That Summer In The Country

Forty-three:

Forty-three:

It was not terribly easy trying to find an engagement present for the girl that was your first love. Aleksander was working, and Mal couldn't take Alina with him because of the pack of lies he'd created. As he walked in the center of The Islands, there were plenty of designer shops that he could have gotten something from. But nothing seemed right. Everything was oddly impersonal. Did he get her lingerie? Did he get her jewelry? Did he get her something for her kitchen?

"Fancy seeing you here, stranger." He heard a familiar voice speak to him. Mal looked up and saw Zoya standing there with at least a dozen shopping bags in hand.

He smiled at her. "Hello, Nazyalensky."

"Hello, Oretsev."

"Morozova," he corrected.

Zoya smiled at him. "Sure. Ever the people pleaser. Is your girlfriend inside trying things on?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Girlfriend?"

"Alina," she said, "I'm glad the two of you finally got together. You would always ramble about her when you were drunk. I'm just surprised that it took that long."

"Oh. You saw the posts," said Mal.

Zoya shook her head. "No. I didn't see the posts. I met her last night. She was pretty upset. She realized who I was when I told her my name. Pretty smart girl. I wouldn't mind having a go at her myself, if you're willing to share."

Mal bristled. "You'd have to talk with Aleksander. What do you mean, you ran into Alina last night?"

"I gave her a ride home," said Zoya, "I thought that she would have told you."

"No, she didn't," said Mal, "she told us that she got a ride home with some bachelorette party. Was Nikolai there with you?"

Zoya nodded. "But don't worry. Nikolai would ever say anything to anyone. He knows all about our history."

"Does he know about Alina? No one is supposed to know about Alina."

"He has his suspicions because he knows how you and Aleksander do things," said Zoya, "I never told him anything about Alina, though. I know how private the two of you are about who you're with."

"That's information that he could use against us, Zoya," he said.

"He won't," Zoya assured him.

"How can you be so sure?"

She smiled. "Because he would never fuck me again if he fucked with you."

Mal smirked. "Always so eloquent."

Zoya shrugged. "I have a way with words. So, are you waiting for Alina to get done with her shopping? Is that why you are wandering outside like a lost puppy dog?"

He shook his head. "No, I ran into Genya the other day. She invited me to her engagement party. She wanted me to meet David, I guess."

Zoya smiled. "You'll like David. He's nice."

"Wonderful. Nothing like watching the woman I love move on with a nice guy. It will be fantastic."

"Can I give you some advice?" Zoya asked.

"You can," Mal said, "it doesn't mean that I will listen to you."

"Don't go to Genya's engagement party. You know how Genya is. She was probably just trying to be nice. I think you should forget about the whole thing. You don't owe her this. Go back home. Go hang out with Alina. Let Genya be happy, okay? She's moved on, and after all of the terrible stuff that happened to her, she deserves to be happy."

Mal sighed, running a hand nervously over his head. "Do you really think so? Because I've been thinking that I shouldn't be going all day. But Aleksander was really pushing it, and so I was going because he wanted me to."

"Forever the loyal little brother. You know, you do too much for him. Do you even want to be at Uni right now?"

He shook his head. "Uni wasn't my plan. But Dad doesn't think I'm serious enough to run a company."

"Well, your father doesn't know you."

He snorted. "I know. I'm not an idiot. But it's no use. The way he's got my trust fund set up, part of the terms is that I have to graduate from college. If I don't finish, I don't get a single cent."

"What if you were working for someone?" Zoya asked. "You're brilliant, Mal. You shouldn't let Aleksander steal the show just because he is the heir to your father's company. You should strike out on your own."

Mal snorted. "How should I do that? Who the hell is going to hire me, Zoya? No one is going to want to do that because they know that I'm a Morozova."

Zoya tilted her head to the side. "Nikolai would."

"I can't work for Petyr Lantsov. I would never be allowed in my home ever again."

"It's not Petyr that you would be working for. Nikolai and I are going to be starting our own company. Now, you wouldn't be a CEO but you would be CFO. I know how good you are with the financial side of things."

Mal sighed. "Let me think about it."

"Okay. But you aren't going to Genya's engagement party, right? At least I can promise you that."

He grinned. "Yeah, I'm not fucking going to Genya's engagement party. That, I can most definitely promise you, Nazyalensky."

She smiled. "Good. You deserve to be happy Mal. You don't have to share everything with your brother. Get something for yourself. Including the girl. You deserve happiness, Mal."

He smiled. "Thanks, Zoya. I'll think about that."

"So," said Zoya, "I do have to go to the engagement party because Genya is my best friend. Do you want to help me stall for time until then?"

"Sure, why the hell not? I've got nothing else to do for the day."

Mal looped his arm through hers, and the two of them went off. For the first time in a while, Mal felt lighter.