“Call me Rina, and allow me to ask you to help me choose where we’ll settle. You and my son are the hosts this weekend; we’ll have plenty of time to chat while the boys go hunting.”
Her smile, so similar to Alexander’s for a moment, made it clear where he had gotten much of his character. The uncertainty had made me anxious again, but then Mikhail appeared to greet me, and between speaking with him and shaking the hand of shy Natalya, I couldn’t do much else. The fiancée was petite and very blond as well, with very light, innocent blue eyes. I lost focus when I saw Alexander heading back toward me, accompanied by his father and the children.
Sasha, in her grandfather’s arms, was talking nonstop about her new kitten pajamas and about her friend Stacey, who was also a kitten and had stayed
