I fight back a cringe as I remember how she’d stood frozen in my apartment door, stunned into silence for the first time in her life. And not because she’d caught her daughter in the middle of a half-clothed, morning-after routine.
No, it’s because he was there.
She took one look at Stefan and her eyes lit up. She didn’t care that his shirt was half-buttoned or that my hair was a disaster.
The only thing that mattered was that Stefan Safonov had deemed her daughter worthy of his attention.
I knew you’d find your way eventually, darling, she told me later. I always, always knew.
Yeah, well, that makes one of us, Mom.
“Gentlemen,” I begin, my voice coming out too squeaky. I clear my throat and try again, pitched lower this time. “Uh, I mean, gentlemen. Hello. Thank you for coming today
