In the Beginning (Volkov Bratva #1)(31)

Neither of them cared that they were in the hallway of her apartment building, open for all to see. Lauren sighed, the sound lost in his urgent kisses, the way he expertly took control of the kiss, the way they fit together and moved like they had done this thousands of times before.

She was too caught up in the moment to notice Miss. Carter, her elderly next door neighbor as she appeared at the top of the stairs. She cleared her throat dramatically, looking at them disapprovingly as she shuffled to her apartment, shaking her head.

Mishca’s chest rose and fell with his laughter, and as Miss. Carter disappeared behind her door, Lauren joined in.

“I’ll see you later, yes?”

She nodded, feeling shy all of a sudden with the way he was looking at her. He seemed just as affected by the kiss as she felt.

“Good night, moy dorogoy.”

She smiled, releasing her hold on his shirt. “You know I don’t know what that means.”

He gave her another quick kiss, heading towards the stairs. “My darling.”





Chapter Ten:


Black Tie Shopping


Three days before the gala opening, Lauren was at her desk, slaving away over homework when her door was shoved open, Piper and Amber standing in the entryway.

“Get up,” Piper demanded as she crossed her arms over her ample chest. “We’re going shopping.”

“Uh.” Lauren looked down at the mountain of work that she needed to get done before the following week. “Do I have to?”

“Amber tells me you’re going to the gala opening this weekend.” Her lip curled as she gazed around Lauren’s room. “I doubt anything in your closet is good enough to wear around that crowd.”

“What she means,” Amber interjected glaring at her cousin, “is these events can be very…black tie and I know you’ll probably want to look the part.”

“Right, give me ten minutes.”

Shopping with Piper was a special event all on its own. It seemed there wasn’t a boutique owner she didn’t know and by association, they treated Lauren and Amber with the same gushing attention that they laid on Piper.

However, this shopping extravaganza wasn’t just about finding a dress for Lauren, but also help Piper find something suitable to wear to a party she was attending on the Upper Eastside. The first few stores they went in were dead ends—though Piper found at least one thing to buy in each store.

She was walking with arms full of shopping bags while Lauren and Amber trailed behind her.

“Have you had one of these yet?” Amber asked, pointing out a hotdog vendor at the corner.

Piper wrinkled her nose. “Those are foul.”

“No, but I’m willing to try it.”

They ordered two hotdogs with the works—because Amber said there was no other way to have them. Taking her first bite, Lauren was expecting the usual taste, but was surprised at how different it tasted from the ones she bought at the grocery store.

“Good, right?” Amber asked smiling around a mouthful.

With food, they took their time, finding a comfortable spot on a bench instead of following Piper in every store.

“Did you ever talk to Rob about…you know.”

Amber tossed her wrapper at the trashcan a couple of feet away, cheering when it bounced off the rim and sank inside.

“Yea, but…it didn’t really make a difference. He doesn’t understand my love for painting.”

Lauren frowned, still holding onto her own wrapper. “What are you going to do?”

She sighed, seeming sad all of a sudden. “Nothing.”

“But—”

“One day I might look back on this and say how stupid I was for staying with someone that didn’t support my dreams, but for now, I’ll take what I can get.”

“I’m ready.”

Lauren didn’t get another chance to talk with Amber, Piper whacking them away to another store. They were nearing Broadway when Piper suddenly stopped.

“I guess you’re not having sex with the boyfriend,” Piper said with a wry grin, gazing through the windows of the Calvin Klein store.

“What the hell kind of question is that?” Amber asked, just as Lauren asked, “What do you mean?”

Piper pointed a perfectly manicured finger at the glass, pointing past the stylish mannequins to where Mishca stood, chatting amicably with a sales associate who was far too close to him for it to be professional.

Lauren couldn’t help the spark of jealousy she felt at seeing them like that. It was unwarranted, she knew, especially when she had no idea what they were talking about or who the girl was to him. She had never so much as seen him gaze more than a few seconds at a girl since they had gotten together, but of course she had no idea what he did when she wasn’t around.

No…No, she trusted him. He had never given her a reason not to, but when the girl laid a hand on his bicep, the gesture innocent if she hadn’t been staring up at him like he was a god, she made her decision.

“We should go in and say hi,” Amber suggested already opening the door.

The store was very anesthetically pleasing and even the associates that worked there were well dressed and carried themselves the way Piper did, though they at least pretended to be friendly. The chiming of the bell drew the associate’s attention, her brown eyes flickering over to them briefly as she smiled, then dismissing them. She actually touched Mishca’s arm lightly, guiding him towards another set of shirts a few feet away.