CHAPTER ELEVEN
Friday, June 2
Leaning against the shower wall, Stazi felt her muscles liquefy as the last of the tremors left her body. If Hank hadn’t been holding her tightly, she probably would’ve slid down that wall and collapsed onto the floor. As it was, she was nothing more than a shell of her former self. It was the morning of her thirtieth birthday and all she wanted to do for the foreseeable future was spend it with Hank.
Naked.
Entwined.
Completely satisfied.
“Happy birthday, honey,” he said quietly as she unwound her legs.
Sliding down his body, she smiled to herself. “It certainly is. Dirty thirty is getting off to a great start.”
“And that’s just what this is: a start.”
Stazi rested her hand on his hair-covered chest and felt a small moan escape her lips. As embarrassing as it was, she could hardly help herself. Hank Coleman was pure male, through and through. The sheer “otherness” of him was a huge turn-on. He was a tall man with a big physique and there was nothing metrosexual about him. He had hair covering his chest, arms, and legs, and she found that sexy as hell. Maybe she’d been around too many artist types who believed that manscaping was necessary.
It had always struck her as effeminate when a man had more involved beauty rituals than she did, and she was relieved to see that Hank used nothing more than soap and shampoo. She was about to say something to him, but the sound of the doorbell reverberated through her apartment. Stilling, she looked up and noticed the sexy, satisfied smile he’d worn a minute ago had completely disappeared. “I’m not expecting anyone.”
Opening the shower door, he grabbed a towel. “I’ll see who it is. You finish your shower and then we can go to breakfast.”
“Okay.” Watching him wrap the towel around his waist, she decided that whoever was at the door was in for a treat. Small drops of water rolled down his wide back and he would be a visual feast for anyone who encountered him. “I’ll be done in ten minutes.”
Standing under the water, she began washing her hair. Just as she lathered up, she heard the unmistakable sound of her mother’s voice. As well as her Aunt Liliya and Aunt Marina. Letting the water fall over her head, she wondered how long she could stay in the bathroom and leave a half-naked Hank in the company of her family.
Deciding very little good could come of hiding, she sped through her shower and dried off in record time. She pulled on a robe and tied it securely before opening her bathroom door and walking out to face the firing squad…family. For the first time since she moved into the apartment, she wished that her bathroom was connected to her room. Unfortunately, it opened onto the living room and the moment she stepped out, she was faced with the smiling faces of her aunts. “Good morning,” she called out.
“It certainly is,” тетка Marina replied with a laugh.
Nodding vigorously, тетка Liliya then smiled. “If I’d known such a beautiful naked man was going to answer the door, I would’ve worn a nicer scarf.”
“Happy birthday, darling,” Mama called out as she walked out of the kitchen with a tray filled with cups and a teapot. “We brought you donuts from that place you love.”
Stazi shoved her hands into her pockets and looked over her shoulder at the closed door of the bedroom. Hank must’ve excused himself to get dressed. And by all accounts, nobody was bothered by the fact. “Thank you.” Stepping away, she moved toward her room. “I’m just going to put some clothes on and I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, darling,” тетка Marina replied with a smile. “Send out that man of yours. We want to get to know him.”
Smiling faintly, she moved toward her bedroom and prayed that Hank wouldn’t find the interrogation he was about to undergo…off-putting. The only hope she had of that happening was tied to the fact that he’d spent many, many years in combat.
Unfortunately, what her mama and aunts were about to put him through might remind him of his years as a SEAL. Not that she knew anything about what he’d experienced when he was deployed, but she imagined that sitting with her family might resemble his time on the front. If that’s even where SEALs went.
Opening her bedroom door slowly, she saw Hank buttoning his shirt. The fact that he had a smile on his face was a positive sign. “I didn’t know they were coming by this morning.”
Laughing, he slid his belt through the loops of his pants. “I figured that out. I can’t imagine you wanted me to meet your family when I was wearing only a towel.”
Sitting on the bed, she studied him. “Why are you so relaxed and happy?”
His eyes flew up and he gave her a smile. “How could I not be happy and relaxed?” He walked over, bent down in front of her, and lifted her hands. “We spent half the night buried in one another’s bodies. And we just had amazing shower sex. As far as I can tell, there’s not a reason that I shouldn’t be the happiest man in the world.”
Glancing over at the closed bedroom door, she hitched her shoulder. “Three of my family members are sitting on the couch. That doesn’t make you the slightest bit nervous?”
Shrugging, he gave her a smile. “It would’ve been better to meet them with my pants on, but no, I’m not nervous. No reason to be.”
She watched him stand and adjust his pants. “I’m going out to enjoy some of those donuts they brought. Those maple caramel bacon pecan ones are my favorite. Maybe one is in the box.” He kissed her head and then sauntered out of the room.
“Must be nice,” she muttered to herself. How could his only concern be about what kind of donuts her mama brought? Since she had left for college, she had never brought a man home to meet her parents. Never included one in the parties or family gatherings because she never had anyone she wanted to keep around.
As far as she could tell, this was a momentous occasion, and everyone was acting like it was just a regular thing. Show up at Stazi’s door and be greeted by a man…no big deal. After taking the towel off her head, she rubbed the ends of her hair and decided she would not get herself all tangled up in worry.
