Richard gave Nina an apologetic look, which she ignored. I had a feeling that she was going to be milking his misstep for some time to come. She seemed like the type of person that would use the situation to get him to shower her with gifts as an ‘apology.’
“Are your classes over for this year?” Richard asked pleasantly as he turned his attention back to me. It felt awkward to ignore what had been said over the last few minutes to pretend that we were just a normal group of people, but I’d play along if it would get this dinner over with sooner.
“We have a couple of weeks off,” I told him with a tense smile. “Ryan and I will work on flexibility and core strength before our intensive summer session starts.”
“Summer school?” Richard questioned. “Is that a normal part of the curriculum, or do you have to make up school-work from earlier in the year?”
“It’s normal,” I assured him. “Our classes are spread out over the whole year so that we have more time for dance. We usually do our academic stuff between 11:30 and 2:30 so that we have the rest of the day for dance classes.”
Richard’s jaw dropped. “You only spend three hours a day in school?”
“No,” I laughed. “Our school day starts at eight in the morning and finishes at six in the evening. Most of our classes are dance-related instead of book-based. We have technique classes, a classical variations class, a partnering class, and I have pointe classes while Ryan is in a class for male dancers. Plus, we have all of our performance prep and rehearsals.”
“But you get a high school degree from that?” Richard questioned.
I nodded.
“It’s an excellent school,” Ryan interjected. “Almost all the graduates go on to place in professional companies within a year or two of graduation.”
“And how many go to college?” Richard asked.
I tried my best not to be annoyed. What was this man’s obsession with college? Not everyone needed to go to a four-year university for their career. Some people went to a technical school or got jobs right out of high school.
Neither Ryan nor I answered, and Richard realized he might have pushed too hard. “I know I sound critical right now,” he said gently. “But I would say the same thing if my boys wanted to go to a school that was mostly sports and a few academic classes over their lunch break.”
“We go to school six days a week instead of five, and we do field trips, labs, and projects on our days off,” I told him defensively.
Richard sighed. “I was hoping to ease into this transition by asking you to spend the summer with us, but Katya,” he paused, and dread filled me. “Your mother and I would like you to move back to Bedford to live with us.”
My jaw dropped. “I don’t mean any offense, Richard,” I said stiffly. “But this is something that my mother and I should discuss.”
I turned to Nina with a cold stare. “You’ve never even wanted to meet me before. Why would you tell your new fiancé about me? Why would you want me to move in with you?” I asked her in disbelief.
“She didn’t tell him,” Maverik said quietly. “Dad’s security team did.”
I sat back in my chair and started to laugh as I realized the truth. “He found out your sordid secret, so you pretended that you care about me?”
“Katya,” Nina said sweetly. “I told you that I’ve wanted to meet you for the longest time. Your grandmother kept me away; she said you would be happier without me in your life. When Richard told me that she had passed away, I realized I had to come right away.”
Yeah, right.
She meant she had to cover her tracks once Richard found out she was hiding so much from him. Richard might believe this bullshit, but I wasn’t buying it.
“The Logans are my guardians now - Babulya made sure of that,” I retorted. “And the soonest you could come was two months after she died?”
She opened her mouth to respond, but I kept going.
“Legally speaking, you aren’t my mother,” I told her coldly. “You can’t make me go anywhere with you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” she said triumphantly. “I signed over guardianship to your babushka, but she never officially adopted you.”
“What?” I asked incredulously.
Babulya always had to show extra paperwork along with my birth certificate when she signed me up for classes to prove that she was authorized to do so. I’d never bothered to look at any of it - I had just assumed it was proof of adoption. Neither Babulya nor I had ever expected to see Nina again, so I doubted Babulya had ever worried about Nina trying to take me away from her.
“I had my team of lawyers review everything,” Richard confirmed. “Guardianship can only pass to the Logans if your mother allows it, and after our talk tonight, I agree that it would be better for you to come with us.” He turned to Ryan. “I don’t doubt that your parents love you, but they’re indulging you too much. I don’t want to see Katya fall into the same trap.”
“This is ridiculous.” I stood, and Ryan followed my example. “Richard, thank you for the enlightening dinner, and I wish you luck with your lovely family,” I said angrily.
