Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(62)
“Bugger that,” Sylvie said. “What’s the point o’ havin’ a man like our Knox if he can’t handle the fort while we take some time ta play?” She motioned toward Darya’s desk. “Grab yer purse, lass. Time ta get pampered and let us get ta know ye.”
She hesitated and cast a questioning look at Knox.
He widened his eyes and held out his hands in a classic pose of male surrender. “If you think I’m gonna argue with ’em you’re crazy. Sylvie makes a mean care package, and I’m not risking my leftovers.”
“Men,” Ninette said from behind her. “Everyone claims they think with their little head, but nine times out of ten, their stomach rules the roost.” She splayed a hand on Darya’s shoulder. “Get your things, sweetheart. Any girl who can snag this stubborn knucklehead deserves some pampering. Besides, I wanna see if I can drag out of you why you’ve got a secret alias.”
Pampering sounded divine. When she’d lived in Russia, trips to the spa were an expected part of her routine. A perk Yefim insisted on as part of her food and clothing allowance. The only time someone other than herself had tended to her hands and feet since landing in the US had been a trip to a local spa with JJ two months before she’d died. “You really don’t mind?” she asked Knox.
He stepped in close and cupped both sides of her face. His voice was quiet, but rich with the same sincerity he’d melted her with the night he’d invited her home. “I don’t know where this is headed, but I know it’s important. That means me opening up not just where I live, but sharing you with the people I love, too. So, yeah. If you’re game for giggles and whatever conversation causes the laughter, then I’m absolutely on board.”
The shock of what he’d shared—not just with her, but in front of witnesses—must have registered on her face, because he chuckled, kissed her forehead and pulled her into a hug, bracing her cheek against his chest. “Put everything on the joint account,” he said to the women behind her. “If you’re good enough to take my girl into the fold, the least I can do is spring for the trip.”
“Now we’re talking,” Ninette said. She urged Darya out of Knox’s arms, held up the purse Darya had stashed beside her desk and winked. “Suddenly I feel the need for deluxe everything.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Laughter, loads of food and everyone that meant a damn in Knox’s life all in one place. Not exactly how he’d thought tonight would go. Or where for that matter. But by some quirk of fate they’d ended up re-routed to Dave & Buster’s of all places, the details behind how that had happened a mystery still uncovered.
The bonus? No Haven meant the family only rule didn’t apply. Which also meant his woman was beside him, her face animated and hands gesturing as though to paint the picture created by her beautiful voice.
“Have you seen the pictures of the canals in Venice?” she asked Trevor’s son, Levi, across the table.
Levi stuffed another French fry in his mouth with the finesse of a hyped up eight-year-old boy and bobbed his head, a chunk of his longish blond hair falling over one eye. “Yeah, they use those skinny boats and guys in funny clothes steer ’em around.”
“Yes, well, in St. Petersburg they have canals as well. The Neva River runs all the way through it and connects to the Baltic Sea. It is quite beautiful in the summer, but in the winter it freezes.”
“Wow! We never have things freeze here.”
“Oh, it can get very cold there and we have snow for much of the winter.”
“Is it cold where you grew up, too? That Yekat...” He frowned and changed course. “That other funny sounding place?”
“Yekaterinburg,” she said, beaming her sweet angel smile at him. She crossed her arms on the table, just as comfortable chattering back and forth with the unstoppable and candid eight-year-old as she’d been with Ninette and Sylvie when they’d first walked in the building together. “It’s similar. A little warmer, but I found St. Petersburg more interesting. More things to see and do. More art to enjoy.”
Levi opened his mouth, undoubtedly to launch yet another question.
Before he could voice it, Natalie cut in. “How about we let Darya get a solid breath in before you ask her anything else.”
“Yeah,” Trevor said. “Besides it’s time to get our Skee-ball championship underway. The man with the most coupons is the winner.”
“Hey,” Ninette said from her place to Darya’s right. “What makes you think it’ll be a man? I’ll have you know I was quite the Skee-ball expert in my day.”
Levi straightened in his chair and re-engaged with Darya. “I’m the best at Skee-ball. We always play games at family night and everyone gets a turn picking food and games. Tonight was my turn for games, so when Dad told me Uncle Beckett picked Dave & Buster’s for food, I challenged everyone to a Skee-ball championship.”
Knox swiveled his head to Beckett beside him and muttered, “So you’re the reason we’re here. I don’t suppose you made that decision the same time you helped Sylvie and Ninette plan their mani/pedi invasion?”
Beckett shrugged and bit into a wing. “Waitin’ on you is like watchin’ grass grow. More fun to nudge.”