Lev: a Shot Callers novel(32)

He looked from me to Lidiya then back to me. “Are you sure? She’s demanding when it comes to my attention.”

I didn’t blame her. He was pretty wonderful. Smiling, I assured him, “I want Lidiya to come. I love her to bits.”

“Okay,” he stated with a firm nod. And when he went over to his daughter, he beamed, taking her chubby self into his arms, and I knew I had done the right thing.





Chapter Fifteen

Mina



Lev drove past three parks before he found one he deemed suitable. When I pointed out the first two, he lowered his sunglasses, peered out my window, shook his head, and muttered, “Too crowded.”

When he did things like this, I reminded myself that although it seemed strange to me, I didn’t know this man—hence the purpose of today. I would sit by and let him do things his way. I had all the time in the world for Lev and his eccentricities.

I helped Lidiya out of the car, took her little hand, and waited for Lev to retrieve the blanket and picnic basket and lead the way. He walked us a short way from the car to a small copse of trees on the outskirt of the greenery. As Lidiya pulled on my hand, I picked her up and hugged her tight, allowing Lev time to stretch out the thick, wooly blanket and set down the basket.

Lidiya squirmed to be released and, reluctantly, I let her go. The moment she escaped my hand, her chubby little legs took her away from us at a surprising speed for one with such tiny feet. A gasp escaped me, and I went to chase after her, but Lev stopped me with a hand on my arm. “She’s okay. She never goes far.”

He was her father. He knew her better than I did, but still, I worried. “Are you sure?” I asked hesitantly as I kept a keen eye on her. She had found a leaf that was to her liking. I knew this because she stood there enraptured, smiling down at it as if it were a ruby glittering in the sun. She held it delicately in her clumsy hand and turned, running back to us with her hand raised above her head to show us her spoils.

My racing heart slowed. I looked up at Lev, who smiled down at the little girl. “Thank you, Lidi. It’s lovely.”

She ran off a second time, but I saw that she stopped at the same distance as she had before, as if she consciously knew that going any farther was going too far.

A warm hand closed around mine and I spun around. Lev motioned to the blanket. “Sit.”

I was about to tell him I didn’t need help sitting, but when I realized I was wearing a dress, I decided against it. I didn’t want to show Lev my no brand white panties. Not today, anyway.

With his help, I sat as gracefully as possible without showing my undies, and he sat as close to me as he could without actually touching me. It was a gorgeous day, and with the trees acting as shade, it was positively delightful. We both turned our heads to watch Lidi as she played a safe and close distance. Lev opened the picnic basket, started to remove items, and handed them to me.

When Lev told Mirella that we planned to steal away her ward for the afternoon, she insisted on putting together a picnic basket for us rather than having us buy something to eat. I was okay with that. I mean, Mirella had made toast for me on occasion, and she was pretty good at that. I was positive she could make sandwiches with ease. Within ten minutes, we had a relatively full picnic basket, a doll and ball for Lidiya to play with if she got bored, her blankie in case she felt sleepy, and bottles of water to sip on.

As Lev handed me items, I placed them down in front of us. Mirella had done well packing potato chips, zip-locked bags full of sliced apples, strawberries, carrot sticks, spears of cucumber, squares of cheese, and wafer-thin crackers, sandwiches, some of Ada’s ridiculous blueberry muffins, and lastly, bite-sized brownie pieces. He took out bottles of water and handed me one. I opened it, sipping slowly, watching him from the corner of my eye.

He removed his jacket, placing it over the basket so it wouldn’t touch the ground, then removed his cufflinks and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows.

“I have my first question.” I smiled to myself. “Do you always wear a suit?”

He inclined his head. “Yes, mostly.”

I waited for more of an explanation.

I got nothing.

My eyes narrowed, I motioned with my hands for him to tell me more.

His brows rose. “That’s it. There is no more.”

I scoffed. “Oh, we are going to have to do better than that. Why do you wear suits all the time? Do you own anything other than business-wear? How about a pair of jeans?”

He looked out at his daughter, who had collected a bunch of leaves, and responded, “I don’t know why I wear suits all of the time. It’s habit, I suppose. And yes, I own other items of clothing, including a pair of jeans.”

Oh my.

What I would give to see that ass in a pair of well-fitting jeans. Gah!

“Okay.” I was satisfied with those answers. I opened a bag, picked up a piece of cheese, and threw it into my mouth. “Now you ask me a question.”

He didn’t respond for a long while, and for a moment, I didn’t think he would, but then he opened his mouth and spoke, clinically. “Did you love your mother?”

My brow furrowed.

What kind of question is that?

I answered with ease, “Of course I loved my mother. She was the best. Her name was Clara, and I look just like her.”

“She was beautiful then,” Lev uttered, almost to himself, and I reverted to the old me, turning my head to hide behind my hair.