Emins’ Mate(32)

“Of course he does,” Anton said without thinking. What person in their right mind wouldn’t want more time with her? But then he saw the look on her face. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him through the stylish curtain of her dirty blonde hair. He backtracked, waved his hand in the air as if the topic were trivial, obvious. “He is father. He wants to spend time with daughter.”

AJ looked at him for another second before she shrugged, turning back to Maxim. “Maybe. I just don’t understand why now. You know? Why not spend time with me after Mom died? Why not spend time with me after the mountain lion attack? Why come back now and spend time with me when half of my day is at school and the other half is with you all. Just doesn’t make sense.”

Maxim shrugged back at her. “Does it matter why? Doesn’t it only matter that he wants to be close to you again?”

AJ furrowed her brow and worried her bottom lip between her teeth, a lobe of her hair falling across one eye. Anton leaned back in his chair in self-defense. He hated when she did that. It made him want to suck that lip into his mouth. It always had. Since the day he’d met her ten years ago.

He needed that little worried look off her face and he needed that damn lip out from between her teeth before he lost his regular mind.

“How is school?” he blurted, getting her attention on something else. It worked. Her lip popped out from between her teeth as she looked up at him.

“It’s good,” she said. “I’m much more interested in all the hair cutting stuff than I am in the makeup or nails and oh my god,” AJ trailed off in horrified amusement as Charlie, the bartender and Emin’s ex-whatever, sauntered over to the table.

She placed a round of drinks on the table and then turned to Emin, boxing Glory out. Charlie traced a hand lightly through Emin’s hair with the ease and confidence of someone who’d done it many times. A very uncharacteristic look of frozen discomfort was pasted on Emin’s face.

Anton and Maxim exchanged looks of glee.

“You haven’t been around much, handsome,” Charlie said in that husky voice of hers, still standing in between him and Glory.

“Oh. I, um. Oh.” It was the best Emin could do right then. And he knew it was nowhere near good enough. He’d thought this was Charlie’s night off or he would never have brought Glory here. At least without explaining.

“Hello,” Glory said from behind Charlie’s back, craning around to catch the woman’s eye. “I’m Glory.”

“Charlie,” Charlie said brusquely, barely turning toward Glory before she’d turned back to Emin.

“That’s a funny way to touch Emin,” Glory said, observing the fingers that Charlie was currently walking up his shoulder. “Oh! I see, did you used to be romantic with him?”

Dora’s mouth dropped open, but that was pretty much the only movement at the distinctly uncomfortable table. Emin’s brothers were all split between the pure joy at seeing him finally caught out with a woman and a wincing discomfort.

“Um. Yeah?” Charlie said, finally turning toward Glory, totally disarmed by the look on this chick’s face. Who the hell was she?

Glory lifted a hand to Charlie’s and held on tight, her eyes large and sweet. “I am so sorry to tell you that you won’t be that way with Emin anymore.”

“Oh my god,” Dora whispered in fascinated glee, reaching out for AJ’s hand and Danil’s at the same time. “This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”

Glory, completely blind to the vibe at the table, just plunged on, genuinely sorry to deliver the news to the other woman. Emin was such a good man after all. It would be so hard to learn that you didn’t have a future with him. “We only do that with one another now. Make love.”

Charlie scoffed and turned back to look at Emin, like is this girl for real?

“We’ve made each other promises,” Glory continued, making all of Emin’s brothers snort into their beers. “That forever I’m his and he’s mine. I know that must be sad to hear. But you’re so beautiful, you shouldn’t have trouble finding a mate.” Glory stood and pushed Charlie’s milk chocolate hair back off her shoulder. “All that brown hair and those blue eyes, just lovely. Anyone would be lucky to have you. In fact,” Glory said as she started to tug Charlie across the bar, “I noticed that man there at the end of the bar, he’s been looking at you the way Emin looks at me.”

“Russ?” Charlie asked, genuinely flustered. “No way, we’ve known each other for years.” She was torn between ripping her arm out of Glory’s grasp and letting herself be tugged along in the happy effervescence this woman was exuding.