"Let's hope so. Otherwise Vivi might be in the market for a new roommate." I tapped the schedule to get us back on track. "Mark, the reporter for the Life section of the paper, is coming out with a photographer around eight. I thought we'd feature you, Marco, Adam, Celia and Lupe in that piece. Mark loves your buns-"-I winked at her as she snickered-"-so I know he's going to give you a great write-up."

"And Flora at Hoy?" Benny named the major Spanish language newspaper in the city. "Is she still coming today?"

"She'll be here at nine o'clock but I promised I'd snap pics from the official opening for her to use. Ada Montoya will be here around ten to shoot a package for the noon, six and ten broadcasts on the Spanish channel news."

Benny self-consciously touched her face. "Should I put on more makeup for that?"

Before I could answer, Dimitri swept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Holding her from behind, he bent down and placed a noisy kiss on her cheek. "You don't need makeup. You're already so damn beautiful. Put on more makeup and I'll have to grab the bat from your office to fight off the men who will be stampeding down here."

A blush crept up Benny's neck and colored her cheeks. Dimitri dropped his lips to her ear and whispered something that only she could hear. Her eyes widened briefly and she curled under her lips as if to stifle a frustrated moan.

Normally, their public display of affection would have inspired such envy in me. It was the same thing I felt when I watched Ivan nuzzle Erin's neck or stroke her hand so lovingly. Today I felt oddly...hopeful. Tonight I would see Yuri-and anything could happen.

As if reading my mind, Dimitri loosened his embrace of Benny. A mischievous smile played upon his lips. "So-tell me about this picture."

I groaned. "Please don't tease me, Dimitri. Vivian hasn't let up since the dang thing showed up online."

He laughed. "I'm shocked. Sweet little Vivian being so mean? Never."

"Sweet? Honey, don't let that innocent schoolgirl exterior fool you. Underestimate Vivian at your own peril."

Still smiling, Benny finally found the courage to ask what I'm sure she'd been dying to know since I walked in the front door. "So are you two dating or what?"

"We're getting together tonight."

"He asked you out?" She looked so excited I was surprised she wasn't jumping up and down.

"Not exactly," I said and dropped my gaze. "He sort of told me."

Dimitri snorted with amusement. "Now that sounds very much like Yuri."

"Is he coming over this morning?" Benny wondered.

I shook my head. "There was some issue in Europe. The pipeline, I think." I'd hit the internet after he'd called me and found a few articles hinting at trouble. "He should be back here sometime this afternoon. Or, at least, that's what Anna, his assistant, told me last night in the email she sent."

Benny frowned. "He had his assistant email you about your date?"

"I know." I rolled my eyes. "Believe me. He's going to hear about that. I thought about sending him a text to let him know how uncool it was but I sort of felt bad for him. I have a feeling he's under a lot of pressure."

She hummed with uncertainty and glanced at Dimitri. He put up his hands and stepped away from her. "I'm not touching this one."

She thumped him in the chest. "You better go on then. I don't want you to feel conflicted while we gossip about your boy."

Grinning, he kissed the top of her head and left to help Marco. Benny turned back to me. She studied me for a moment before finally saying, "I think you have to establish very early in this relationship how things are going to go. He's like Nikolai. He's used to people doing what he says, when he says it. It's hard to break bad behaviors once you let them start. Look at my brother? Like-whoa. I should have nipped that gangster crap of his in the bud but I let it slide. Bad habits, you know?"

"I get it." I sensed she felt awkward telling me what she thought but I appreciated that she cared enough about me to lay it on the line.

"Look, I really think that Yuri has put you in a different category than all those other women he's...romanced. There's real potential here, you know?"

I nodded. "When we were having dinner the other night, I could tell Yuri feels out of his element with me. I feel the same way with him. This is new territory for both of us. I'm not playing by the same rules most of the women he's dated used and he's definitely not playing by the same rules of the guys I've dated."

