There was a line, but he skipped around it and headed to the kitchen, where he knew his aunt would be working.
“Good morning to you, Irishka.” He kissed her cheek.
She snorted at his use of the diminutive of her name, but he won a smile from her. “You’re here because of the girl.” Irena kneaded the dough with workstrong arms as she looked him over.
His aunt had been as much a mother to him as his own had been. More, if he was to be brutally honest about it.
“So tell me why you sent the very talkative Ms. Dolan to my shop.”
“Have a cup of tea while I tell you. With a slice of sharlotka. You need to keep your energy for the rest of the day.” She ordered this without even looking up, totally assured he would obey.
And why wouldn’t he? He poured himself a cup of tea but skipped the apple cake she’d suggested for some pyraniki instead.
“She and her sister moved in to the house next door to ours about a month ago. They’re lovely. Her sister, she’s older than Maybe, was in the hospital for quite a long time recovering from something terrible to do with her old job. She used to flinch if we came outside when she was in her yard. Or if she came home and we were in the driveway. She doesn’t flinch anymore.”
Alexsei frowned before finishing the rest of his cookie.
“You said to me this shop of yours was already booked every day and you wanted to add another person. Here she is. Maybe—a silly name for a child—is a hard worker. You can tell this from how the house is kept. So I sent her your way.”
He had a very difficult time imagining her in a home that his aunt would be impressed by. His aunt liked a very clean, orderly house and he would have thought Maybe would live in a place full of piles of colorful clothing and stacks of paper.
“It’s simple enough. Give her a job.” She made a sound that told him the conversation was over.
He wasn’t going to argue. It would have been pointless anyway. “Thank you for the tea.” Alexsei washed out his mug, placing it back on the shelf where he kept it for his frequent visits to her kitchen. “I’ll let you know how she works out.”
“Take some food back to your shop.” She shooed him with a wave of her hand toward the big butcher-block table in the center of the room.
CHAPTER TWO
Now
MAYBE STROLLED IN, waving to Josh and Alexsei, who were leisurely setting up for the day. Interpol played over the speakers. A band she’d forever associate with her boss. And friend.
Impossible as it had been to imagine that day two years ago when she’d practically begged for the job, she’d created something like a family with these guys.
Whiskey Sharp felt like home now. As much as the house she shared with her sister. Whiskey Sharp had the added incentive of really gorgeous, incredibly well-dressed dudes who frequently brought her baked goods and caffeine in all its forms like they were warriors returned from the field bringing tribute.
It didn’t suck to have her job.
One of the aforementioned gorgeous dudes in particular caught her attention. Or. Well. Pretty much had dominated her attention since the first day two years before when she’d rolled in to Whiskey Sharp and charm-groveled herself into a job.
Alexsei Petrov was hot-damn-absolutely-delicious.
His shirtsleeves were folded up carefully over some seriously fantastic forearms as he slid a soft cloth over all the wood in the shop. Caressing it. Later, he’d use old-fashioned arm garters to keep his sleeves out of the way while he was with clients.
A very well-trimmed beard that never ceased to make her a little tingly went perfectly with the well-trimmed hair the color of caramel. Glints of auburn and mahogany showed themselves if he was in the sunshine, or on those occasions she got her hands into it when she gave him a cut.
Taciturn, though not nearly as bad as he’d been when she’d first met him. Still, he tended toward one-word answers, snarls, eyebrow raises and glares to get his communicating done. And she was beginning to believe he loved to poke at her with each one of those things.
Over the last several months especially, it had felt a lot like foreplay.
Which she was trying not to think about too much because if she did she’d have to tell herself not to flirt with him or let their chemistry get any better because she wanted to make really bad choices with him.
A lot.
He turned after placing the cloth back into a drawer and latched those chocolate-brown eyes of his on her. Held her there as he took her in.
Intense. So much more intense than she ever really found attractive and yet there she was with her pink parts doing the forbidden dance anyway.
Maybe swallowed and found her sass enough to get herself back under control. She was a badass, not some simpering newbie!
“Good day to you, fine gentlemen.” She held a bag aloft. “I come bearing cookies and a loaf of black bread with salmon your aunt insists must be eaten immediately because it will never taste better than now.”
“I’ve booked your three p.m. slot,” Alexsei told her as he passed, snatching the food. “You will eat before you cut my hair and give me a shave.”
He didn’t even ask.
He—along with pretty much his entire family—had a thing about feeding Rachel and Maybe both. It was their way of expressing, well, pretty much everything.
Alexsei was also really bossy. And he expressed all his bossiness on what he considered taking care of the people he considered his.
She’d become one of those people. As had her sister, by extension.
Maybe grabbed her tea mug before heading over to the bar area. He saw her moving his way and rumbled his approval.
Rumbled. Like a fucking bear and yet she really dug it. His accent did such crazy, really dirty things to her too. The whole package just drove her totally and utterly crazy.
“My cousin Gregori brought it back from London.” He held a bright red tin of tea aloft a moment. “Just finished brewing.”
