Love in E Flat (27 page)

“Well, thank you,” Lou said.

“You are all welcome. It was my pleasure,” Agata said, tossing down her napkin.

Luke returned and set down the bill, which Agata signed. “I have not eaten this well since—”

“Lou won the bet and brought you here,” Luke said happily, then realized what he had said.

Edie froze, Lou looked at Luke as though he was insane, and Agata seemed confused. She looked around the table. “What bet?”

Luke picked up his receipt, did an about-face, and scooted off, nearly running into several customers. He walked past the bar and scurried into the kitchen.

Agata turned back to the table. “What bet?” she asked again, this time setting her attention to Lou.

“Boy, it’s getting late.” Lou looked at her watch, which she did not have. “Got a big day tomorrow.”

Agata stood with the rest of them. John helped Edie with her coat; she awkwardly stood waiting for John.

Sensing the tension, Agata walked over to Edie. “I do not know what bet was, but I will find out from Lou. We Russians have our way of getting information. Thank you again, Edie. We had a wonderful time. We will talk in the morning.” She kissed and hugged Edie and John, who in turn hugged the kids.

There was a whole lotta kissing and hugging going on as Lou stood back. Agata smiled as she buttoned her coat, regarding Lou, who offered a sick smile. Agata stood in front of her. “I am going to find this amusing?”

“I certainly hope so,” Lou said.

“Well, we will save it for tomorrow. It is late, and I need to get the children back to the hotel.”

“Okay, well…” Lou stammered. “Good night, Aggie.”

“Good night, Comrade,” Agata said, kissing her cheek. “We will talk of this bet. The Cold War is not over yet.”

Chapter 20

“So Agata was part of a bet between you and Luke at the restaurant? Boy, my wife will need details on this one.” Nick dumped cream in his coffee and stirred as he watched Lou look out the window of the diner.

The early Saturday Christmas shoppers looked like ducks in a shooting gallery as they scurried back and forth. The morning was cold and sunny, but it was probably the forecast for snow later in the day that had the Christmas ducks out in droves. As he waited for Lou to answer, and he hoped she would speak at some point, Nick had the opportunity to think about the past few days: meeting Lou, Edie and John, and Agata and the children. He laughed to himself, remembering them sitting in his cab like idiots in front of that building thinking Agata was some Russian agent only to find out she was settling the legalities for Dmitry and Ana.

The thought of those youngsters had him glancing back at Lou. What a bad thing to have happen to her as a young kid. He would tell Lou later how he did more Googling—with his wife’s help—and found out what happened to Lou when she was nineteen. She was something of a wunderkind in the soccer world. She had phenomenal athletic DNA from both parents, so her future seemed set. And as usual, when the world is dangled in front of you, you want to grab it. And when you’re told how great you are, you believe it, and the ego takes over. That was when bad things happened. And sometimes, more than sometimes, bad things happened to good people.

He took a drink and watched Lou, who stirred her coffee. “You gonna drink that?”

Lou looked up and blinked. She smiled then. “Yeah.”

“So tell me about this.”

He listened as Lou told him about the concert, about how they met, and the bet with Luke.

“Ron and Edie seem to think I’m a better writer, and I would get more out of the interview with Aggie. So we devised the plan for me to meet her, then Luke didn’t believe me when I told him about that damned song and the 1994 Olympics, so he bet me, and we used Aggie as the wager. I never said anything to Aggie.” Lou looked at Nick then. “Why would I? She was just an interview, something I was doing for Edie and the paper.” She stopped and took a drink of coffee before continuing. “So last night, Luke, and I can’t blame him, he didn’t mean anything by it, he made reference to the bet. You could have knocked Edie over with a feather. She was stunned, so was I. And Luke nearly killed three customers trying to run back to the kitchen.”

Nick chuckled at the mental picture but said nothing. He waited for Lou to finish.

“So Aggie was rightfully confused, then upset, but she handled it with grace and humor. But advised me we would talk about it today.”

