“Relax, Cindy,” he says. “It’s just a house. Seriously.”
I chew my lower lip. “I’m just a normal girl, Alex. Your great aunt is not just rich, she’s practically royalty, isn’t she?”
He shakes his head and laughs, a humor filled laugh that I don’t quite understand.
“Once you get to know my aunt a bit, you’ll see why I’m laughing. Honestly, she’s the most down to earth woman you’ll ever meet. She just happens to come from an old family with money, that’s all.”
I nod my head, not entirely reassured by his words. I remind myself I’m only here for a week or two. I can do anything for such a short amount of time, including pretending I fit in with people who are clearly only a step or two down from Russian royalty.
The drive is a short one and we pull up at the bottom of a set of white stone steps with huge fierce griffins standing on either side. Alex gets out of the car and even though my hand goes automatically to the handle, I resist the urge to open the door myself. Anyone could be watching out of the windows and it is time to get into character.
Alex nods approvingly as he opens my door and I climb out of the car. The boot of the car is already open and a man dressed in red trousers, a white shirt, and a matching red jacket starts unloading our luggage.
“Come on,” Alex says with a panty-melting lop-sided smile as he offers me his arm.
Cindy
I slip my hand through it and square my shoulders. I’ve prepared myself for the sparks of electricity that fly between us, but that smile, though. My stomach rolls deliciously. One thing is for sure. I’m not going to have to work at faking the attraction between Alex and me. Even a blind person would be able to sense our chemistry.
He leads me up the stone steps and as I step on the final one, I get my first look at the family. Two young women stand side by side at the entrance of the tall blue door. One of them looks to be about the same age as Alex. She has blonde hair that is almost white and piercing blue eyes that look me up and down. The other girl looks a little bit younger. She has a short black bob, and while she couldn’t look any more opposite to the other girl in her looks, her poise is the same. Haughty. She too is openly looking me up and down.
Instead of making me more nervous, I actually find that the girls’ attitude helps me to relax. I’ve taken bigger people than these two down a peg or two, and I might even enjoy the task at hand.
The girls stand slightly apart from the other two women. One who looks to be in her early sixties and has the look of someone who has served faithfully and selflessly all her life. I take her to be Valeriya, and the other one has to be Alex’s great aunt. She’s small in stature but erect in bearing and confident of her place in the world. Although she uses a white and silver cane to support herself as she steps forward, she looks steady on her feet. She has the same stormy gray eyes as Alex, and when she looks at me, I see they are bright, alert and full of intelligence. She doesn’t look me up and down, she just scans her eyes over me, taking me in quickly and efficiently. Then she turns to Alex and her expression changes to one of pure joy. It is clear he is the apple of her eye.
I hang back, a little unsure of what to do as Alex wraps his arms around the old woman and picks her right off the ground. Wow! I definitely did not expect that from him. She laughs a carefree laugh. Then she says something in Russian and immediately, Alex says. “English, please.”
She turns her head in my direction, still beaming with happiness. “Ah yes, of course. Forgive me. I told my grandson to put me down immediately and not make a fool of me in front of you.”
She has a heavier accent than Alex, but she speaks perfect English and I’m relieved there won’t be any sort of language barrier between us.
“It’s so good to see you, babushka,” Alex says, and kisses her loudly on each cheek before gently setting her back on the ground.
She pats her iron-gray hair, her eyes are twinkling. “Not half as good as it is to see you, Alex. You always make the sun shine brighter when you come.”
I can’t help but notice the younger women have stiffened slightly during this exchange. They are both watching me now, the animosity in their eyes clear to see.