I shrug. “Cold is different all over.”
“True,” Autumn says.
“How old are you?” Miya pushes.
“Miya,” Autumn scolds.
Miya raises her hands. “What? I’m just curious.”
Nikita clears her throat. “It’s fine. I’m twenty-four.”
“I’m twenty-two,” I tell her.
“I’m twenty-five,” Autumn says.
“Twenty-four,” Miya adds.
“And you are all married to your men?” she asks.
“Yes,” I tell her.
Nikita frowns. “Was it your choice?”
I smile and reassure her. “One hundred percent. When I met Kai, I knew he was it for me.”
Miya hums. “It took Kenji a minute to convince me to marry him, only because I like making him work for it.”
Nikita’s eyes move to Autumn.
Autumn has a dreamy look on her face. “I was never supposed to meet Callum, and then I did. We agreed to spend a couple days with each other. When I left, I was devastated, but then fate stepped in and blessed us.” She looks over at her daughter before looking back at Nikita. “So yes, marrying Callum was my choice.”
A look I can’t comprehend crosses Nikita’s face. “That sounds nice.”
I can tell the others didn’t miss the look either. Now I see what Autumn meant.
I might not be able to read auras or whatever it is that she does, but I can sense the sadness in Nikita. With what little I know of the Russians, she probably hasn’t had many choices in her life. Hell, even being here tonight wasn’t her choice.
That in itself is sad.
Autumn looks over at me, conveying that she feels the same way I do. Nikita isn’t a bad person. She’s been dealt a bad hand.
Autumn changes the subject, giving Nikita a break.
“So how did Kai like his present? Callum loved his.” She looks at the other girls and tells them that she booked them a trip to Ireland and that I booked one for Japan, but doesn’t mention when.
“Kai loved it.” I smile, thinking about his face when he opened it. “Thank you for the idea.”
“Of course.” She nods.
“What did you get Kenji?” I ask Miya.
Miya blushes as she holds her glass in front of her face. “The man is terrible to buy for. He has everything he needs. So I went the sexual route and got some toys from the store.”
I snort. “Seriously? Like what?”
“Come on, Cleo. Do not make me corrupt you. You’re still far too innocent for the shit me and Kenji get up to in bed.”
“Hey,” I protest. “I’m not that innocent.”
