Isn't It Bromantic (Bromance Book Club #4) by Lyssa Kay Adams

            “Very far. Almost three thousand kilometers. I was born in Moscow, actually, but we moved to Omsk after my mother died.”

            Alexis made a sympathetic noise and rested her hand briefly on Elena’s arm. “I’m so sorry. How old were you?”

            “Nine.”

            The pity on their faces stiffened her spine. She could read their minds from the look in their eyes. Poor little Elena, who had to marry her best friend to get out of Russia like an unloved orphan. Who had to learn to cook as a child because her father was off saving the world.

            She lifted her chin. “And to answer your question, Claud, yes, I am leaving soon. I had an interview yesterday with a newspaper in Moscow.”

            It was like a record scratching in the room. Even the TV blaring from the surround-sound speakers seemed to quiet as every eye in the room widened.

            One of the guys did a shitty job of whispering to Vlad, “Is that true?”

            “Yes,” Vlad answered, and she didn’t have to see his face to know he was forcing the word through a clenched jaw. “It is true.”

            So apparently, he hadn’t told his friends yet. And they were not happy about it, judging by the way they crowded around him and began to gesture like a pack of hyenas on a kill.

            “Wow,” Andrea said, stammering to cover the tension. “Congratulations on the interview.”

            “Yes,” Michelle said. “Congratulations. That sounds like a great opportunity.”

            Claud huffed. “When will you be gone?”

            Linda shoved a cookie in her mother’s mouth.

            “I don’t know yet. It was just a preliminary interview, but I—” Elena paused and cleared her throat. “I will be going back to Chicago first anyway. Probably soon.” The words left a sour taste on her tongue.

            “Are you sure?” Alexis said. “We’ve only just started to get to know you.”

            “It’s for the best,” Elena said, forcing her chin higher.

            “Just promise me you won’t leave until we have a chance to get together again,” Michelle said. “Please, Elena. Promise me.”

            She put just enough sincerity into her voice that Elena could almost let herself believe she was part of the club. Or that these women wanted her to be.

            But she knew better. These were Vlad’s people. Vlad’s family. She didn’t belong here.

            The doorbell rang, and the entire room let out a relieved breath.

            “I will get that,” Michelle said, setting down her plate and glass.

            A few moments later, she returned with a dazed, glassy-eyed expression followed by a man in a tight pair of jeans and a leather jacket.

            Every woman swayed on her feet.

            Cheese Man.



* * *



            * * *

            Vlad tipped back his glass and demolished an ice cube with his molars.

            He and the guys were huddled like a sad rec-league team watching the opposing players warm up and wondering where the hell they found the new, young sniper. In the dining room, Cheese Man stood center stage like a celebrity chef at a food show. The women surrounded him, seduced by his every word as he explained the virtues of the slow dairy movement.

            “Do you know what happens when a cow is milked too many times a day? Their stress levels increase, like an overworked mother who just needs a little tender loving care.”

            In the center of the table, he’d set up a Girolle wheel and a fresh hunk of Swiss. With every crank of the handle, he shaved off a feather-thin layer of cheese and a year from Vlad’s nerves.

            “Stress affects the quality of the milk, and that affects the quality of the cheese. They must be treated with tenderness.” He turned the crank and added a little twist to his hips. “Worship the miracle of their bodies. They must be caressed and nurtured. And you can taste the difference.”

            He lifted a slice of cheese and leaned toward Elena, who opened her mouth like a goddamned baby bird and let Cheese Man place it on her tongue. She sighed and closed her eyes.