Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Blair

" So, is he your boyfriend? " Claire asked, staring at me suspiciously as we got ready for dinner.

" We haven't defined anything, we're just not seeing other people. Let's see how this turns out," I shrugged.

" They're dating," Alison confided to Claire, ignoring my explanation.

" Didn't you hear anything I said? " I complained.

" What I heard was basically "blah blah blah I'm in love with a Russian commander.” Alisson returned it.

" Let's meet all over the world and see amazing places together," Claire added.

" I give it a year to be at their engagement dinner.”

" Have you gone crazy? How did this jump from a date to a marriage? " I rolled my eyes, helping Alison zipper up her dress.

All right, the two of us had become exclusive, but the whole distance thing still prevailed. I would not move to Russia and he would not come to the United States.

How would we make it work?

The best thing was to make the most of it before it all turned into a mess.

" You can't fool us, Blair. I bet you'll end up spending Christmas with the Voitovich family, and you'll take him on a vacation trip to Cappadocia," Claire nudged me.

" I'll ignore both of you for the sake of my patience," I returned. “And don't think that I haven't noticed your absence today.”

" Joe took us to see the town, " Claire smiled.

Joe? Since when did Miller become Joe to her?

" He just forgot to tell her that he didn't know the city," Alison complained.

" In the end it worked out fine " Claire defended the young man.

I thought of a series of comments about this recent friendship, but a movement in the cottage room made me turn my attention away. Dimitri and his cousin had just arrived, already dressed for their engagement dinner.

" Look how anxious she is. I bet it's to find out whether or not he'll find her pretty," Claire confided to Alisson.

" As if it were possible not to," the other returned, "look at this dress.”

I smoothed the short lilac dress, filled with feathers at the bust. Luke had brought it from Milan on his last trip and I loved it.

" He's under no obligation to think I'm pretty," I murmured.

But it would be nice if he did.

" Are you going to tell everyone that you're not just friends anymore? " Alison asked, finishing her makeup.

" I don't see any reason to, because I don't think anyone cares," I shrugged.

" I don't think he thinks so," Claire hummed as she looked at my cell phone.

" Look at your Instagram," she tossed the device to me.

I glanced at the notification list, showing a picture of me being tagged. I was standing in profile on the patio of the cottage, looking out at the horizon with the sea opening up against the backdrop behind me.

"In great company"

That's what the caption said.

" I thought he didn't have Instagram " I stammered " I didn't even realize he had taken this picture.”

Alison joined us, looking at the picture.

" No wonder you couldn't find it. He uses that strange name. Dimitri Yaroslavovich " Claire pronounced slowly.

" It's a nice picture. Let's see the comments.”

Most of the comments were in Russian, so that it was only possible to understand the content by activating the subtitles.

" They want to know who you are " Alisson teased me.

" Joe said he knows the answer," Claire pointed out.

I exchanged a quick glance with Alisson, which went unnoticed by the girl.

" Look this profile has the same name as the sister he talked about " Claire pointed to Maria Yaroslavovna's profile.

"Wow, is this the Blair you keep talking so much about?"

I felt my heart race as I realized that he was actually talking about me to his family.

"Blair, who is Blair?" was Nadia Ivanovich's comment.

"Where is this town?" Yuri Yaroslavovich seemed more interested in the location.

" His sister knows who you are," Alisson nudged me.

I ignored her, starting to type a comment

" Hey, I didn't know you had Instagram, Great way to stay anonymous, by the way. I love this picture!"

" It would have been better if it was a picture of the two of us together, but this one looks really nice " Claire pointed out.

" Do you have pictures of you together? Because if not, let's fix it today!  " Alison seemed more excited than I was about that post.

Not that I didn't like it, but it was just a picture of me, and there was nothing too big or compromising about it.

" We have pictures in Amsterdam and Zurich," I pointed out.

" You'll definitely need more," Alison hummed.

I decided to go after Dimitri, leaving the two of them to finish getting ready. I found him sitting alone in the private courtyard with his cell phone in hand and a half smile adorning his face, and I wondered why.

" I didn't know that picture existed," I caught his attention.

His gaze ran up and down my body, turning his half smile into a full one.

" Blair, you look beautiful. And you were distracted, I thought the picture would look nice.”

" You know if you're tired of being a pilot, you could become a photographer," I rambled, sitting on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck before kissing his lips.

" I'll take note of your suggestion," he laughed as he pulled away.

" When I couldn't find your Instagram or Facebook, I thought you were one of those recluses who doesn't use social networks.”

He laughed at my comment, kissing my cheek.

" I'm not a recluse, I just prefer to keep in touch with people close to me, so I prefer to use a patronymic to my last name, where any passerby could find me.”

" Almost a thousand followers is not as small and intimate an account as you think," I teased him.

" It's quite small compared to yours. You're practically a celebrity.”

I couldn't help but laugh at his comment, I had a little over ten Thousand  followers and I didn't know a third of those people, but what can I do if they like to follow the pictures I take of the places I visit?

" Actually, it's no big deal. I've seen dog profiles with three times as many followers," I winked at him.