"Sounds pretty exciting actually. You're both entering a whole new world filled with possibilities."

I liked the way she described the way things stood between Yuri and me. It had a hopeful ring to it.

In no time at all, the bakery got crazy busy. By the time the doors were opened at six on the dot, there was a line snaking down the street. Patrons swarmed the place, many of them old faces who had followed from the other location. Benny and some of her longtime employees stood near the door and welcomed them inside.

I was so utterly thrilled by the turnout and snapped dozens of pics. Tagging the hell out of them, I posted them to the bakery's social media accounts and my own. I watched the hashtag I'd chosen for the launch gain momentum.

By the time the first reporter showed up, the line of waiting customers had grown even longer. Benny looked a bit frazzled but one soothing caress from Dimitri settled her nerves. I stood on the sidelines and watched her interviews. All the coaching I'd done had really worked out for her. She came across exactly as I knew her to be in real life-sweet, authentic and excited about her business.

I kept an eye on the reviews on some of the major online sites and the bakery's Facebook page. There were a couple of complainers about the slow pace of the line early in the morning but overall the reviews were hugely positive. Everyone raved about the pastries and burritos and Lupe's special hot chocolate.

When Erin and Ivan stopped by for a late breakfast, I got dragged into a corner by her. With her gossipy face firmly in place, she demanded, "You better spill it. I know you've been dodging my calls. What is going on with you?"

"I quit the firm. I'm sort of, kind of, possibly dating Yuri. That's what's going on with me. What's new with you?"

Her mouth curved in a wicked smile. "Oh I see. We're going to play it cool, huh? That's the Lena M.O., right?"

Now I was smiling. "Pretty much."

She shook her head and laughed. "For what it's worth, Ivan thought you two looked great together in the photo. Actually, what he really said was finally."

I rolled my eyes. "Tell Ivan I said thank you for his approval."

"I know you're joking but those four guys?" She glanced at Dimitri and Ivan who chatted across the restaurant. "They value one another's opinions big time. It's good that Nikolai, Dimitri and Ivan like you so much."

"To be fair, our group is the same way. You relied on our opinions when you were talking about moving in with Ivan. If we'd said no, you would have reconsidered."

"Maybe," she said uncertainly. "By the time he asked me to move in with him, I was totally head over heels for him." She gazed at Ivan with such love in her eyes. "Some mornings I wake up and I can't believe how lucky I am that he risked his life to help me save my sister. I mean, I know how he looks. He's so big and scary and intimidating-but my God, Lena. That man only knows one way to love and that is totally and completely. I've never been happier."

She gulped and blinked rapidly. Regaining her composure, she said, "I want that for you. I want you to know how totally fucking amazing it is to know you have a man like Ivan in your corner."

Feeling a bit of pressure, I warned, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Yuri and I have only been on one sort-of date. We haven't even slept together yet."

Erin waggled her eyebrows. "Ooh! You think tonight is the night?"

"No. Definitely not."

"What if he turns on that infamous charm?"

"He tried that the other night. It didn't work."

"Uh-huh." She eyed me skeptically. "It didn't make you even the slightest bit tingly?'

"Well..."

"Ha! Knew it!"

I rolled my eyes. "You're a real goofball, you know that?"

She threw her arms around me. "And you love me!"

"Yeah. I guess." I hugged her back. Catching Ivan's amused gaze, I released her. "I think the Hulk is ready to go. I'm sure he's got a whole gym full of fighters waiting to be tortured."

"Probably," she agreed with a laugh. "I'm going to text you tonight. I want a play-by-play."

"Erin, you're impossible!"

"Whatever!" She snapped my arm with a flick of her finger. "You always want the juicy details from me and Benny. Now it's your turn to entertain us with all the deliciously dirty bits."

She had a point. I had been awfully obnoxious about getting the scoop on the between-the-sheet action Benny and Erin shared with their men. I decided payback was only fair. "All right. Fine. But try to keep it to one text an hour. He's going to think I'm a freak if I'm running to the bathroom every twenty minutes to answer you."

