02-01-2019, 05:20 PM
Sara was about to retort, but she saw how pleased and excited Claire looked when Ivan struck a pose on the table and bit it back instead. She had no wish to encourage Ivan’s drinking, but good women like Claire deserved more attention from men like Ivan. It was about time!
“Consider me a great deal happier than I was before meeting you Nox,” said Sara getting to her feet. Smiling. “I’ll be here if you want a dance again.”
Sara took Nox’s hug and number— and nodded her thanks. Nox’s gift was astonishingly generous, given how fiercely he protected his privacy. He didn’t feel much like hobnobbing with the other Cafe Mio’s girls. Nox left the two talking and exited through the quiet Cafe. He was a much tougher nut to crack than most. She knew that in her heart as well as she knew anything. A complicated man.
“Are you well enough with vodka?” Sara asked sharply in her clipped accent, sweeping up her skirts and seating herself facing Ivan. “We don’t need you pushing yourself too hard and bleeding internally from some of your old injuries. In a bad way, for our carpets…"
She picked up Nox’s black coffee and sipped it grimacing when she realized it had gone cold. She looked up as Ivan asked about her origins.
“Chisinau, Moldova—wine. Monasteries. Nothing.” She sighed. Her shoulders relaxed. "It all bellied up with the pit fights there. All for money too. It shouldn’t have happened, Lea dying. If we’d had the money for family debts, she’d never have got within spitting distance of staging a fight. Turned out to be just the motivation I needed to get out. You know the rules here. Know them, loathe them, gonna fight to change them. I won’t get us caught without money like that again. When the next financial bubble comes, I’m going to be ready, and that means doing what it takes."
“What did you mean when you said little sisters? There’s a bright side to them not mourning you. Did you fight for money, too?”
Sara