“Well, I’ll be in mine.” He kisses the side of my neck. “And you can choose which one it will be for you. Your bed, or mine.”
He leaves me standing at the window to consider his parting words. I know what I should do - go to my room and forget what happened on the sofa altogether. It would be the wisest choice. In fact, it should be the only choice.
I guess “wise” isn’t in my cards. I turn around and head into Roman’s room.
I watch Nina’s sleeping form snuggled under the blanket, her hair tangled and sprawled across my pillow. The sight of her there, in my bed, makes a strange warm feeling fill my chest.
“Warren’s here.” I place a light kiss on her shoulder. “I’ll be in the gym.”
“Have fun,” she mumbles into the pillow and continues sleeping.
Smiling, I get into my wheelchair and leave the room. She needs her sleep; we can continue where we left off later.
When I finish with my therapy session, Nina is still asleep, so I take a shower and go downstairs to my office. Maxim is already waiting for me, and by the look on his face, he has nothing pleasant to say.
“You need to invite the Albanians over, Roman. Soon.”
“Not happening.” I wheel myself behind my desk, power up my laptop, and start rummaging through the papers on my desk.
“I think you should reconsider.”
“I am not in a mood for entertaining Albanians.”
“We need them as partners; you know that. You haven’t met with them for months.” He sits in the chair opposite of me and leans forward. “They need to be assured that everything is in order.”
“They are getting more money than in previous years, so I don’t see why they would be concerned.”
“If they don’t feel we are invested as partners, they might turn to someone else, Roman. The last time I saw him, Tanush mentioned approaching the Italians. He put it as a joke, but he is thinking about it.”
“Perfect. Just what I need.” I toss the pen onto the papers.
Maxim leans back and crosses his arms. “So, who are we inviting?”
“Tanush and his wife. I think he’s on the fifth one now. And Dushku and his wife. That’s it.”
“What about Hajdini?” he asks.
“No. He and Dushku are not on speaking terms lately. I don’t need bloodshed.”
“Alright. When?”
“Nina has her exhibition next weekend, so it’ll have to be this Saturday.”
“I’ll let Tanush know.” Maxim smiles. “Varya will be thrilled; she just changed the rugs.”
“I’ll tell her it was your idea. Especially if it does end in bloodshed. Tanush might be a little hostile anyway, so make sure the men know.”
Maxim rises an eyebrow. “Why? You two were always on good terms.”
“We were on good terms, before I said I had no intention marrying his daughter when he offered a few months ago.”
Maxim lowers his head and regards me over the rim of his glasses. “And you are only telling me this now?”
If it was anyone else questioning my decisions, it wouldn’t have ended well. Maxim, however, is the only person other than Varya I trust unconditionally. He was a father figure in a way my own never was. “I didn’t find it important at the time.”
“He inquired about Nina.”
I look up at him. “And what did he want to know?”