“And you’re afraid she’ll…” Nick stopped and cocked his head. “Just what exactly are you afraid of?”

Lou chuckled. “I’m not sure.” She sat back and let out a dejected sigh. “I guess I figure I deserve this, whatever happens. I’m always fucking shit up…”

Nick raised an eyebrow at Lou’s angry tone. He looked at his watch. “It’s ten thirty. I take it you haven’t talked to her yet this morning.”

“No.”

“At least wait until you talk to her before you go off and have this ended before you even get it started.”

“I know, I know. After meeting her and having dinner, I…I never thought of the stupid bet again. I was go glad to have the chance to spend time with her and get to know her. Right off the bat, I liked her. And now I’m…”

“You’re what?”
 

The waitress came up to refill their cups; after she left, Lou answered Nick. “Now I think I’m in love with her.”

Nick nodded and smiled. “Wow.”

“I know, everyone keeps saying that. And I know it sounds so full of mush and romantic crap, but I really think I am.”

She looked helplessly at Nick. “What do I do? I don’t wanna screw this up. But I don’t know what we’re getting into here. She’s from another country, for chrissakes. She travels all over. And now, she’s legally responsible for two kids. Where do I fit in this equation?”

“Where do you want to fit in?” Nick leaned forward. “You say you’re falling for Agata. Are you sure this isn’t just a fling for both of you? It would be okay if you both enjoyed each other while she’s here, then she leaves. Isn’t that enough?”

Lou put her elbows on the table and buried her fingers in her hair, angrily scratching at her scalp. Nick watched and tried not to laugh at her exasperated posture. She started to say something, then she stopped. Nick watched, hiding his grin as Lou did this several times. Finally, Lou rubbed her face so hard, Nick winced. Lou looked at him, and Nick waited.

“Yes?” he said hesitantly.

Lou held her hands out in a helpless gesture. Again, she looked as though she wanted to speak.

Nick gave her an encouraging nod. “Go on…”

“No, it isn’t enough,” Lou said. “I’m falling for Aggie, if I’m not already there. I know it hasn’t even been a week. But we’ve spent most of that time together.” Her smile had Nick smiling, as well. “I don’t know where this will lead, but I want to take a chance with her, if she wants to, as well. So I’ll explain the asinine bet and hope she doesn’t think I’m a complete
idiotka
, as she says.”

Nick laughed at that. “Well, then you’re wasting time sitting here with an old man.”

“Do you think I’m making a mistake?”

“You know the answer to that. And it doesn’t make a bit of difference what I think or anybody else for that matter. The only thing that would be wrong now is knowing what you two are, knowing what you two have, and what you two feel, you didn’t try and make a go if it.”

Lou immediately frowned, her gaze darting around the small diner. “Spencer Tracy?”

Nick nodded proudly and raised his coffee cup. “
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
, 1967.” They both laughed for a moment or two. “But the sentiment is still the same.”

Lou stopped laughing and agreed.

“Now go get that Russian beauty. I got a cab to drive.”

*******

Lou walked past the hotel several times until she took a deep breath and walked through the revolving door. The timing was almost too perfect, if that was possible. She had called Edie, who already spoke with Agata, her new BFF, which Lou thought was sweet. She was glad Edie, John, and Agata got along so well so quickly. And the kids were very excited about going to Edie and John’s for the day, which is where they were already. John had come by to pick them up for their Christmas excursion. So Lou had Agata all to herself; she wondered if that was a good idea or not.

She took the elevator and concentrated on the digital floor numbers ascending. With each number, Lou’s heart raced until it was at near stroke level when Agata’s floor number came up and the elevator doors opened. She took a confident step out of the elevator and fought the urge to turn around. After a few more self-assured strides, she stood in front of Agata’s door and knocked a few times.

When she saw Agata’s smiling face, all her nervousness and troubles seemed to be forgotten, though her heart still thumped in her chest.

“G’morning,” she said when she found her voice.

