Chapter Seventeen

M I K H A I L

Listen . . . I love Uncle Amos like I love my own father, but at that moment, I has this urge to roll him down the stairs and out of earshot because he’s being a real eavesdropper right now and I hate myself for the fact that I didn’t even notice.

So yeah, the crime would be fueled by self-loathing.

But of course, I just smile and turn to face him, letting Yana cling to my arm. Judged by the way her nails are digging into my skin, I can safely say that we’re having the same bad thoughts.

“There’s no secret, Uncle,” I say with a convincingly cheery tone. “We are thinking about it. We talked about it before but now it’s more . . . public.”

“Yeah,” Yana agrees. “We might not do it anytime soon, though. We both think that it would be too fast.”

“Ah, that I do understand.” He pats us both on the shoulders. “We’re just happy to see you happy. So excuse your mom and dad for jumping the gun. I’m sure they didn’t mean to scare both of you.”

Yana forces a laugh. “Not scared! Just