Page 33 of The Bratva's Arranged Bride
“We’re going out—getting away from the house for a bit,” Yuri answered simply, glancing down at the sandwich. “And we’ll get you something a little better than that while meeting up with some people.”
I paused at the mention of it, liking the idea less.
“Who?”
Yuri grinned faintly at my reaction. “Just the girls. Aria’s cousins.”
I cocked a brow at him, having no idea who that was. “Should I know that name?”
He sighed, lacking any real irritation. “Aria is married to our brother Daniil…I know it’s confusing, but that part doesn’t matter. The girls are quite the characters. I know you’ll like them. Besides, Val thinks it would be good for you to get out for a bit, and I’m inclined to agree.”
Huffing out a breath, I shook my head absently. “He would think that...”
I frowned slightly to myself, well aware that I didn’t know Aria, much less her cousins. I hadn’t even known she had cousins until that moment. The thought of spending time with unfamiliar company, especially while going through such a strange time in my life, wasn’t the most appealing one.
Glancing over at him, I held on to my resistance still. “And why do I have to go with you?”
Yuri grinned again, leaning on the island with a knowing gleam in his eyes. “Because I can show you a good time…and because I’m the only available one.”
I inwardly rolled my eyes at his tone, then rubbed at the bridge of my nose.
I wanted to say no. I wanted to return to my art room and put the thoughts of spending time with anyone out of my mind.
But in all fairness, they weren’t entirely wrong. I was going a bit stir-crazy.
“Come on…I won’t bite unless you ask me.”
“If I say yes, will you be normal?” I asked, lifting my brow expectantly.
His grin stretched even further, clearly amused, and seemingly used to that sort of reaction. He put his hands up in defense of himself. “As normal as I can be.”
After a moment of consideration, I sighed. “Okay, fine…let’s go.”
***
The drive through the city felt shorter than I expected it to, and I attributed that to Yuri talking nonstop. He was certainly long-winded.
At the very least, it made him easier to talk to, and that easy charisma of his was hard to ignore, despite how I tried.
I didn’t understand why I felt vaguely nervous about meeting up with the girls, but that trepidation eased away when we reached their table at the surprisingly quaint yet cozy diner.
All three girls gave us their complete attention, and with a brief introduction, I was able to place names to faces.
Livia, the youngest, smiled as the two of us took our seats alongside them. “I’m so glad we finally get to meet you—we heard about you and Val, and we’ve been waiting for our chance to swoop in.”
Surprised by the statement, I blinked back at her. “You were expecting to meet me?”
She chuckled at my reaction, but the eldest, Angel, put a teasing hand on her head. “This one is always a bit eager…but yes, as soon as Yuri called us, we jumped at the opportunity.”
“Not to be weird, but having someone new around is always exciting,” Silvia added, giving me a somewhat reserved, yet still friendly smile.
Getting my bearings little by little, wrapping my head around the thought of them looking forward to meeting me, I eventually nodded and felt myself opening up.
“It’s not weird at all.”
To my surprise, nothing felt uncomfortable about the situation, and while I didn’t know much about them, they were easy enough to talk to. And while I couldn’t help but feel like I stuck out like a sore thumb given my situation with Val, they didn’t let me feel even a moment of judgment from them.
As the hours passed, I found I was enjoying myself.
