"But it's a big step, right? Moving in with him and letting him help me with school?"
"Dude!" Lena gaped at me as if I were dumb. "The man saved your sister from two bloodthirsty gangs and fought off two armed dickheads with his bare hands! How the heck do you say no to that?"
"She's right," Vivi agreed. "Look, I'm always the one who says be careful and stay away from guys like Ivan but not this time. I know he's not perfect and he's done some shady things in his past but he's reformed himself. He's a standup guy—and he loves you."
I couldn't deny that. He hadn't said it outright but I wasn't blind. Ivan loved me just as much as I loved him.
I put my head in my hands. "Maybe I'm just scared that moving in with him is going to ruin it. What we have is so special. I don't want to lose that."
"You won't." Lena spoke with authority. "I'm not the sappy, lovey-dovey, fate type, you know? But when I look at you two? It makes me hope that someday I'll have someone like Ivan in my life." She paused. "Just without the criminal record."
I threw a piece of pastry at her, whacking her right in the face. "Bitch!"
She laughed and brushed the pastry onto the table. "I've got enough male criminals in my life. I don't need one sharing my bed."
Lena said it with a smile but I could hear the pain in her voice. It couldn't have been easy to have a father who was known as the best fence in Houston or a cousin who was in and out of juvie and now working as her dad's protégé.
"Sorry, Lena."
She waved it off. "We can't pick our family."
I smiled at Vivi and Lena. "No but I think we did a good job picking our friends."
*** *** ***
Later that afternoon, I puttered around the apartment. I wandered by the door to Ruby's room and opened it. Nothing in her room had changed since I'd gone through and cleaned it last week. I hadn't had the heart to box up her things but if I decided to move in with Ivan it would have to be done. I wasn't at all sure how she was going to take that news. Badly, I presumed.
But I couldn't keep living my life worrying about Ruby. I'd been putting her and her problems first for so long that I'd been neglecting my life.
What I hadn't told Vivi and Lena was that my boss at the accounting firm had made it clear that he would have fought for me to be retained as a full-time employee if I'd been more reliable. I'd wanted to explain that cutting out of work early or coming in late had been caused by Ruby's craziness but I'd kept my lips zipped. He was right. I hadn't been reliable. I was the only to blame for that.
A knock at the door interrupted my troubled thoughts. I wasn't expecting anyone but it wasn't unusual to have the maintenance crew come by to change air conditioner filters during the summer. I lifted up on my bare toes to peek through the peep hole. My heart raced at the sight of Ivan's face and I couldn't get the door opened fast enough.
"Hey!"
"Angel." Ivan grinned and slipped off his sunglasses. He tucked them into the front pocket of his suit jacket. "I wanted to take you out to lunch but something came up so I decided I'd leave the gym a little early to spend the rest of the day with you."
I grasped his hand and tugged him inside the apartment. He kicked the door closed behind him and slid an arm around my waist. I let him drag me tight to his chest and surrendered to his searching kiss. He tasted of the cinnamon candies I'd learned he liked so much. His tongue swept mine before he nibbled my lower lip and reluctantly released me.
"How was breakfast with the girls?"
"Fun." I touched his hand. "You want some tea?"
"Yes, please." He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over a chair before following me into the kitchen. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and reached into the refrigerator for the pitcher of sweet tea I'd mixed that morning. He wasn't a huge fan of the cold stuff but after I'd nearly blown up the microwave trying to boil a mug of water to make him hot tea during our first week together, he'd graciously decided that iced tea was just fine.
When I turned around to offer him the glass, I found him sitting at my small dining table and thumbing through a Russian language workbook. Amusement glinted in his pale eyes. "What's this, angel moy?"
I slid the tea onto the table next to him. "Vivi gave it to me this morning. She's going to tutor me in Russian."
A look of utter adoration crossed his face. "For me?"
I trailed my fingers along his strong jaw. "You already speak my language. I think it's only fair that I learn to speak yours."
Ivan pulled me down onto his lap. His fingers sifted through my hair. "Should I work up a system of rewards for good scores on your tests?"