Love in Montana (De La Fuente Family 1)

“Look, you know as much as I do about Poles and about what Yuri suspects as to the identity of your stalker. He has a man watching him so you, and me for that matter, are safe going to Poles.” She smiled. “And if Yuri so happens to be there, then who am I to complain.”

Sylvia rolled her eyes. “One of these days you’ll have the guy and have no clue what to do with him.”

“Oh, I know what I want to do with him. I think.” Talya looked so sad. “He makes me burn, cry, scream and most of all, he makes me love him. I know with one signal from him, I’d throw everything away to be with him. That’s how much he means to me.” She swiped at a stray tear.

“Talya.” Sylvia went to hug her friend, but she pulled back.

“Don’t, Sylvia. Most days, I barely hold it together and if you hug me, I know I’ll lose it. It was so much easier this past week dealing with my feelings for Yuri because I concentrated on you.”

“I wish I could go back to being with Eric before he broke my heart, but I’m glad you had some distraction.” Sylvia kissed her friend on the cheek. “C’mon, let’s go and show those guys at Poles what we can do when we’re not working.”

Talya chuckled. “Yuri will get pissed after he’s picked his tongue up from the floor and Gavriil will spend his time drooling over you.”

“Get real. He doesn’t drool over me. I know he likes me because I actually talk to him, or I did when I was working there, but that’s all it is. Most girls run when they see him, which makes me sad. He’s a great guy. He’s big and doesn’t smile, which doesn’t help win him over.”

“You’re a soft touch.” Talya grabbed her cell, and Sylvia followed her out of the apartment.

* * * * *

Poles was packed solid when they arrived, but lucky for

them, Gavriil had also just arrived so he helped them get to the bar, which tended to be the quieter part of the floor. Servers would serve drinks throughout the evening at the table around the floor, which meant the bar was left open for people who were there for a drink instead of the flesh show.

They were served straightaway and before they could take a sip, Yuri was there glaring down at Talya. He was the only guy she knew who was taller than her friend, even when Talya had high heels on.

“Why are you both here?”

“We were sick of staying in the apartment. Sylvia needed cheering up and we immediately thought of Poles.” She grinned.

What she meant was that she immediately thought of Poles.

“Is that so?” Yuri moved his attention from Talya to her. “How have you been, Sylvia? Eric is annoying, is he not?”

“What?”

“You did not answer how you are doing?” Yuri reminded.

“I’m fine.” Her mind was already distracted after he mentioned Eric.

“Your man is constantly calling to make sure you are alright. I have a feeling you will be seeing him sooner rather than later.”

“I had no idea he’d been checking on me. I thought he didn’t care.” When her lip wobbled, she inhaled and tried to center herself. “He really called you?”

“Daily.”

“Yuri!” Talya huffed. “How come you have only now decided to say something?”

“That might have something to do with the fact that you have been avoiding me.” He pointedly glared at Talya. “But you are here now.”

“I’m here now with Sylvia.” Talya pointed out, unable to disguise the animosity in her voice. She was good and pissed with the big Russian.

“I can see that, moia liubov.”

Sylvia hid her smile as her friend’s gaze softened with the words of love from Yuri. He knew what he was doing with Talya, and he knew how to pull her strings. She knew that her friend would be pissed later when she realized that she allowed herself to be softened up, but Sylvia loved to watch the two of them together.

Sylvia could actually stand and listen to Yuri speak Russian all day. She’d gotten used to hearing him say, moia liubov, my love, to Talya, so that one was easy to pick out. He could be saying something really horrid, but the way he said it in his native tongue was sexy. She had no romantic thoughts about him, but the Russian language worked on her, big time.

The two of them had also distracted her with Yuri’s comment about Eric. Had he really checked up on her? He probably had because there was no way Yuri would lie about something like that. Other stuff maybe, and she sure as hell wasn’t going there.