Page 75 of Cashmere Cruelty
“Yeah, yeah,” Yuri grumbles. His eyes dart toward the exit and his feet shuffle in place, like he can’t get out of here fast enough. Honestly, it’s kind of adorable. “Thanks for the tea.”
“Thanks for the help,” I reply, waving as he goes. All throughout the exchange, Matvey keeps looking at me as though I’ve grown two heads.
“Why are you acting like you’re his mother?” he demands as soon as the door’s shut behind our backs. It’s not unkindly, though. If anything, he sounds… amused?
I shrug and steal the dinner trays from the cart. “He’s younger than me.”
“By two years.”
“Still.”
We sit at the table. For some reason, the air’s different tonight. Lighter. Maybe it’s thanks to Yuri’s cameo, or maybe it’s the sock monkey watching over from the top of the fridge. Impossible to say, really.
“You didn’t have to do all that, you know.”
Matvey doesn’t so much as shrug. His frozen posture seems to scream,That’s how casual I am about this. See? I didn’t even move.“I know. I wanted to.”
“It was a nice gesture.”
“Good.”
“I’m still gonna need you to vet Dr. Allan.”
Matvey glances up from his plate with a glint in his eyes. His lips curve helplessly upwards—something I take as a personal victory.A-ha!I nearly shout.So youcanlaugh!“I’ll put Grisha on it.”
“Thank you,” I reply graciously.
All throughout dinner, I can’t keep a grin off my face. It’s stupid, but I can’t help it—I’m in a really good mood. A far cry from this morning, surely.
“Is Yuri the reason you hoard chocolate chip cookies?”
“Mhm. His sweet tooth will be the death of him. But I suppose there are worse ways to go.”
“It’s really sweet,” I tell him. “Both the gesture and the cookies.”
“Don’t eat too many,” Matvey warns. “Too much sugar’s bad for the baby.”
“Says the guy who always brings me dessert,” I chirp, undeterred. “Nice pocket square, by the way.”
Matvey glances at his jacket. It’s a different one, but the indigo pops just as beautifully against the black. “Thank you. A decent tailor made it for me.”
“Just decent, huh?”
“Good with the hands, but a bit mouthy for my taste.”
I lob a dinner roll at his head and the smile that’s been simmering since we sat down finally dawns on Matvey’s face. I take it as a win.
All in all, it’s a relaxed evening. Fun. It’s been a while since I’ve had that—I’d nearly forgotten what it felt like.
I always knew Matvey had a playful side. Seeing it out in the open like this, however, is different. It makes me feel like I’m in on the joke rather than the butt of it.
Again, that’s something I haven’t had often in life.
After dinner, as usual, Matvey picks up my hand to kiss it. I steel myself against the familiar rush of warmth, that brief, intense burst of sensation, three seconds at the most.
One, two, three…
Matvey’s lips stay.