A Very Russian Christmas (6 page)

“It’s nice to meet you, Quade.” To his credit, Quade didn’t hesitate to shake hands with him. Considering the photographers milling around the place, it said a lot about the football player to know that he wasn’t reticent about being photographed getting chummy with an openly gay man.

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“So what have you two been chatting about all night?”

“Your sister was telling me all about her telescopes and the research she’s been doing at Rice for the last three years.”

Ty inwardly winced. Once Cait started talking about her work, she had such a hard time turning off the spout of knowledge that wanted to keep pouring from her mouth. Smiling at Quade, he playfully asked, “Did we learn anything interesting?”

“She told about that asteroid she discovered.”

“Comet,” Ty corrected carefully. “She discovered a comet.”

“Right,” Quade said with embarrassment. He glanced at Cait. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Her clipped reply convinced Ty she was anything but fine.

An uncomfortably tight silence settled around their trio. Ty wasn’t at all surprised when Quade’s gaze flicked to a small group of nearby women. Wanting to make the transition easy for everyone, he tapped Quade’s arm and said, “Well, I hope you don’t mind but I need to borrow my sister for the rest of the night. Is that okay?”

“Oh. Um…sure.” Quade couldn’t hide the relief on his handsome, clean-cut face. The popular athlete bent down to give Cait a quick hug and smiled down at her. “I had a nice time, Caitlin.”

“As did I.” She parroted the expected reply, but Ty sensed she hadn’t enjoyed herself at all.

The football player didn’t ask to see her again or stick around a moment longer than necessary. He had the decency to head for the bar instead of making a beeline to the bevy of big-haired Texas beauties who wanted a chance to roll around in his bed.

“I really screwed that one up, didn’t I?” Caitlin sounded so down on herself, and it just killed him. “I tried, but I was so worried about what to say and what
not
to say and then he asked about work and I thought maybe he really was interested so I—”

“Sugar,” he interrupted gently with a finger to her lips. “Breathe. In. Out.” She followed his directions to the letter, and he lowered his hand. “Did you like him?”

“He was okay.”

“Just okay?” There were women who would sell an ovary for a chance to date Quade, but Cait seemed totally oblivious to his charms.

“He had a nice smile. He was kind to me.”

“A nice smile and kindness is a good place to start.”

“I don’t think I’ll see him again.” Her eyes were trained on the bar where Quade chatted up a stunning brunette.

“No, I don’t think you will.” Cait had always preferred honesty so he gave it to her in black and white. “Look, not every date is going to work out, okay? There will be some really fantastic dates and some truly awkward ones.”

“Some of them are fantastic?” She looked skeptical. “All of my dates are awkward.” Her mouth slanted. “This is pointless. I keep asking Mom not to make me do these but—”

“Stop asking her, Caitlin. Just tell her.” He placed his hand against her cheek. “Sweetheart, you’re twenty-three years old. You’re a world-renowned astronomer. I’ve watched you stand up to Nobel Prize winning scientists to prove your theories. You can stand up to our mother.”

“And then what?” she asked nervously. “What happens after I tell her no more interfering?”

“You date the guys you want to date.” He considered the way her Asperger’s Syndrome affected her life. The same differences in her brain that made her a brilliant scientist also caused her such difficulties in her personal life. Her very mild form of autism made it difficult for her to understand the social norms that he took for granted. She never let it stop her from trying new things though. Sometimes he stood in awe of the courage she displayed. “Or you don’t date at all. It’s up to
you
. Whatever you want to do is okay, Cait.”

“I do want to date. I want to fall in love and be happy.”

“But?”

“But I can’t even get a date unless my mom sets me up!”

“You can get a date. You’re just not looking in the right places.”

Perplexed, she asked, “What are the right places?”

“There’s not a master list, Cait. You have to go out and have fun for yourself. The right guy will eventually cross your path. Sort of like that comet of yours,” he added with a wink.

That didn’t cheer her up. In fact, it seemed to make her even more panicked. “Oh God, Ty! Do you know what the statistical probability of me finding that comet was? If you consider the number of single men of marriageable age and the various places I visit in, say, a one year period and then factor in—”

“Cait,” he interjected with a laugh. “Honey, you’re doing it again.”

She rolled her lips under. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. We’ll work on it, okay?” He linked their arms together and pecked her cheek. “After the New Year, we’ll practice. I’ll hold a boot camp at my place, and I’ll teach you the art of dating.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“You mastered calculus in, like, kindergarten, Cait. You can learn the rules of dating in no time.”

“And then?”

“And then I’ll unleash you on Houston’s single men,” he said with a laugh and twirled her onto the dance floor.

Smiling, she let him tug her close and lead her in the two-step. “What about you, Ty? Do you think you’ll find the one?”

She had that unnerving way of always asking the one question he didn’t want to answer. Tonight was no exception. “I’ve got my eyes open. If he crosses my path, I’ll snatch him right up.”

He didn’t tell her about the big sexy beast of a Russian who had crossed his path a few months earlier. Dark-haired and handsome, Vasya Fedorov made Ty’s heart race and his palms sweat. He hadn’t felt so excited or nervous around a man since the first time he had recognized his attraction to Jed that summer at the country club. What a lifetime ago that was!

Lena’s new Russian bodyguard had him all torn up inside, never knowing if he was coming or going. He had been sure at Benny Burkhart and Dimitri Stepanov’s wedding that he was going to finally get Vasya right where he wanted him. The silent, brooding Russian had beckoned him to follow, and Ty had bounded after him like a puppy chasing its new master.

