Chapter 24

Anna walked Jayce to the door and then returned to the bedroom to change the sheets. Peter was nowhere to be seen and she struggled to get the fitted sheet into place. She was exhausted and sore and just wanted to go to sleep, but the sheet wouldn’t cooperate.

Crying out in frustration, she tugged again, and the two corners she’d managed to get into place snapped off and landed in the middle of the bed. She collapsed on the floor in a heap of tears, pulling the sheet down over herself. Peter would be angry, she was sure of it.

Someone padded into the bedroom. “Oh, Anna...” Peter unclenched her fingers and took the sheet from her. “Here, let me do it.” He took it off the bed and started again, doing it as he did everything: perfectly.

“I’m sorry.” She crawled to her feet and reached for the other sheet. Tears blurred her vision and she swiped them away.

Peter put his hands gently on her upper arms. “Have you showered?”

Anna shook her head. “I wanted to get the sheets changed first.”

He took the sheet from her. “I’ll take care of the bed. You go shower.”

She did as he told her, showering quickly, then returned to find the bed made and Peter sitting on it, waiting for her. She started to untie her robe for him and he shook his head. “No. It’s okay. Do you want some dinner?”

Anna hesitated. She wasn’t hungry, but knew she should eat. “Sure.”

He took her out to the dining table where there were several takeout containers. “Do you like Chinese? I got it while you were... busy.”

She took a seat and couldn’t help but bite her lip as the delectable aroma wafted up from the food. He retrieved plates and silverware and set them on the table. As he opened the containers, a wisp of steam escaped, and he nudged them in her direction. “Help yourself. I got a bit of everything.”

Anna dished out some rice and some sort of chicken and vegetable dish as Peter sat watching her. He could at least report back to Devin that she was eating.

“My parents are coming up for opening night,” he said, scooping out a heaping spoonful of rice and dumping it on his plate. “Vlad and Nina as well.”

“Nina?”

“My aunt.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “Up?”

“Yeah. My parents live in Laguna Beach. My mother’s American.”

That would explain his excellent English. “I didn’t know that.”

“I grew up in Laguna Beach but went to secondary school in St. Petersburg so I could dance there. I lived with Vlad and Nina. When they gave up the idea of having a boy, I started spending more time with them.”

“You have a thick accent, though.”

“I’ve spent the last ten years primarily speaking Russian. And I spoke Russian when I lived at home too. At least to my father. My mom made sure I learned proper English. Being here has helped a lot. She’s happy.” He chuckled.

“Were you born here?”

He shook his head. “I was born in St. Petersburg. So were Sergei and Pavel. But Yuri and Natalya were born in California.”

“Your brothers and sister?” They had “been together” for six weeks, and she realized she barely knew anything about him. She knew he had three younger brothers and a sister from the pictures on the wall, but hadn’t learned their names.

Peter nodded and smiled. “My mother is thrilled that she doesn’t have to freeze to see me dance Nutcracker this year.”

Anna smiled, not sure what else to say.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Peter spoke again. “Thanksgiving is coming up. Do you want to come with me when I visit my family?”

Anna looked up. “Go with you to... visit your family?” She furrowed her brows, puzzled. “Why?”

Peter shrugged. “Thought you might want to get out of the city.”

She looked back down at her plate. “If you’d like me to.”

“I’d like it if you came.”

“Okay.” She took a bite of dinner, wondering why he was being so nice.

“Did you read the letter?” He nodded toward the yellow envelope he had given her.

“Yes.”

“I was thinking maybe we could go shopping this weekend. You could probably use some more clothes. And do you have a dress for opening night?”

“Devin buys me what I need if I need anything extra.” She paused. “Though he hasn’t said anything about a dress. Maybe he doesn’t want me going to the party.”

“I’d like it if you were there.”

Anna stared at her food. “I’ll ask Devin when I see him on Friday. I suppose I have some dresses at the house if Wilhelm hasn’t sold it. I don’t know if they’re still in style, though.”

“House?”

Anna glanced up. “Mine and Alex’s house.”

“You have a house and you were living in that crappy apartment?”

“I don’t want to live there. I don’t even want to see it.”

“Where is it?”

“Presidio.”

“Why don’t you want to live there? I would imagine it was pretty nice.”

“It’s beautiful. I loved living there, but—?” She swallowed back tears. “I don’t want to be reminded of him. It’s bad enough I dream of him.” She put her fork down and pressed her fingers to her eyes to keep from crying.

Peter was quiet for a long moment, and when he finally spoke, his voice was soft, almost reverential. “You really loved him, didn’t you?”

“I did. He... saved me. He loved me. He told me he wanted to make up for all the years of abuse... and he did, before—?” Her words ended in a squeak.

“I didn’t think Elder-Mistresses felt things so deeply.”

Anna shrugged. “I don’t know about the rest of them. They seemed to think I was strange at Alex’s funeral. Like, they couldn’t understand why I was so upset about a man dying.” The tears spilled onto her cheeks. “But when he died... all the hope and beauty in the world died with him. Devin helped me cope by giving me drugs. I couldn’t stand the pain anymore. That’s why I left Wilhelm. But maybe if I had stayed...” She shook her head and sniffed. Things might have turned out so differently. So many “if onlys” in her life. Maybe Devin wouldn’t have become so powerful. Maybe she and Kurt would have been married by now. Maybe she would have found happiness again.

Peter reached for her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. “I’m sorry, Anna. I misjudged you. I shouldn’t have listened to—to some people, and should have listened to my gut when I met you.”

He tugged at her hand, and she moved to sit in his lap, allowing her tears to flow as he held her close, offering unexpected comfort.