Chapter 63: Chapter 63

Blair

" Dimitri, are we only going to spend two days at your parent’s house? " I asked as I sorted through the clothes to put in the suitcase we would share for the weekend.

" Yes, you can take that dress," he pointed to a short flowered dress as he stopped beside me at the closet door.

" This one? " I took it apart.

" Yes, I've never seen you wear it," he smiled.

I smoothed the fabric, trying to remember the last time I wore it, definitely before I met Dimitri.

" Are we going out? You didn't say anything to me.”

" It's my mother's birthday, maybe we'll go to a restaurant, or maybe do something at home," he separated two shirts.

That's when I remembered his little burst of post-morphine sincerity almost two months ago.

" Is your sister going to cook?”

" I don't know," he pondered, reaching over to grab his suitcase from the top shelf of the closet.

A few weeks ago I would have called him out for that kind of effort, but I had to realize that I couldn't lock him in a bubble after what had happened, he needed to get his life back on track.

" Well, hopefully we will go to a restaurant. I heard from reliable sources that the last time your sister cooked, it tasted like dirty feet," I teased him, choosing a sandal to match the dress.

That remark surprised Dimitri, who placed his suitcase on the bed, looking at me suspiciously.

" Who told you that?”

I couldn't help but laugh at that question, no one ever told him everything he said and did that day, and I thought it best to keep it that way.

" Maybe one day I will tell you," I winked at him as I sorted through a second choice of dress.

" No, tell me now," he ordered.

But the ringing doorbell gave me the perfect excuse to run away, rushing toward the front door.

" You don't think you're going to run away from the subject, do you? " he followed me in.

" I can't hear you," I crooned, rushing to open the door.

After a brief peek through the spyhole, an automatic smile broke out on my face as I saw who was outside.

" Ethan Roberts, I didn't expect to see you today," I declared, opening the door for the young man.

After he and his father-in-law showed up at our door to talk about my future engagement ring, we met a few times and I couldn't contain my curiosity when I discovered that his girlfriend had a very similar personality to his father.

I couldn't imagine two such different people living together, despite our initial problems, Dimitri and I had very similar personalities and tastes, while from the comments, Destiny seemed to be the complete opposite of Ethan.

" I told Dimitri I was coming," he frowned.

" Then he forgot to tell me." I motioned for the young man to enter the apartment.

Dimitri quickly greeted him, ignoring my earlier comment.

" I'll get you a beer," I warned Ethan before heading for the kitchen.

I returned to the living room, watching Ethan hand Dimitri a box.

" What's this?”

" Nothing," Dimitri assured me.

I alternated my gaze between the two of them, trying to understand what was going on. I walked over to Ethan, handing him the bottle.

" Is that the ring? Let me see it!”

I felt my heart race as I was eager to see the piece that would adorn my finger for the next few months, but to my disappointment, Dimitri laughed, not allowing me to reach for the box.

" No.”

“What do you mean, no? Let me see it! " I pleaded, feeling Ethan's gaze on us after he sat down on the couch.

" You'll see it when I decide to give it to you, not now," Dimitri denied.

I pouted in disappointment, turning to the man who was drinking beer on our couch.

" Don't look at me, I wouldn't let Destiny see it either," Ethan shrugged.

" Thanks," Dimitri smiled, walking to the bedroom with the box.

" But she could do it anyway," he confided, making me laugh.

I sat down in an armchair, noticing how different he looked today; he had abandoned his usual suits and was wearing jeans and a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the first few buttons open.

Ethan Roberts was a very handsome man, not as handsome as Dimitri, but still very handsome and very serious. In the short time I've known him, I could tell he was relentless when it came to work, it was as if he wore serious, focused, unbreakable armor, and this armor disappeared whenever his girlfriend's name came up in conversation.

And that made my curiosity about Destiny grow more and more.

" She always seems to get what she wants," I commented.

" Especially from me," Ethan admitted with a half smile.

I could no longer contain myself at that remark.

" She sounds like an amazing woman.”

" She is, in fact, and today I was forbidden to wear a suit because she came to spend a few days with me.”

This explained her sudden change of style.

" She doesn't like suits?”

" If it were up to her, she would have burned them all and I would only wear Hawaiian shirts," he let out, making me laugh.

" She looks like Blair. If it were up to her, I'd burn all my white shirts.”

Dimitri declared, walking back into the room without the box, to my utter frustration. He stopped next to me, taking stock of the matter.

" Hey, I don't have a problem with your white shirts, I just don't think anyone needs fourteen of them," I glared at him.

That remark elicited a small laugh from Ethan, who took the last sip of his beer and stood up, handing the bottle back to me.

" I have to agree with her on this, it doesn't hurt to vary the colors a little," I stood up, taking the bottle from his hand.

" Soon we will begin to spread the word about the story and your help," Dimitri assured, shaking the man's hand.

That was when a small detail on his wrist caught my attention.

" Do you have a tattoo? " I let out, not realizing how indiscreet my question was.

Ethan turned his wrist slightly, revealing the small design of a slice of cake. He looked a little disconcerted as he explained.

" Short story, Dess and I went to a luau with some friends, everyone got drunk and decided it would be a great idea to get a hula pie tattooed on their wrist.”

What is a hula pie?

" So, you and…”

" Four people," Ethan completed Dimitri's thought.

" You and four other people have a matching tattoo?”

" And you know what the worst part is?”

I nodded, holding myself together as I walked him to the door.

" I was sober.”

I covered my mouth with my hand, stopping myself from laughing, Ethan gave us a half smile before he left for good. We waited for him to turn down the hall before closing the door.

" So, you want to get a matching tattoo? " Dimitri sneered.

" Sorry to disappoint you, commander, but there's no way you can make me voluntarily go near a needle while I'm conscious," I teased, getting a chuckle in return.

Dimitri kissed my scalp before going to the kitchen, and I watched him walk away, still thinking about the box and its mysterious contents.

" Have you already sorted your clothes? I'm going to pack," I said, trying to act natural as I went to the bedroom with a plan already mapped out in my mind.

" Keep the shirts separate, I'll put them on the cover," Dimitri warned.

I looked at the kitchen from the bedroom door, and could see his shadow next to the refrigerator. Great, without wasting any time, I ran to the bedside table, opening the drawers, investigating the contents. There was nothing relevant there, I climbed onto the bed that faced the open closet door, stretching to see if I could find the box hidden on the higher shelves.

" Come on, where did you hide it? " I murmured in French, jumping to the floor and reaching into his coat pocket for something.

I huffed, feeling frustrated to find nothing there. Where would he hide the ring?

I ran to our bathroom, investigating the closet, only to find that we would have to stop at the pharmacy before going to my mother-in-law's house.

I went back to the bedroom wondering where else he might have hidden that ring. I bent down on the floor, trying to see something under the bed, but it was too dark. I was about to grab my cell phone to turn on the flashlight when I felt a presence behind me.

Dimitri was staring at me with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised, I jumped up trying to disguise my real intention.

" Would you believe me if I told you that I lost an earring?”

" No.”

" What if it was a necklace?”

" You won't find it," he assured me, making me snort.

And I didn't, despite searching the room every time he moved away, there was nothing even remotely out of place that would give away the ring's hiding place.