He took her mug to pour for her, the muscles in his hands and forearms flexing as he did.
Honestly, she should have felt bad for the super filthy things such a simple task made her feel, but she couldn’t. However, up until recently, he’d been in a two-year relationship. Add the fact that he was her boss and she’d been able to admire from a distance and keep him firmly in fantasy-fuck land.
Until about eight months ago when he’d broken off with his fiancée. And for about six months after that he’d drowned himself in a steady diet of cow-eyed women who showed up around closing time to moon at him.
He’d taken them home. Way more than Maybe would have preferred, which to be honest was not at all.
Essentially, he’d fucked a lot of pretty women, went out with his friends and had, from what she could see, worked most of the need to party out of his system. And had, over the last two months or so, calmed that frenetic schedule considerably.
Not wanting to think about him being with other women for another second, Maybe dropped two sugar cubes into her freshly poured tea and grabbed a few of the pyraniki. The little anise spice cookies were perfect with tea.
“You should have the salmon too.” He tipped his chin toward the fish he’d already piled on a thick slice of bread.
“I had some earlier with your aunt. She ambushed me with fish and bread, which I then shared with her, because hello manners. That sounds like a complaint, but truly, it’s an awesome way to start my workday. She’s a food ninja.”
He smiled slightly.
He’d decided about a year before that he liked the way she did his hair best and had announced that to her. It had meant no one else touched his head. Not that the other barbers weren’t relieved. He was a particular guy who liked to back seat drive everything, including his own haircuts and shaves.
It never got to her. Instead she fo
und herself charmed by it over and over. Like he was so outraged every single being in the universe didn’t bow to his whim.
Adorable.
She kept trying to talk him into some funky streaks but he’d only stared at her without speaking until she’d rolled her eyes.
Gruff. But really, under that crusty exterior, there was a soft heart and a vein of compassion she’d seen over and over.
One by one, the other barbers began to come in as the quiet had eased into a more laid-back sort of bustle. Clients filled the space in waves. She loved how the energy of the shop could change so much just from who was inside at any given moment. Bikers, bankers, artists, a few lawyers, lots of office workers and folks who wandered in from off the busy streets in Pioneer Square.
They filled Whiskey Sharp with their own flair and flavor and it was truly one of the most fun parts of her job to be part of that daily ebb and flow.
* * *
VICKTOR ORLOV, IRENA’S SON, the guy who ran the bakery and one of what seemed like a dozen of Alexsei’s cousins, strolled in, placing a cup of coffee on her worktable on his way past.
“Thanks, handsome.”
“You’re welcome.” He hung up his coat and eased into Alexsei’s chair just across the way from hers.
“Is this your way of asking a favor?” She gave him a grin as she held up the cup. “Not that it’ll stop me from drinking it or anything. I’m just curious.”
“You don’t trust me?” Even when he frowned Vic was beautiful. “I’m simply here to watch you cut his hair. He’s like a cranky bear. What can I say? I’m easily amused.”
Beautiful, but a shit stirrer nonetheless. As it was generally good-natured, most people were amused by him rather than annoyed, which was a good thing.
“Alexsei just finished up with someone and disappeared for a moment. He’ll be back soon so you’ll be smart to stay out of arm’s reach.”
Vic smirked and she withheld her eye roll. The two of them were like brothers with the constant bickering and deep loyalty they had with one another. So weird, but she and Rachel could be very similar at times.
Maybe remembered there was a voice mail waiting from one of her parents and then shoved it to the back of her mind. It wasn’t time to let herself get upset over it.
She was at work. This place was her refuge. None of that crap came through the door with her and she liked it that way.
Alexsei, wearing a dour expression, headed over and flopped into her chair. “I’m ready.” He said it with the gravity of a man headed to surgery or something life threatening.
“You act like I’m going to cut you and then squeeze lemon on it.” Jeez, the big baby.
“It’s not that.” Whatever stern lecture she was about to get got sidetracked when he caught sight of what was in her hands. “Do you think those clippers? You can use mine.”
After setting the clippers down, she whipped the drape out with a snap to underline who was in charge just then. “I hate your clippers. That was your one and only free complaint. Last time you owed me enough to take my sister out to her favorite steak place. So keep on whining.”
Maybe set the jar she kept for such occasions on the table next to her coffee. It said Complaints: $10 and she strictly enforced it when Alexsei was in her chair.
He pursed his lips and she adjusted the clippers before giving him a smile in the mirror.
“I should get a free one because I’m speaking of Rada. She’s broken yet another phone and she wants me to go with her to buy a replacement.”
Maybe took a deep breath but kept a tsunami of annoyance reserved just for his ex-girlfriend deep inside where she pretended it didn’t exist.
“You look like you have a stomachache.” Vic smirked again. “Granted, Rada makes me feel like that too. Why do you even entertain this?” he asked Alexsei. “She’s got a new boyfriend. Why isn’t he doing this stuff?”