There were a lot of things going on in her life right now and she simply didn’t have the headspace to add one more thing. By all accounts, Hank was fine and so was her mama. Why borrow trouble when plenty was waiting?
Standing, she decided to get dressed quickly and get on with it. After all, it was her birthday and she’d barely begun celebrating.
***
Hank leaned against his chair as the plates were cleared. He hoped there wasn’t another course because he was full. The meal had started out with Ukrainian borscht and then moved on to a beet salad, followed by potato pancakes served with salmon caviar and sour cream and finally the main course. He’d chosen the beef stroganoff and it was delicious.
The conversation at the table had been lively and mostly in Russian. Stazi had translated for him when she wasn’t speaking with someone, and then her younger sisters, Zhanna and Irina, took over. The fact that Stazi had held his hand during most of the meal and introduced him to everyone as her boyfriend satisfied a need he hadn’t been totally aware of. His desire to claim her and mark her as his wasn’t anything he’d ever experienced and the fact that she’d done it willingly made him amazingly happy. Not that she had much of a choice, considering how her mother had found them this morning.
The moment he opened the door and saw the three smiling women, he knew Stazi wasn’t going to pretend they were not a couple. Even though she was a modern American woman, she still had something old-fashioned deep in her soul. Which totally worked in his favor, because the only acceptable reason for him to be half-naked in her apartment was if they were in a serious relationship.
“Hank, I’m going to go to the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.” Standing, he pulled out her chair and waited until she walked away to sit back down.
Alina, Stazi’s mother, leaned toward him with a smile, and he hoped that he’d passed all the tests she’d laid out earlier. “Thank you for including me in the celebration,” he said as she patted his hand.
“Our pleasure. I’m so happy to see that Stazi is finally dating a real man and not one of those suffering artists that she usually goes for.” Shaking her head, she grimaced. “For such a beautiful, smart woman, she sure has picked some real turkeys.”
Covering a laugh with his hand, he wondered what Stazi would think of her mother’s frank appraisal of her dating life. In the short time they’d known one another, they had not touched on their dating history, and he was happy to leave it that way. The less he knew, the fewer men he had to hunt down. “We might appear to be an unlikely match but I think our differences are going to be our strength.”
Alina studied him and then nodded. “My husband and I are polar opposites and we decided early on not to try to change one another. I’m a pragmatist and Alexi is an idealist. I see what is and my husband sees what could be. Somehow, we’ve made it work because we accept the differences.”
“The same thing could probably be said about my parents. They are about to celebrate their fortieth wedding anniversary and my mom always says it was my father’s patience that kept them together.”
“Usually, it’s the other way around,” Alina responded.
“Maybe. My father is a pediatrician and the kindest, most relaxed man you’ll ever meet. My mom, on the other hand, is a typical type A personality. She’s a cardiovascular surgeon and an absolute perfectionist. Which works out for her patients, but can be a little hard to live with.”
“So, are you more like your father or like your mother?”
Stazi’s father approached and sat next to his wife. “Are you grilling this poor boy?”
“Alexi, it’s my job to ask questions.”
Shrugging dramatically, Alexi gave Hank a sympathetic smile. “Son, let me refill your glass, it’s the only way to survive my wife’s questions.”
Hank watched his glass being filled and then lifted it and Alexi offered a toast.
“Будем здоровы!”
Alina gave him a smile. “It means ‘to our health’.”
“Thank you, sir.” Hank drained his glass, set it down, and prayed he could keep up with Stazi’s father.
Before another shot could be poured, a waiter approached and asked Alexi a question. “Excuse me, they want me to tell them what music we want played after dinner.”
Hank nodded and then turned to Alina. “To answer your earlier question, I have a little of both. Attending the Naval Academy honed all my perfectionist tendencies, but being in the Navy and in combat allowed the other side of my personality to emerge. There are times that require absolute perfection and then when the shit hits the fan, you have to able to improvise and let things go.”
“I think you and my daughter may have more in common than I first realized.” Patting his arm, she gave him a smile. “It also doesn’t hurt that she looks at you like you hung the moon.” A waiter approached and she excused herself.
Holy hell, he sure hoped she wasn’t exaggerating. Stazi returned and he stood, pulling out her chair. When she was settled, he rested his arm on her shoulder. “Having fun?”
“Yes. What about you?”
Hank looked around and nodded. “I am.”
“What were you and Mama talking about?”
Leaning back, he studied her and then laughed. “Not much. Just your deepest, darkest secrets.”
She patted his chest and smiled. “Well, good. Now I won’t have to.”
A waiter walked out of the back holding a birthday cake, and Hank kissed her forehead. “Happy birthday.”
Stazi ran her fingers over the puzzle ring that hung on the necklace he’d given her earlier and smiled. “I love this.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t too much.” When he’d scrambled to find a present yesterday, he’d come across the puzzle ring and decided it was perfect. The three intertwined bands represented faith, hope, and love. He’d found one at a jeweler not far from his condo. They engraved it with their names and on the third band, the date they met.
“It’s perfect.”
Before he could say more, the cake was being lit up and the table all turned toward Stazi in preparation to sing, “Happy Birthday.” Once the song began, he silently prayed that this was the first of many celebrations they shared.