I blinked down at the table, thinking hard. “You know, you’re probably right. But I think it’s not what I want at all. It’s just the idea of it is mighty appealing.” I snickered. “Knowing my luck, I’d hook up with the one guy who doesn’t know how to take a woman there. Then, of course, I’d fake it so he didn’t feel bad, and end up feeling twice as horny, going home and flicking the bean.” I grimaced. “Not ideal.”

Nas gawked at me, her eyes narrowed and her lip curled. Finally, she theorized, “You’re fucking crazy.”

“I know,” I sighed.

I opened the bag on the table to find Ada had made a batch of her blueberry muffins. Even though I wanted to keep them all for myself, I reluctantly offered one to Nas, who snickered at my obviously forced offer. She took one anyway. We talked over a cup of coffee and I realized time flew as the back door opened.

Both Nas and I turned to watch Lev walk inside. He looked down at his sister and his hard eyes turned warm. “Good morning, Nastasia. Are you joining us for lunch?”

“Lunch?” She perked up. I spun around and scowled at her. Her brows rose in surprise. “I guess not.”

“Next time,” he muttered before turning to me. “I need to shower. We’ll leave in ten minutes.”

“Okay,” I breathed, staring directly at his t-shirt-covered broad chest.

When he left to walk up the stairs, Nas pinched me and whisper-hissed, “You have a thing for Lev!”

“Ow, that hurt!” I howled, rubbing at my arm. “I finally got the guts to ask him to lunch. We’re going to get to know each other.” I vowed, “I’m not letting him avoid me anymore. We’re going to be friends.”

Nas warned, “Lev doesn’t do friendship.”

I looked toward the doorway he walked out of. I declared resolutely, “Well, I’m going to change that.”

Nas left before Lev had finished showering, giving me a moment to apply a tinted moisturizer, mascara, and clear lip-gloss. I brushed my hair and left it down. It was no longer straight, rather cascading down my back in loose waves.

I changed into the navy blue sundress I’d bought two days prior after talking Nas into taking me to another thrift shop, throwing an eighties-style white blazer over the top and slipping on my white, low-heeled mary janes. Nas acted annoyed that I made her come, but she left with a stunning vintage Glomesh clutch circa the seventies.

I grinned at her. She spat oversensitively, “Hey, these are back in fashion!”

As we were leaving, Mirella pulled up into the driveway. She brought Lidiya out, and the moment she spotted her daddy, her arms went out toward him and she started babbling, “Otet! Otet! Otet!”

He looked to me then back to her, and I knew I was losing him. There was no competition when it came to Lidiya. I understood that. And to be honest, I respected that.

Rather than losing my lunch date, I placed my hand on his arm and hinted, “Maybe Mirella could do with an afternoon off.” At his confused look, I suggested, “Let’s take Lidiya with us. We’ll bring a picnic blanket, some of her toys, get some lunch, and eat it in the park.”

He looked from me to Lidiya then back to me. “Are you sure? She’s demanding when it comes to my attention.”

I didn’t blame her. He was pretty wonderful. Smiling, I assured him, “I want Lidiya to come. I love her to bits.”

“Okay,” he stated with a firm nod. And when he went over to his daughter, he beamed, taking her chubby self into his arms, and I knew I had done the right thing.

Chapter Fifteen

Mina

Lev drove past three parks before he found one he deemed suitable. When I pointed out the first two, he lowered his sunglasses, peered out my window, shook his head, and muttered, “Too crowded.”

When he did things like this, I reminded myself that although it seemed strange to me, I didn’t know this man—hence the purpose of today. I would sit by and let him do things his way. I had all the time in the world for Lev and his eccentricities.

I helped Lidiya out of the car, took her little hand, and waited for Lev to retrieve the blanket and picnic basket and lead the way. He walked us a short way from the car to a small copse of trees on the outskirt of the greenery. As Lidiya pulled on my hand, I picked her up and hugged her tight, allowing Lev time to stretch out the thick, wooly blanket and set down the basket.

Lidiya squirmed to be released and, reluctantly, I let her go. The moment she escaped my hand, her chubby little legs took her away from us at a surprising speed for one with such tiny feet. A gasp escaped me, and I went to chase after her, but Lev stopped me with a hand on my arm. “She’s okay. She never goes far.”

He was her father. He knew her better than I did, but still, I worried. “Are you sure?” I asked hesitantly as I kept a keen eye on her. She had found a leaf that was to her liking. I knew this because she stood there enraptured, smiling down at it as if it were a ruby glittering in the sun. She held it delicately in her clumsy hand and turned, running back to us with her hand raised above her head to show us her spoils.

My racing heart slowed. I looked up at Lev, who smiled down at the little girl. “Thank you, Lidi. It’s lovely.”

She ran off a second time, but I saw that she stopped at the same distance as she had before, as if she consciously knew that going any farther was going too far.

A warm hand closed around mine and I spun around. Lev motioned to the blanket. “Sit.”

I was about to tell him I didn’t need help sitting, but when I realized I was wearing a dress, I decided against it. I didn’t want to show Lev my no brand white panties. Not today, anyway.

With his help, I sat as gracefully as possible without showing my undies, and he sat as close to me as he could without actually touching me. It was a gorgeous day, and with the trees acting as shade, it was positively delightful. We both turned our heads to watch Lidi as she played a safe and close distance. Lev opened the picnic basket, started to remove items, and handed them to me.

When Lev told Mirella that we planned to steal away her ward for the afternoon, she insisted on putting together a picnic basket for us rather than having us buy something to eat. I was okay with that. I mean, Mirella had made toast for me on occasion, and she was pretty good at that. I was positive she could make sandwiches with ease. Within ten minutes, we had a relatively full picnic basket, a doll and ball for Lidiya to play with if she got bored, her blankie in case she felt sleepy, and bottles of water to sip on.

As Lev handed me items, I placed them down in front of us. Mirella had done well packing potato chips, zip-locked bags full of sliced apples, strawberries, carrot sticks, spears of cucumber, squares of cheese, and wafer-thin crackers, sandwiches, some of Ada’s ridiculous blueberry muffins, and lastly, bite-sized brownie pieces. He took out bottles of water and handed me one. I opened it, sipping slowly, watching him from the corner of my eye.

He removed his jacket, placing it over the basket so it wouldn’t touch the ground, then removed his cufflinks and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows.

“I have my first question.” I smiled to myself. “Do you always wear a suit?”

He inclined his head. “Yes, mostly.”

I waited for more of an explanation.

I got nothing.

My eyes narrowed, I motioned with my hands for him to tell me more.

His brows rose. “That’s it. There is no more.”

I scoffed. “Oh, we are going to have to do better than that. Why do you wear suits all the time? Do you own anything other than business-wear? How about a pair of jeans?”

He looked out at his daughter, who had collected a bunch of leaves, and responded, “I don’t know why I wear suits all of the time. It’s habit, I suppose. And yes, I own other items of clothing, including a pair of jeans.”