Lev: a Shot Callers novel(57)

It was hot in here. I fought the urge to fan my face.

I smiled shyly. “Hi.”

His eyes smiled back. “Hello.” The second to last step down, his eyes roamed my body. “You look stunning, Mina.”

“And you…” It was sweltering in here. “In jeans.” My eyes widened as I smiled and breathed, “Wow.”

His cheeks took on a pink tinge. He cleared his throat and asked, “I’m not underdressed, am I?”

Sweet cupcakes, if he changed out of those jeans, I would cry throughout dinner, spilling tears into my meal, and eating them up because I was hungry and not very picky.

I stepped forward and rushed out, “No, not at all. You look…” Sexy as fudge. “…very handsome, Lev.” I went on, “Don’t change.” I was slightly embarrassed when I said, “I like you in jeans.”

He met me at the door, holding his hand out. I took it, entwining our fingers. He looked down at me. “Ready?”

Lev led me out of the house and down the front steps. I let out a restless sigh. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”




Dinner was a quiet affair. Lev brought us to a little Russian place down an alley in the city.

I was touched. It seemed like he’d made an effort, wanting me to experience some part of him, however small it was.

We held hands until after we seated. Lev asked questions about me, and I answered each of his questions with enthusiasm, only asking him the most basic of questions. I didn’t want to spook him. I’d learned that both his mother and father were Russian immigrants, that Lev liked to play sports but not watch them, that he preferred blackberry jam to all others, that he had cousins in New York who he adored, that he liked to read rather than watch TV, and that he had a double degree in business and mathematics, which he completed at the ripe old age of twenty-one.

We ordered a few different dishes and shared them. Lev insisted we get the stroganoff, which was light and creamy, and the beef was cooked till beautifully tender. Next we ordered the blini, which were thin crepes filled with an array of fillings, from smoked salmon and cream cheese, to sour cream and caviar. Lastly, we got the pelmeni, and they were delicious dumplings filled with minced lamb, garlic, and herbs.

We cleared all the dishes, even though we ordered for six people. And, damn Lev, but even the way he ate was sexy!

Lev reached for the last pelmeni, but must have spotted the forlorn look on my face. He shook his head, his lip might have twitched (or maybe I imagined it), and he placed the last dumpling on my plate.

I ate it with nothing more than a smile, and Lev continued to watch me, a soft look on his face. Once our dishes were cleared, he reached out across the small table, and with a shy smile, I placed my hands in his.

He held them in silence, stroking his thumbs over mine.

Oh, boy. I was ready for that kiss.

He checked his watch. “Shall we head off? We start work in forty-five minutes.”

I stood quickly. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Ready for you to kiss the shit out of me!

Lev took care of the check, cocooned my hand in his own, and then walked us to the car. “Our date…it was nice.”

“Yeah,” I murmured in agreement. “We should do it again.”

He let go of my hand, helping me into the car.

Hmmm.

No kiss.

He drove in silence, my fingers playing with his across the center console. Before long, we were at the club and stepping out of the car.

This was it. I could feel it.

I waited for him to open my door, stepping out gracefully. I smiled up at him and his eyes returned the sentiment. He placed his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. “Come on. We have work to do.”

I understood that. I wouldn’t dream of being unprofessional, not when I had been handed this opportunity when I literally had nothing. And yet, as we walked on into the club, disappointment filled me, and one thought circled my mind.

Where’s my damned kiss, Leokov?





Chapter TwentyFive

Mina



Service was slow this evening. Although we only had four of the smaller tables empty, we were all feeling the tension. Were the customers we’d lost to Aphrodite’s Kiss lost to us forever?

The thought scared the crap out of me, being that it meant I would be out of a job. I couldn’t afford to be out of a job. I had a very delicate subject to bring up with Lev. That subject being me moving out.

I had secretly been going to Nastasia’s in the mornings and house hunting. There were a few good options, but I didn’t have enough saved in just over six weeks to warrant me blowing all my dough at once. I needed at least another two or three weeks to get into a comfortable position. I didn’t want to mooch off Lev. He had done nothing but support me since he found me, and I was beginning to think I was becoming a nuisance.

Damned Anika and her comments from this morning!

They were playing on me.

When Lev and I walked into the bar and separated to head off in our designated areas, Nas stopped me before I headed behind the bar. “What did you do to my brother?” It was an accusation if I ever heard one.

My brow creased. “What do you mean?”

She turned, throwing her arms out in his direction. Then she leaned toward me and whisper-hissed, “He’s wearing jeans!” She shook her head, eyes wide. “What the f*ck?”