YURI (Her Russian Protector #3) by Roxie Rivera

What if I did something dumb? Used the wrong fork at a dinner or made some awful social gaffe that humiliated him? God, I'd just die!
    My phone started to vibrate again. I glanced at the screen and saw Yuri's name. Clearing my throat, I took a deep breath and answered. "Hello?"
    "Yelena?"
    My belly wobbled as Yuri spoke my name in that rumbling baritone voice. "Hey, Yuri."
    "You've seen the photo."
    "Yes. I'm sorry. I didn't realize we were being watched."
    "When you're with me, you're always being watched. Don't apologize. I thought it was a lovely photo. Not many couples have their very first kiss captured for posterity."
    I could hear the teasing in his voice. "No, I suppose not. I haven't replied to Ty but I'm tempted."
    "Leave it. It's not worth an online tiff with Houston's biggest gossipmonger. We're still on for Monday night?"
    "Yes."
    "Wonderful. I'll have my assistant, Anna, call you with the details. I have to run out of town for a few days." Regret filled his voice. "There's been a development overnight in one of my business interests abroad. I'm flying out as we speak to deal with it—but I will be back for our date."
    I couldn't believe he was planning to fly to Europe and back—for me. "Yuri, don't worry about it. We can reschedule."
    "Woman, you've evaded me for months. I'm not about to give you a reason to run away from me again."
    A girlish giggle escaped my throat. "Okay."
    "All right. Monday night. I can't wait to see you."
    "Same here."
    "Goodbye."
    "Bye."
    Feeling like a high school kid with her first crush, I couldn't stop the silly smile that spread across my face. Vivian looked so amused. "Oh my gosh! You have it bad ."
    Sliding down in bed, I clutched my phone to my chest and enjoyed the looping track of Yuri's sexy voice playing in my head. Hell, Vivian was right. I had it bad.
    Monday night couldn't get here fast enough.
     

Chapter Four
     
    Monday morning arrived before I was ready for it. Today we were launching the grand opening of Benny's new bakery location. As I dragged my ass out of bed at that abominable hour, I cursed bakers and their terrible work schedules. I could barely function enough to shower and gulp down two cups of coffee. How the hell was Benny going to do this every morning while baking that tiny little Dimitri bun in her oven?
    The couple still hadn't officially announced their impending bundle of joy. It was still very early. I figured they were either waiting for the most dangerous period of the pregnancy to pass or for their wedding in early December or maybe both. Either way it really wasn't my business—but that didn't mean I wasn’t going to be nosy about it.
    When I arrived at the bakery a quarter after five, I found a nice spot in the parking lot. The whole thing had been resurfaced last week and looked perfect. I stopped to admire the mural Vivian had painted along the exposed wall of the new building. She'd brought together the artsy friends she shared a studio space with to complete the project. Every time I looked at it, I found different things to love.
    Inside the bakery, the place was bustling. Benny spotted me and waved. I couldn’t believe how pretty and vibrant she looked this morning. Maybe that saying about pregnancy glow was true. Dimitri sure as heck couldn't keep his eyes off her. She'd put him to work assembling bakery boxes but his loving, hungry gaze remained fixed on her.
    "If he keeps staring at you like that, he's going to set off the smoke alarms!" I gave Benny a quick hug as she joined me near the entrance.
    Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled at her soon-to-be husband. "Well someone wanted to get frisky this morning but we were already running late so I had to shut him down."
    "Ouch. Denied!" I actually felt a little bad for the big blond Russian hunk. After the last few nights of ridiculously sexy dreams starring Yuri, I'd woken up frustrated and needful. Considering some of the hotly whispered stories Benny had told me, Dimitri had