Agata grinned and stepped back. “Good morning.”

Lou walked in tentatively and took off her coat. “How are you?”

Agata took Lou’s coat and set it on the chair. “I am doing very well. And you?”

“I’m good.” Lou rubbed her hands together. “You’re okay?”

Agata raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Should I not be?” She walked over to the couch. “Come in and sit.”

Lou followed her and sat in the chair next to the couch. “Okay…” Lou started and stopped.

“Okay.” Aggie grinned. “This is new American game?”

“What? Oh…” Lou laughed nervously. “No. I… Okay, let me explain about the bet.”

“Good.” Aggie sat back as if waiting for a good story.

“Okay. Here’s what happened. After we went to your concert, Edie and I went to The Gage. And we told Luke about what you had played, then it struck me how Oksana Baiul skated to it in the Olympics, and Luke didn’t believe me, so he bet me. I knew I’d win the bet, so I said fine, I wanted dinner there on him. He said fine, but he’d pick my date. I said fine.”

“So far everything is fine,” Agata interjected.

She was frowning, which didn’t bode well for Lou. “Yeah, well, I was right, and Luke said I had to bring you to dinner because he knew we didn’t hit it off so well and figured you hated me…” She stopped to give Agata a chance to argue that particular point—which, to Lou’s dismay, she did not. Lou sighed and continued, “So I had no choice. It was a bet, ya know. I had to. Anyway, Edie and I figured it was a good way to finish the interview with you, and well, you know the rest.”

“And you lost bet?”

Lou grinned and shrugged. “No, I won.”

Agata regarded Lou for a moment. “Is hard to stay mad when you say sweet things to me.”

“I like to say sweet things to you,” Lou said. “And it’s true.”

“I know. Edie told me.”

Lou’s head shot up. “What?”

Agata grinned. “I talked to Edie this morning and she, how did she say…Ah, yes, she spilled her guts. That is disgusting American term, by the way.”

Lou glared at her as she sat forward. “You let me—”

“Spill guts?”

“—and you didn’t stop me?”

Still grinning, Agata shook her head. She then patted the cushion next to her. Lou raised an eyebrow but made a beeline to the couch. Agata took her hand. “I understand what happened. Is crazy, but you are crazy, so it oddly seems like a natural thing.” She picked up Lou’s hand and gently placed a kiss on her knuckles. “This is what I will have to put up with—craziness?”

There was no way Lou could verbally respond; she couldn’t even swallow, so she merely nodded.

“Lou,” Agata started, “I could not sleep a wink last night with all the thinking I am doing about us.”

“I adore your broken English.”

“Listen to me,” Agata said. “One of us has to be serious about this. I know we have great deal of differences between us. It would be hard to count how many. I try and try,” she let out a deep sigh, “but I cannot deny my feelings for you.” She reached up to cup Lou’s face between her hands. “You feel the same?”

“Yes, I do,” Lou said softly.

“Then I want you should make love to me, to make love with me.” She stopped. “I am not saying it right, I know…”

Lou pulled her into arms and kissed her gently at first, then deepened the kiss. “You’re saying it just right, Aggie. Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am sure.” Agata stood and took Lou by the hand. “No more talking, Loushka. Yes?”

She led Lou to the bedroom, then to the bed. To Lou’s delight, Agata ran her fingers through her hair. Her body started shivering, and Lou knew it was only the beginning—in a matter of moments, her body would not be hers. Agata would lay claim to her—body and soul—and the idea filled Lou with such anticipation, she nearly screamed out and Agata hadn’t even touched her yet.

“I want, Lou,” she whispered, urging Lou to lie down.

Lou groaned and was helpless to argue. Never had she wanted or needed anyone more. This feeling of love was new to Lou; it was just plain crazy, and Lou loved every minute of it. She adored this woman. Lou gently lay Agata back against the pillows and lay next to her.

“Kiss me again, please,” she begged.

Lou pulled her into her arms and kissed her. “God, Aggie, you feel so good.”