“That’s not the point.”
He paused.
“I mean you,” I clarified, pushing myself up onto my elbows. “Areyouenjoying this? On a personal level. As a life experience.”
Misha blinked once.
“I see.” I nodded sagely. “So that’s a no.”
“I did not say no.”
“You also didn’t say yes. You just blinked like a disappointed owl.”
There was a brief pause between us.
“We are … content,” he offered carefully.
“That’s the saddest word anyone has ever used next to a pool.”
His brow furrowed slightly like he was trying to decide if the comment was a criticism.
Danil finally glanced over. “Do you want us to pretend?”
“Yes,” I said immediately. “At least a little.”
Misha considered this with the gravity of a man evaluating a diplomatic treaty.
“I am having a … pleasant time.”
I stared at him for a long moment.
“Unbelievable,” I muttered. “I’m trying to run a morale program here.”
Danil shifted his weight slightly. “Morale was not low.”
“That is a wild standard,” I said, pushing my sunglasses back up. “Your bar is literally ‘not miserable’.”
This was my life now.
I lived in a villa on a hill overlooking the ocean. My closet was so big it could have housed a small, tasteful cult. There was always a driver on standby. There were men with guns to make sure nobody scaled the gate — including me.
Yet somehow, I was still little ol’ me.
I still forgot where I put my phone. I still talked too much. I still tried to befriend people who carried guns all day, every day.
Sliding my sunglasses down my nose, I looked at them again. “You know you can sit, right? Like, rotationally? I’m not going anywhere.”
“We’re fine,” Danil said.
“You say that, but you look like two men waiting for a disciplinary meeting.”
Neither of them reacted. They were probably counting the seconds until Sasha got back and relieved them.
Which, honestly, was fair. They must have had the most boring job in this place.
I rolled over with a sigh, letting the sun warm my skin as I listened to the distant murmur of Russian drifting from the terrace above.
Sasha had this strange gravitational pull. Even when he wasn’t visible, you could sense his presence.