"Well, we wouldn't want him to learn the truth about you until after he's bought you a big, snooty yacht."

"Bitch," I hissed with a giggle. Playing along, I added, "Well, if he does you're not welcome on my big, snooty yacht."

Still giggling, she waved at me and wound her way through the crowd toward Ivan. Hand in hand, they left the bakery. A short time later, Vivian popped in for a quick bite to eat and to congratulate Benny on the successful launch. Before she could leave, Ada Montoya, the news anchor for the hugely popular Spanish channel in Houston, dragged her aside for a quick interview about the mural she'd painted.

As I watched Vivian chattering away in Spanish, it occurred to me that if she was serious about making it as an artist after she finished school next May she was going to need a strong internet presence. I'd been the one to design her promo materials for her last art show, the one in the spring that had done so well, but I could see that she wasn't thinking big yet. She always downplayed her talent but I knew she was going places-successful places.

By noon, I'd squared away the last of the press I'd booked. I sensed Benny was starting to feel the fatigue of launching a new business and early pregnancy but she didn't let it slow her down. Though I worried about her overdoing it, one look at Dimitri's concerned face told me it was under control. As protective as he was of Benny, I figured he'd have her tucked away in his truck and home for a nap within the hour.

With my part in the day complete, I gave Benny one last hug and promised to run interference with any publicity issues she forwarded my way. As my one and only client, I could offer her my total attention.

It felt so weird to be home alone at the apartment in the middle of the day. For the longest time, I sat on the couch and stared at the French doors leading to the balcony. I felt completely at a loss. I didn't know what to do with myself.

Napping seemed like the only real option so I stripped down to my undies and crawled into bed. After setting my alarm, I tugged the covers over my head and tried to calm my racing thoughts. I didn't want to think about my unemployed status or the very real possibility that my father was in trouble for something my dumbass cousin had done. I wanted to dream about nice things, about good things.

About Yuri.

His smiling face invaded my thoughts and calmed me. I could picture the way the little lines crinkled around his eyes and the way his grin became lopsided when he laughed. My tummy wobbled as I remembered the feel of his big, warm hand gliding along my thigh and the way his lips felt pressed to mine. My breasts ached as I grew aroused by the naughty images of where that backseat make-out session might have gone. I squeezed my thighs together to ease the throbbing there.

Not surprisingly, my dreams were ridiculously dirty. In bed with my dream Yuri, I indulged all the naughty fantasies that I'd never been brave enough to try out in real life. When I woke up to the sound of my alarm, I shook with desire. Need trembled through me and I wondered if I could deny myself what I wanted so badly.

Staring up at my ceiling, I tried to figure out what it was that scared me so much about making love to Yuri. It wasn't that I was strictly no sex without a wedding band like Vivian. I'd had three lovers since starting college. I'd cared about each of those men and they'd all loved me so it wasn't that the experiences had been cheap or dirty. They were simply unsatisfying.

Deep down inside, I worried I was broken. Here, in the safety of my own room, climaxing was easy. Once I got between the sheets with a man, I turned to ice. I enjoyed the intimacy and closeness of writhing together with a lover but there was no completion for me. There was no release. I often climbed out of bed more frustrated than when I'd slid into it.

So I'd basically sworn of sex after Price had broken up with me a little more than a year ago. He'd been a great boyfriend and we'd had a good time together but he was looking for things I didn't want. The last time I'd stalked his Facebook page, I'd seen that he was engaged. Apparently, he'd found a girl who wanted the same things he did.

I was happy for him. I was happy for anyone who found someone special to share their lives with but I often wondered if I was too damaged for that kind of happiness. Watching my mother walk out on me had done some crazy things to me. There weren't many people I let get close. Vivian, Erin, Benny, my father-they were the only people I loved and trusted not to betray me.

