Elena’s POV.
The moment Dmitri’s cleared his throat something inside me snapped back to reality.
I pulled away from Nikolai so quickly that I almost stumbled. Heat rushed straight to my face. My skin felt like it was burning. I stepped aside, putting clear distance between us, and clutched the cold water bottle against my chest like it could somehow hide how close we had just been.
“It’s not like what it seems,” I said, the words coming out faster than I intended.
Dmitri still leaned against the doorframe, watching me with open amusement. That familiar dark smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Hmm,” he said slowly. “But I’ve been standing here for almost five minutes, watching the both of you flirt with each other.”
My stomach dropped.
Five minutes.
He had seen everything the