But once Vasya had him alone in that cabin on Yuri’s yacht, the burly man had shut him down. Ty hadn’t even been able to sneak a kiss. Vasya had accused him of being too much of a player to date. Apparently the slightly older man didn’t do one-night stands or casual hookups. To say Ty had been shocked was an understatement. Even now, nearly three weeks later, he didn’t know how to process that bizarre interaction.

“I’ve been invited to visit Moscow.”

“What?” He missed a step but managed to recover quickly. Pulling back slightly, he peered into his sister’s face. “When?”

“February. The ISON network is headquartered there.”

She said it as if he should know what that meant. “And that’s important because?”

“Because they have dozens of telescopes and data crunching centers solely focused on tracking objects in space,” she explained.

“Like your comet?”

She smiled. “Like my comet.”

“Well—then you have to go, right?”

“I think I do.”

“Do you
want
to go?”

She shrugged. “I speak Russian fluently so that’s not an issue. I don’t enjoy the physical act of traveling but I do enjoy new places. I would like to be face-to-face with some of the colleagues I’ve been corresponding with via email for the last few months.”

“I think you should go, Caitlin. It will be good for your career. How long will you stay?”

“A university there has offered to host me through the summer. The department here supports the exchange.” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “I haven’t spoken to mom yet. Dad said he was thrilled when I spoke to him earlier this morning.”

“I’m sure he’s very proud of you, Cait.” Ty scanned the room for their father, not at all surprised to find the man on the complete opposite side of the ballroom from their mother and chatting up a woman who couldn’t be any older than Cait.

Why their parents had remained in a marriage that made them both miserable confounded Ty. Divorce wasn’t nearly the coffin nail that it had once been for politicians, and their father had made sure to get a pre-nup before tying the knot so money wasn’t the issue. Obviously, something held them together, but he had never been able to figure out what the hell it was.

“Will you come see me in Russia?”

“Of course!”

“Promise?”

“Yes.” So happy for Cait’s skyrocketing career, he kissed her cheek and continued to spin her around the dance floor. He took care to keep her on the far side, away from the live band. Though sensitive to loud noises, she took great pains to attempt to function like a neurotypical. Learning to dance and going out with her tight-knit group of friends was one way she had attempted to tackle her fear of social situations. She might struggle with subtle emotional cues, but she had quickly mastered the art of dance and seemed to love the constant motion.

Just after nine, he sneaked her off the dance floor and out to the lobby where they handed over their valet tickets. With the family photographs out of the way earlier in the evening, there was no reason for them to stick around any longer. They had done their duty to their mother by posing in her holiday snapshots and faking the perfect happy family. Their part played, it was time to bail.

“Would you like to come over for breakfast?” he asked as she slid behind the wheel of her coupe. “I’ll make pancakes.”

“Okay. I’d like that.”

“Great. Um—let’s say nine or nine-thirty?”

She blinked twice. “Which one, Ty? You have to pick.”

Rolling his eyes, he gave one of her long blonde curls a playful tug. “Nine-thirty.”

“All right. I’ll be there at nine-thirty. Should I bring something?”

“Just your smile, sweetness.” He gave her one last goodnight smooch before shutting her door and walking back to his idling car. The drive to the penthouse he had purchased earlier that year in the Museum District wasn’t very far. Too tired to deal with the parking garage, he pulled into the curved drive and chose to use the valet. He pressed a nice tip into Tony’s hand because it was so cold out and headed into the building.

The concierge smiled at him as he neared the main desk. “Good evening, Mr. Weston. How was the gala?”

“It was nice. Do I have any mail, Joel?”

“Yes, sir.” Joel grabbed the letters from his slot and passed them over. “Here you are, Mr. Weston.”

He glanced at the addresses. “My sister will be stopping by in the morning. You know how she can be about showing up too early.”

Joel chuckled knowingly. “I’ll make sure Casey knows to gently prod her into the elevator so she isn’t waiting down here for half an hour again.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure.” Joel pointed to the seating area in the lobby. “There’s a gentleman waiting to see you, Mr. Weston. He said he’s a friend but he wasn’t on the guest list. I thought he might be a colleague of Mr. Novakovsky’s so I had a pot of tea sent out to him while he waited for you.”

“A friend of Yuri’s?”

“He’s Russian. I just assumed.”

“Thanks.” Ty tapped his mail on the concierge desk and backed away to see this mysterious visitor. He had taken exactly three steps into the main area of the lobby before his heart stuttered in his chest and the breath rushed from his lungs. “Vasya?”

The giant Russian rose from the leather sectional where he had been reading a magazine. He made a simple V-neck tee and blazer paired with jeans look insanely sexy. “Good evening, Ty.”

“Um…hi.” At a loss for words, Ty stared at the man who had the starring role in his dreams. “I thought you were in Russia with Yuri and Lena.”

“I was.”

“But?”

“But I decided it was time for me to take a vacation.”

“To Houston?”

“It is where you are—and that is where I want to be.”

Mouth dry, Ty wondered at Vasya’s change of heart. “Why?”

Glancing around, Vasya asked, “Can we speak somewhere more private?”

“Sure.” Ty decided he really wanted to hear whatever Vasya had to say. “You can come up to my place.”

“I would like that.” Vasya bent down and retrieved a red gift box adorned with gold ribbon that had been hidden from Ty’s view.

“It’s this way.” Trying not to get too excited about the gift Vasya held, Ty led the Russian hunk to the elevators and retrieved his keycard to activate the private access to his penthouse suite.

The doors had barely closed before Vasya reached out and traced the lapel of his tuxedo. “You look very nice tonight.”

“If I had known you were going to be in town, I would have made sure you had a ticket to the gala.”

“That is not my crowd.”