But Yuri? Was he someone I could trust? I honestly didn't know.

It occurred to me that keeping him at a distance wasn't going to answer that question. I'd never know if he was worthy to be added to the extremely short list of people I loved if I didn't open up and make myself vulnerable.

And it scared me. The very thought of opening myself up to that kind of heartbreak terrified me.

But, if I didn't, I would never know.

And I had to know.

Chapter Five.

Dressed in my favorite new dress, I tried to find the courage to enter the restaurant. I'd just watched the valet at the downtown hotspot drive away in my red compact. It wasn't quite a beater but it definitely wasn't nice enough for this restaurant.

A quiver of embarrassment flickered through me at the idea Yuri might have seen me climbing out of the car. Sure, I'd paid cash for the thing after working my ass off my senior year of high school and I was damn proud of it-but Yuri probably spent more on one bespoke suit than I had on the whole car.

I smoothed a hand down the front of my dress. On a shopping trip with Erin last month, I'd fallen in love with the sweet little peplum number the moment I'd spotted it in the boutique. It was a knockoff of the hottest runway styles and fit perfectly in my budget. I'd even had enough left over to splurge on some slingback heels and a cute clutch. This was my first chance to wear it. I hoped it had the same effect on Yuri that it had on the valet guy who nearly broke his neck watching me get out of the car.

With my heart beating in my throat, I stepped into the swanky restaurant. The upscale waiting area was surprisingly busy for a Monday night. My gaze skipped around the seating areas but I didn't see Yuri. Had he already gone to our table?

I waited in line at the hostess station and tried to get a grip on my wild emotions. Nervous. Excited. Anxious. Aroused. My poor body was jumping from one extreme to the next.

"May I help you?" the peppy brunette greeted me with a smile.

"I'm meeting someone for dinner. Yuri Novakovsky."

Her eyes widened slightly. Obviously she recognized his name. Her gaze dropped to the laminated seating chart. When she didn't find anything there, she opened the small black book and ran her fingertip down the reservation list. "I'm sorry, ma'am. There's no reservation for Mr. Novakovsky tonight."

Confused, I whipped out my phone and quickly brought up the email from his assistant. I flashed the screen at the hostess. "These were the details I was sent."

"I'm so sorry. There must have been a mix up." She glanced at her chart again. "I can seat you or you can wait at the bar until Mr. Novakovsky arrives."

"I'd rather sit at a table."

The hostess found an open spot for us, no doubt bumping the people who had been waiting ahead of me. I felt a twinge of guilt but shrugged it off. Yuri obviously came here frequently enough that the hostess and wait staff knew him. If his name got us a table quicker, that was a perk I was happy to enjoy.

Seated in the center rear of the restaurant, I ordered a glass of wine and hoped I wasn't in for a long wait. Certain it was some sort of travel delay keeping Yuri, I tried not to worry. I scanned the restaurant to see if I noticed anyone.

My gaze landed on none other than Ty Weston, wealthy gossiper extraordinaire. He held court at a large round table. I recognized most of the faces surrounding him. They were a who's who of Texas trust fund babies including Caitlin, his little sister, and Pips Barlow Bennett, his best friend and an heiress to an oil and gas mega fortune.

Our gazes clashed across the restaurant. Ty smiled and lifted his glass. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and smiled instead. Turning away, I pretended not to notice his lingering stare. It wasn't because he was interested in me. That's for damn sure. Ty was probably the only son of a conservative senator brave enough to be openly gay and living his life out loud and proud. I had to give it to him. The guy had huge balls.

My cell phone chirped. Sure it was Erin, I grabbed it out of my clutch. It was Ty sending me a direct message via Twitter. I glanced at his table but he was engaged in a conversation with Pips.

Hope I didn't cause any problems with the pic the other day. Was too juicy to pass up. You two looked HAWT.

I hesitated before typing an answer.

Wasn't thrilled to be the focus of your tittle-tattle but I'll live.