Now you’re staying.” Mitya’s voice was equally as low but carried the kind of command she recognized as having had complete authority for years.
She’d read Mitya was suspected of taking over the territory of a deceased criminal boss, Patrizio Amodeo, but even if that were true, he’d been in charge years prior to that. No one would dare disobey that voice, least of all her. She never drew attention to herself. It wasn’t done. That had been drilled into her at a very early age as well.
“Gentlemen, do I need to call our attorney?” Mitya asked.
“Just came in for the baked goods,” one of the cops answered.
“Find another bakery,” Mitya suggested. “Evangeline will file a restraining order if it becomes necessary. She doesn’t want to have to do that, but she will also bring harassment charges against you. Please leave, gentlemen.”
One looked as though he might protest, but the other nudged him, and they both made a move toward the door. Mitya’s bodyguards parted to allow them through. “Check on Evangeline,” Mitya ordered Sevastyan the moment they were gone.
For a moment she almost wished she was Evangeline. It was made very clear to everyone that she was important and very loved. Mitya had nearly died for her. The others were all concerned for her. Anxious, even.
Ania had always been loved. Always. But she was expected to be strong. To be more like her grandfather and father than her grandmother and mother. They had the protection of the men in her family. She was brought up to be protective and responsible all rolled into one. She didn’t mind. But this felt . . . beautiful. And Mitya gave that to Evangeline.
Sevastyan didn’t hesitate the way the other bodyguards had. He walked right into the women’s room. The moment the door opened, they all could hear Evangeline getting sick.
Mitya kept his fingers wrapped around Ania’s arm as he escorted her to a table. This one was at the very back of the room, and he seated her to the right side while he took the chair with his back to the wall, facing the do
or and plated windows.
“At last. I have found you. You’re not getting away this time without giving me your last name and a phone number. I’ve had my friends looking to see if you came here, and it was reported several times, but I was too far away to get here in time before you left.”
That felt better, that he would at least have tried to find her. At the same time, she knew there was a lie or two mixed in with the truth. She’d always been good at hearing lies. Her father and grandfather had insisted that when she thought she heard them, she pay attention, and that had always stood her in good stead.
She smiled at him, giving him her meaningless smile, the one she used on customers. “While I’d like to believe that, I know it isn’t true. You don’t have to worry. I did come here hoping to see you again.” She wasn’t going to lie about it. She wasn’t ashamed that she’d been attracted to him. “But the baked goods are amazing, and I’m lucky enough that Evangeline and Ashe both extended friendship to me, and that is worth everything. So, I have you to thank once again.”
He regarded her in silence for so long her stomach did a slow roll. His gaze didn’t leave her face, and those eyes of his were incredible. The color alone was mesmerizing. The lines in his face were cut deep with pure sensuality. That direct stare spoke volumes of knowledge about secrets she suddenly needed to know. He hadn’t said a word, but all she could do was think sex. Sin. Her tongue tracing each of those scars. Seeing if there were more. Finding all of them.
“I am not a good man, Ania, and you’re a good woman. A man like me has to think long and hard before he decides to bring a woman like you into his world.”
A million butterflies fluttered against the walls of her stomach. It was all she could do not to press her hand there, but that might give too much away. She hadn’t expected the truth or the raw longing in his voice, and it touched something deep inside her she hadn’t known was there. No man had ever gotten to her the way Mitya did. The attraction was so intense, it scared her enough to make her wary. Yet she wanted him with every breath she drew.