𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 ▸ After his restoration, the unthinkable happens - Dimitri tells Rose that loves fades and his has. To add insult to injury, Queen Tatiana ends up murdered with Rose's stake. Dimitri had asked Rose to give him tim...
If they had hoped for a few moments alone when they landed in Seattle, Rose and Dimitri were disappointed. As they stepped on to the private concourse from their flight, Guardian Hathaway was there, in full uniform, waiting for them.
"Mom!" Rose said, doing her best to look enthusiastic. "I didn't expect you to be here?"
"Your father let me know you were coming in today, so I took some leave..." Janine said, trailing off. She had forgotten that Lissa and Christian were also on the flight, so she paused as she saw them tentatively following Rose and Dimitri into the airport, flanked by Castile and Matthews. Recognizing her mother's discomfort, Rose was secretly pleased that Janine had a reason to feel awkward beyond focusing on her relationship with Dimitri. Not one to back down from a situation, Janine stepped forward, starting with the easiest target. Lissa.
"Princess Dragomir. Lovely to see you again," Janine said, giving her a rather awkward hug and air kiss.
Lissa responded in kind, her good manners and aplomb on display as she greeted Janine. "Guardian Hathaway! So pleased to see you—especially on such a special occasion." Special, obviously, referring to Rose being alive and reuniting again with her mother, and not Christian's aunt's actions that had started the whole situation.
"Thank you, Princess Dragomir." Turning to Christian, Janine continued, "Lord Ozera. I am so sorry for everything that has transpired."
Rose had to hand it to her Mom. It was an artful way to cover everything without being too specific.
"Janine," Pavel said, interjecting in what could quickly become a tricky moment. "As always, a pleasure."
"Pavel," she acknowledged. "Always more pleasurable seeing you when the snake is not present." Janine was still a long way away from forgiving Abe for what he'd done, even though it had saved their daughter's life. Pavel chuckled; glad he was not on the receiving end of Janine's anger.
Just when Rose hoped Janine might move on, she turned to her next target. Dimitri.
"You and I need to have a long talk," Janine said with a stern glance, looking almost as scary as her daughter's father as she regarded the 6-foot 7-inch guardian. To his credit, Dimitri solemnly nodded, although with a lover's eyes, Rose could see he was quietly shitting himself.
Rose, hoping they'd have at least the taxi ride to compose themselves, was again disappointed. Janine (or more likely Abe) had organized a mini bus to transport them all to their hotel. The hotel turned out to be the best in the city, and Abe had booked the premier penthouse suite for them to share. With eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, its own full kitchen, dining room, lounge, living and sitting rooms plus a media room and a library, it seemed completely over the top to Rose. But that was Baba for you! The plan was Lissa and Christian would stay for a day so the flight crew could recharge before continuing in Abe's plane to Lehigh. Rose was hoping Janine might take the opportunity to return to that side of the country with them, but she seemed determined to stay with Rose and Dimitri for as long as possible.
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