Free A Very Russian Christmas by Roxie Rivera Page A

of the SUV and knew the moment she spotted the new car.
    A gasp escaped her lips. “Nikolai!”
    Grinning, he dug the keys out of his pocket and turned to hand them over to her. “ S Rozhdestvom. Merry Christmas, Vee.”
    Her pink lips remained parted with shock. She blinked a few times and glanced from the keyless fob resting on his outstretched hand to the vehicle adorned with a bow and then his face. “But—we never exchange gifts until January.”
    They had always waited for the traditional Orthodox Christmas date to trade gifts, but this year he had decided to give her the car a few days early. “I wanted you to have it now.”
    “A car?” She looked troubled and bit her lower lip with indecision. “Did you get this from Alexei Sarnov?”
    “Yes. He helped me pick it out.”
    She wrung her hands. “But it’s so expensive.”
    “It’s a gift, Vivian. The price doesn’t matter.” He placed the key onto her hand and curled her gloved fingers around it. “You’re worth it to me.”
    Her gaze skipped to his face. Eyes wide, she stared up at him with an expression he couldn’t place. For a moment, he thought that maybe, just maybe, she felt the same stirrings of love and desire that he experienced every time she was near, but he shoved aside those fanciful thoughts. She saw him as her protector and nothing more. That was the way it had to be.
    “I swore that I would look out for you. Before they died, I promised your grandparents that you would be taken care of and get a good start in the world. This is my way of holding up that promise.”
    A fleeting glint of sadness darkened her eyes. He silently cursed himself for bringing up the only family who had ever shown her kindness or love. The holidays were hard enough for her without being forced to think of the two people she had lost too soon.
    “So that’s it?” she asked carefully. “This is just your way of keeping a promise?”
    Now it was his turn to frown at her. “Of course. What else could it possibly be?”
    Had she figured out that his feelings toward her weren’t completely platonic? Did it frighten her to think of him that way? Was she worried he would try to force her to become his woman?
    “I see.”
    He couldn’t read her voice or her face. Something had just happened between them and damned if he knew what it meant or what he had gotten wrong. Somewhere along the way, their wires had crossed, and now he was the one on the receiving end of a painful jolt.
    “Come on.” He motioned toward the car. “You can drive me to your apartment. Kostya will follow us.”
    She hesitated before trailing him to the car. Her gloved hand glided over the sleek lines of the luxury coupe and patted the showy bow. Studying the key fob, she found the unlock button and pressed it. Nikolai took care of the bow and stowed it in the backseat before sliding into the passenger seat next to her. She figured out how to use the push button start and then stared at the touchscreen that operated the radio, navigational program and more.
    “I don’t know how to use this.”
    He wasn’t surprised. Her last vehicle had been thirteen or fourteen years old. The CD player had been the most technologically advanced item in it. “Here. I’ll show you.”
    Because he had a similar vehicle in his collection, Nikolai was familiar with the interface. He showed her how easy it was to work the climate control and laughed at the scandalized look that crossed her face when he activated her seat warmer. When she handed over her MP3 player, he synced it up with the stereo so she could listen to her music while she drove.
    “If I catch you texting or talking while you drive, I will be extremely disappointed, Vee.” He held her gaze a moment before establishing the Bluetooth connection between her phone and the car. “Promise me that you will be safe.”
    “I promise I’ll be safe if I drive.”
    “If?” He seized on the word as he dropped her phone into a cup holder.