CHAPTER SIX
The sound of voices woke him, but the smell of food was what brought him downstairs. The sight of Theresa sitting across the table from his brother took Ilya by surprise. For a moment, he wondered if he was still dreaming or had somehow slipped backward in time to just after Babulya died, when Theresa had ended up staying with them.
“Hey,” she said when she saw him. “Umm . . . it was late last night. I crashed here. Better than falling asleep at the wheel and crashing my car.”
“Don’t look at me. It’s not my house, as my mother’s been so kind to point out over and over the past couple months.” Ilya scratched at his bare chest idly, narrowing his eyes at her. “Coffee?”
Niko pointed wordlessly to the counter. Ilya helped himself, then fixed a plate from the veritable feast someone had made. He took a seat at the table, looking up only when he felt the weight of two sets of eyes on him.
“What?”
“You look like shit,” Niko said.
Theresa pressed her lips together against a smile. “You look better than I thought you would, to be honest. You were sort of wrecked last night.”
Frowning, Ilya raised his mug in one hand and his middle finger on the other. When Theresa and Niko burst into laughter, he managed a grin. The coffee was hot, fragrant, delicious. Not that it mattered. He’d have guzzled gas-station swill, if that was all there was.
“Could get used to this,” he said around a mouthful of eggs and bacon. He gave Theresa an eye. “You do it?”
“Some. Mostly it was Niko.” She sat back in her chair, her plate almost empty, and rubbed her belly. “I won’t be hungry for hours.”
Niko also pushed his plate away with a sigh. “I need a nap.”
“It’s not even noon,” Theresa said.
Niko grinned. “Yeah, so what? That’s why it’s a nap.”
“Have you heard from Alicia?” Theresa got up to take her plate to the dishwasher. She filled her mug with more coffee and leaned against the counter, one leg crossed over the other.
“Nice pajamas,” Ilya said. “And no. She’s off on her world adventures—good for her.”
Theresa sipped. “I was asking Niko.”
Ilya paused with a forkful of food halfway to his mouth. He looked at his brother, who took that moment to get up and take care of his own plate. Ilya put the fork down and twisted in his chair to look at the two of them.
“Yeah, bro, have you heard from Alicia?” he asked. “I mean, might as well get it all out in the open. It’s not like it’s a secret anymore.”
“It’s not?” Theresa caught herself, adding, “I mean, what?”
Ilya gave her a level look. “Huh. So you knew?”
“I . . .” Theresa cleared her throat. “No, not really. I mean, I thought. Maybe.”
Niko frowned. “You did?”
“I accidentally saw you guys . . . umm . . . it doesn’t matter.” Theresa made a show of sipping her coffee to keep from having to speak.
Ilya tossed up his hands. “Well, shit. Did everyone but me know?”
“Know what?” This came from Galina, shrugging off her jacket in the doorway.
The kitchen was becoming a freaking clown car. Ilya dug back in to his pile of food, speaking with his mouth full. “About Niko and Alicia.”
“Oh, for a long time,” his mother said. “Before they knew it, probably.”
“Mom.” Niko shook his head, then hung it, looking defeated.
Galina laughed. “Hello, Theresa. Nice pajamas.”
“She gave me a ride home last night and then crashed on the couch. Where were you?” Ilya asked, regretting the question immediately. She’d probably tell them all exactly where she’d been and what she’d been doing, and that was a level of detail he absolutely didn’t need.
“I had a similar situation,” Galina said breezily with a wave of her hand. “Although regrettably, I hadn’t thought ahead to bring pajamas.”
Theresa shrugged. “I had some things in my car.”
“You have everything in your car, by the looks of it when I peeked in the windows.” Galina gestured. “Pour me a mug of coffee.”
“I’m in the middle of a . . . move,” Theresa answered.
She sounded embarrassed and annoyed. Ilya didn’t blame her. His mother had that effect on him, too.
Galina took the mug Niko handed her. “How’s that going, dolly?”
Theresa frowned, and her shoulders squared. “Fine.”
Ilya watched the exchange, chewing slowly. He took the time to swallow so he could interrupt before his mother could keep up her interrogation. “Got yourself some new, fancy place? Did you buy one of those mini mansions over in Bent Hills? Oh, no, I bet you got yourself one of the time-share condos they’re going to be putting up in my campgrounds. Can’t wait to spend that commission, huh?”
Everyone turned to look at him with varying degrees of distaste on their faces. Theresa’s was the only gaze he met. He didn’t give much of a damn if they all thought he was being a dick about it. He was.
“It takes a while for stuff like that to clear,” was all she said. She turned to Galina. “Would you mind if I took a shower before I left?”
“For the price of babysitting my son, a little hot water seems fair. Especially now that Nikolai has made it so much nicer.” Galina waved a hand. “Help yourself. Of course it’s all right.”
“I’ll just get some stuff from my car.” Without so much as another glance in Ilya’s direction, Theresa left the kitchen.
Ilya looked at his mother and brother, both of them giving subtle variations of the same expression. Yep, they both thought he was being an asshole, all right. He shoveled another fork of eggs into his mouth and said with his mouth full, “Can you give me a ride back to Dooley’s so I can pick up my car?”
“Sure,” his brother said.