Seventy-Six

VALERIA

"I really don't want to go anywhere, Dimitri. Besides, we have both been up and about this week, going to work and all, so that means I've had my own fair share of going out."

Dimitri shook his head. He was wearing that expression that showed when he was fixated on a particular idea. His eyes glinted in that way that said he would have his way in this too.

"Go out with me," he insisted. He walked across the room and came to a stop at my bed. "We can go anywhere you want. What do say to lunch later at a restaurant I just discovered? If you don't want to do lunch, we could go somewhere you like. You must be bored seating in the house all day. Isn't that what you tell me all the time? How come you're refusing to go out now?"

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I suspected exactly what was going on. I was willing to bet that Dimitri really didn't just want to go out for the fun of it. For instance, I could tell from the way he was currently looking at me like I was the on