" You didn't mind me posting your picture, did you? " he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

" No, I loved it. It was very good," I replied immediately.

" If it wasn't a good picture…”

" I'd probably report your account," I scoffed.

He laughed, receiving new notifications on his cell phone.

" My sister is curious about you.”

" Your sister is very beautiful.”

" Yes, she is. And thank God she's not naive. So I don't have to worry about any idiots playing with her.”

" Wow, we have a protective brother. I love it," I leaned closer to his neck, sucking in his perfume, "What about your brother?”

" Yuri? He is a good boy. He'll be 18 in December and has been dating my ex sister in law for a while now," he struggled to answer when I nibbled the skin of his neck.

But the last part of his sentence caught my attention, causing me to pull away with a suspicious look.

" ex sister in law? Like the sister of an ex?”

" Yes, Katya is Olga's sister, we broke up almost two years ago.”

I felt curiosity growing inside me, for a moment I pondered whether or not it would be appropriate to question him on the subject.

" And was it serious?”

" Yes, we lived together. But we couldn't cope well with the distance. I mean, I travel a lot and spend days away from home.”

" It's part of the job," I commented, feeling my heart racing at that sentence.

" Yes, but sometimes it's just not meant to be," he shrugged.

If the two of them who lived together couldn't resist the distance, what chance would we have?

What am I doing? This is crazy!

" Are you all right? " he frowned.

" Yes, I'll see if the girls need any help. If they don't hurry we're going to be late," I stood up, trying to get away from his presence a little.

I needed some time to get my head on straight.

I walked into the house, flopping down on the couch as my mind replayed our conversation. I knew that entering into this relationship knowing all the impediments we would face was crazy, yet I couldn't back down. I was completely stuck with Dimitri Voitovich and felt powerless, unable to even wish to break free.

Joe, who was still sitting there in an armchair, stared at me in surprise.

" Is there a problem?”

" The guy I'm dating lives on another continent," I muttered, not caring about keeping up appearances with him.

" Do you want to talk about it?”

" Definitely not.”

" All right, so if you want to keep up appearances, you better take off your face and put a smile on your face, because my cousin is coming," he pointed to the glass door, where Dimitri could be seen approaching.

Luckily for me, the girls left the room ready to go, and a few minutes later we were on our way to the restaurant where dinner was to be held.

Joe was bragging the whole time that he had come up with the perfect engagement present for Abby and Noah.

As soon as we arrived, we got our seats. Everything went smoothly, Abby was looking radiant in her green dress that highlighted her eyes, next to her future husband.

Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell were there begrudgingly, next to Noah's sister Lily Mitchell.

All the dislike I pretended to have for Noah was true and reciprocated towards his sister. Lily, although beautiful, was a hateful creature, just like her parents, in fact, Noah was the only one saved in that family.

The dinner took place without much emotion, Julie seemed to have partially lost interest in Dimitri — maybe Abby said something to her — and with the arrival of the Mitchells, our glamorous profession was temporarily forgotten.

After dinner, Abby decided that she would open the gifts she had received, and we gathered in a space in the restaurant designated for this purpose and watched her excitement and delight as each package was unwrapped.

She picked up a large rectangular package covered with brown paper, tore it open enthusiastically, then stopped herself when a puzzled expression came over her face.

" It took me a long time to choose," Joe declared proudly, "but I finally found perfection!”

Noah joined his future wife, keeping a similar expression to hers.

" Look, Miller, isn't it incomplete? " he questioned as Abby showed him an empty frame.

I frowned, alternating my gaze between the frame and the boy.

" I will make a painting as a wedding gift, it will be framed there," he explained.

" Joe, this is the most ridiculous present anyone has ever gotten," I blinked, stunned.

" Really? " Dimitri stared at me.

" What do you mean? "

" Blair, your idea of the perfect gift was a giant Dutch clog," he pointed out.

" You know it's a sign of good luck," I pointed out.

Everyone's eyes were on us.

" You know you made that up," he returned with amusement.

" You wanted to give me a Dutch clog? " Abby blinked in amazement.

" It was a Dutch clog from Amsterdam," I justified, "it was an original gift!”

" A Dutch clog? " Abby insisted.

" A giant one," Dimitri added.

" I always find the best gifts," I defended myself, "and my parents sent you a silver dining set.”

I handed the box to her, receiving an approving look from the Mitchells.

" Finally a tasteful gift," Noah's mother teased.

" A Dutch clog would be very tasteful," Alison scoffed, lowering her voice beside me.

" I want to know what you will give my cousin," Joe joked, receiving a warning look from Dimitri.

" How? " I alternated my gaze between the two.

" It's nothing," he assured me.

" His birthday is next Wednesday, didn't you know? " Joe ignored his cousin.

I stared at Dimitri, surprised that I didn't know this information. But what could I say? I had never told him my birthday either.

" I know what you're thinking, and it's no big deal," he whispered after a few minutes of privacy.

" Of course it is, I would like to see you on your birthday," I complained.

" Our schedules aren't adding up this month, Blair. You know that.”

" Well, I'll find a perfect gift for you and I'll find a way to deliver it," I assured him, "but for now, we can enjoy our days together.”