Lies my husband tells me

Chapter Three

Lorenzo was less than thrilled when I told him I was meeting Sergei for lunch today, but I white-lied it and said he needed help with Stacia's birthday present. He disliked how close I was with him, and how he was with me. It was beyond obvious they only tolerated each other for me; Lorenzo used to swear that Sergei was in love with me; he knew I had a crush on him as a teen, but that's where it ended. Little did he know how right he was.

Max still felt this wasn't necessary, but I needed to do it and as much as I hated not telling him everything, something inside me told me to keep it that way. Maybe for his protection from Lorenzo that he didn't know everything I was up to. I knew I didn't have to worry about my safety being in Little Ukraine, everyone knew I was protected by the Petrov's. I grew up with Stacia and Sergei, if I wasn't at their house, they were at ours, and more times than not, Sergei would have to tag along as added safety measures.

Our friendship brought a lot of business for each other's families and allies in places neither family thought; and still does to this day. DeLuca Construction handles all new builds and remodeling for the Petrov's and their businesses. Odesa's was what I considered their home base, above the restaurant were four floors. The third and fourth floors were connected and divided in half, so Sergei and Stacia had their two-floor condos. The second floor was some security, tech, and storage and then the basement was off-limits.

Walking into Odesa's was like stepping through a portal and being transported to Ukraine. As many times as I've been in here, it always feels like the first time.
"Dobryi den Mrs. DeLuca; Mr. Petrov is waiting for you this way" The hostess smiled at me
"Dobryi den, diakuiu" I followed the hostess with Max on my heels
"You speak Ukrainian very well!" She chuckled,
"I've picked up a few things over the years, mainly the basics, but for amusement, I can attempt to hold a conversation in Ukrainian" I smiled
She laughed as she stopped in front of a set of double doors and knocked; Ivar opened the doors and smiled as soon as he saw me
"Jesse!" He gave me a hug and a kiss on each cheek that I returned, they were the only ones allowed to call me Jesse, and I hated it as I reached adulthood,
"Boss, Jesse is here" he yelled behind him, I could hear Sergei swearing in the background and I laughed
"You look beautiful as ever, Jesse"
"You are handsome as ever Ivar" I gave him another hug as Sergei opened the other door
"My Jessica" Sergei almost pushed Ivar out of the way, giving me this big bear hug and grabbing my hand "Max; You guys grab a table, you and Ivar can have lunch out here"
Max looked like he was about to say something but then changed his mind and nodded as Ivar put his arm around his shoulder and mumbled something as Sergei escorted me inside, the doors closing behind him. Instantly pulling me into a kiss.
"I've missed you..." he breathed
"I've missed you too" and I truly did
He pulled out my chair for me to sit, "Thank you" I smiled at him as he sat down in his chair
"How's the club?" He smiled,
"First week and we're doing well! Opening night was insane! There were so many people!" I sipped my water,
"Who would have thought there's a niche for that" he chuckled
"Women appreciate the male body and attention the same way men appreciate women. And it's a safe place for the women in our lifestyle to have somewhere to go and be safe" My eyes danced across his,
"Smart one there. How are Lorenz and the boys?" He smirked,
"Good, the boys are with Lorenzo's mom visiting family right now. How's the fiancé?" I sighed,
"Bah, she at least understands her place... but some complications have to be figured out before we..." he waved his hand
"Oh! You're actually going to seal the deal with this one?" I looked at him amused,
"Pops said I was running out of time and if I don't pick this one, then he's picking one" he gave me this look
"Oh, I see... they start on Stacia again about getting married?" Last time she was furious.
"They are in negotiations... Stacia refuses to get married unless she can be the one in charge" he chuckled,
"True Stacia fashion" I chuckled
"Yes; I feel sorry for whomever she chooses. I tell Pops all the time I would have been married by now with at least 5 kids if he had let me have the wife I wanted" His eyes darkened,
"I still wish you would have said something when we were younger" I smiled
"Would it have made a difference?" His eyes darted between mine,
"Maybe... but then we wouldn't have what we do now... Maybe it was meant to be like this".