My face turned hard. What an idiotic question. “Of course I love Mina.”
What was this about?
My heart pounded. When things came to Mina, I didn’t mess around. “What’s going on, Nas?”
Then she said something I wasn’t expecting. Here eyes sad, she muttered, “I’m a little disappointed in you.”
The pounding in my chest increased. “Why?”
My sister shook her head. “The public proposal was cute, Lev. It was you down to a T.” She shook her head. “But I was hoping you’d step outside your box, get down on one knee and ask Mina in a way that would make her feel special.”
I lowered my face, momentarily lost in thought and when I raised my head to look at her again, I asked, “Do you think Mina would like that? A proposal?”
Nas smiled gently and told me, “Every woman wants a proposal she can tell her kids about.”
Children? With Mina?
I liked that idea.
Yes. A proposal.
I could do that.
My mind made up, I leaned forward slightly and queried, “What do I need to do?”
Nas grinned then. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter Fifty-One
Mina
Something was up.
I wasn’t sure what exactly but Lev was acting distracted and kind of off, even for him.
When I asked him what was wrong, he shook his head and muttered something about having too much on his mind. I told him he could talk to me and when he turned to me and smiled, he stated that he would talk when it was needed.
I trusted Lev with every piece of me and if he told me not to worry, I would try my hardest not to. But I loved him, which meant I would go ahead and worry anyways.
It was Sunday and after having a predictably late Saturday night at the club, Lev woke to get his workout in and although part of me wanted to be the early bird, the other part of me didn’t give a flipping flip if I got the worm or not.
I was tired and because of that, I slept my way through to eleven thirty, and Lev would be arriving back from his run at anytime now.
Walking my sleepy ass down the stairs, I shuffled into the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee. I’d taken the first sip when Lidiya came into the kitchen, an empty Sippy cup hanging from her hang while the other one rubbed her tired little eyes, and she whined. “No nap. No nap.” Then she stomped one little foot.
Mirella followed her in. “Lidi, sweetheart, you’re tired. And when you’re tired, you need a nap.” Mirella rolled her eyes slightly and smiled in a way that read ‘kids, huh?’
Lidi was already at my side, holding up her arms and without hesitation, I picked her up, rocking her from side-to-side and kissing her forehead lovingly. Her eyes were already starting to close when Lev walked in from the back door. And when he spotted me, holding Lidi, rocking her grumpy self to sleep, his eyes went warm.
He made his way forward and kissed her chubby cheek before turning to me and kissing my lips, feather soft. A now sleeping Lidiya dropped her sippy cup to the kitchen floor with a clang and clap and she jolted but didn’t wake.
Lev pulled her out of my arms, held her close and walked her to her bedroom where she could nap in comfort. I followed him upstairs so I could watch him undress and when I arrived back to our bedroom, he already had his tee off.
“We have the night off,” he threw out into the silence.
My nose bunched. “What? Why?”
Lev looked over at me, his hands on the waistband of his sweat pants. “Because you deserve it.”
I liked the club. It was my home away from home. I enjoyed it there.
With a light shrug, I uttered a sincere, “That’s okay. I don’t need a night off. I love club nights, besides, it’s only three days a week.”
He blinked over at me, seeming surprised that I wouldn’t want a night to myself. “I thought we could go to dinner. To that Russian place you like.”
Ooh.
Blini and Pelmeni. I didn’t think I could pass that up but it was a work night. We could go anytime.
The he added something that would have me giving up my fight. “Like on our first date.”
My smile was slow to form and catlike. “You want to have a date night?”
He nodded. “Yes. Just the two of us.”
Shit, that was sweet.
How can I say no to that?
“Okay.” I smiled harder. “But, just so you know, for you, I’m a sure thing, baby. Always.”
His lip twitched and he threw down his sweats, leaving him in the nude. I let out a low whistle of appreciation and his body shook in silent laughter. Then I followed him into the bathroom to watch him bathe because… well… I could.
Arriving at our dinner destination, Lev talked to the woman at the counter, speaking in rapid fire Russian, getting more and more frustrated with every additional word, he slapped his hand down on the counter and turned to me, his face hard, his lips thin, “They’re booked for a private function.”
It didn’t bother me that the short journey was wasted. I was just happy to be there with Lev. “That’s okay, sweetie. We’ll go eat somewhere else.”
He looked down at me, his voice clinical. “No, it had to be here.”
I blinked at his unlikely tantrum. “Well, here isn’t available. So we’ll go somewhere else.” I took his hand and led him out of the restaurant, running my thumb along his knuckles. “It’s no big deal, Lev. We’ll come back another time.”
His jaw tight, he nodded but I could tell he was upset, and I didn’t understand why. I couldn’t believe I was saying it but, it was just food.
When we got into the car and Lev asked me where we should dine, I was brutally honest with him. “Honey, all I want to do is go home, watch movies and eat pizza with you. Follow that with getting naked for playtime and that would be the best date night ever.”
He looked over at me a long moment before he took my hand, lifted it to his mouth, pressed a soft kiss to the back of it and sighed, “If that is what you wish, mouse.”
We came home to an empty house and I kicked off my shoes, holding them and walking them up the stairs with me. Halfway up, I squeaked as Lev hefted me up into his arms and walked me the rest of the way and into the bedroom.
Someone had cleaned up the mess I’d left in the form of a pile of clothes by the sofa, the bed was made immaculately and the bathroom light was on, a wonderfully sweet smell coming from inside.
Lev took my hands in his and looked down at me, his eyes warm. “I wanted tonight to be special. So far, it hasn’t been but I’ll make it up to you.” He walked me over to the bathroom, opening the door all the way, revealing what the sweet smell had been.
A bubble bath had been run, smelling of vanilla with rose petals scattered throughout it.
My breath caught. “Oh, sweetie. It’s beautiful.”
His hands came down on my shoulders from behind and he rested his chin on my head. “Why don’t you soak for a while? I’ll call for pizza and when you’re done we can find a movie to watch.”
I turned, forcing his arms to dislodge. I looked up at him and stated fiercely. “This is the best date night ever. I know this and it’s barely even begun, but I know this.” I reached out to squeeze his hand. “This is special.”
His eyes softened even more and he reached for the bathroom door handle. “Go. Soak. Relax,” he uttered, closing the door behind him.
I did as I was told and, undressing and slipping into the tub, I soaked in the warm water in the tub for a long while, until the water started to take on a slight chill to it.
Where had all this romance come from?
It sounded like Lev was feeling the need to prove himself or something of the like. I would need to set him straight. I didn’t need romance, not like this. I just needed Lev to be himself and I’d be forever happy.