No shit. Maybe wished she knew too. Because one thing was clear and that was Alexsei had moved on. Months and months ago. And with at least four different women, not that she was counting. His ex was clingy and needy as hell and it made her teeth hurt.
But it was more of a matter of the way she’d just been used to him doing everything for her. Him or her damned family always picking up after her. Taking care of her like she was a toddler.
And none of it was her business. Maybe reminded herself of this fact over and over.
It was better that way. Something else she kept telling herself.
The men spoke back and forth in Russian until she flicked the back of Alexsei’s ear. He growled, but then apologized.
She’d learned enough Russian to understand when they were talking about a woman. But she couldn’t tell—because their Russian was rapid-fire—just exactly what.
“I can’t believe he lets you get away with that. He punched me in the chest the last time I flicked his ear.” Vic was on a roll.
“I’ll come flick your ear too if you don’t stop talking in another language in a clear bid to keep me from knowing the topic. So rude.” Her expression was prim.
“Always with the fancy talk.” Alexsei sighed and waved a lazy hand as she started to work.
“My parents would disagree that anything about me is fancy, especially the way I speak.”
She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but she kept her focus on hair and not the men around her, who’d gone even more quiet than usual.
Still, she knew he looked up to catch her eyes in the mirror’s reflection, even as she continued to keep her attention on her work because this wasn’t the time or place for that discussion.
The tools in her hands always kept her centered. In a way that nothing other than sex and music had been able to do.
“It makes me nervous when you’re quiet,” Alexsei said after another few minutes.
Surprised, Maybe let herself look up to snag his gaze in the mirror. A zing of chemistry hit her in her gut. And lower.
His mouth did this thing where one corner lifted and an honest-to-God dimple popped out, even through his magnificent beard. Even his goddamn dimple was bossy and couldn’t be bothered letting itself be hidden.
It shouldn’t get her hot. Dominant men like Alexsei were so not her type. She’d had enough of that to last a lifetime. Enough that it had driven her to run away at sixteen.
But when it came from Alexsei, it flipped her switch. Perhaps it was because he was dominant but not heavy-handed. Or maybe it was the accent. Whatever it was. It worked.
She had to clear her throat and focus on her hands again or she would actually screw up and he’d never let her hear the end of it. “I was concentrating. You’ve got a very low opinion of haircuts that aren’t absolutely perfect.”
“What sort of person has a high opinion of bad haircuts?” He made a little growly sound of disapproval that raised the temperature a few degrees. In her pants.
“You get mad at the weirdest stuff, man.” Vic just shook his head.
“They call it having standards. You should try it.” Alexsei sniffed but never moved. He had a lot of discipline that way.
Maybe brushed the back of his neck to get rid of stray hairs before circling to get a look at his face. “Why don’t you schedule shaves for first thing in the day?”
“I have to pick someone up from the airport later.”
“Your mom?” Maybe indicated he lean his head back. What she knew about Alexsei’s mother had mainly come from Irena. Alexsei’s aunt loved her little sister, but it was pretty clear she disapproved of the way Alexsei and his siblings had been parented before the boys showed up on her doorstep.
Then again, Irena disapproved of a lot of things. Most things. It just made Maybe and Rachel feel special that, for whatever reason, their neighbors had adopted them into their little circle.
It would suck large if Irena didn??
?t like you.
He grunted his assent to her question. “Her plane arrives in a few hours. No sandalwood while she’s here. She doesn’t like it.”
He’d never told her not to use a certain product before to save the preferences of anyone else. On one hand, she liked it that he cared about what his mother thought. And it wasn’t applied to a date, also good. But she heard the vulnerability there under the domineering tone. Which meant he could get hurt and she disliked that.
He was very crunchy on the outside, but he had a soft center. It was a poorly kept secret that pleased her to no end.
She hoped very much that his mother understood how blessed she was to have sons like hers as well as a sister who’d raised them when she decided to send them halfway across the world in their teens while she stayed back in Russia.
Maybe held up a deep blue jar. “Smells like the ocean. Many of my clients like it. Want to try?”
His frown made her snicker.
“I have unscented product too. Let’s use that.” She liked to use her fingertips to massage in the pre-shave oil. It enabled her to be more precise. And she liked to touch Alexsei when he was relaxed and at her mercy. He was always on. Always ready to spring to protect, handle or direct someone.
But in her chair, she got to pamper him a little.
Once she’d gotten the hot towel on, she left him for a moment as she sucked down some coffee.
“I’ll stick around until close tonight. That way you can get your mom settled in and not worry,” she told him.
“Too long for you to be here. I’ll come back just before ten. She’ll most likely be sleeping anyway,” he said once she’d taken the towel away. It wasn’t as if he was at Whiskey Sharp every moment of every business day anyway, but she knew he liked to know what was happening and if he was out with his mother, he’d be thinking about it.
But he had other employees, including their shop manager, who handled both the barbershop and the bar when it came to opening and closing and that sort of stuff.
And really, it wasn’t as if anyone could make the man do something he already had his mind set against.