Chapter Seventeen: The Rules Change

Irina sat at the head of the dining room table, waiting patiently for her daughter and Michael to come down to breakfast. Sydney would undoubtedly be upset that Irina had requested her presence before the afternoon, but the girl had to learn that she was not in a position to give such orders. She had let Sydney and Michael enjoy the night together. Now it was time to get down to business.

They entered the room together now, Sydney dressed in a black sleeveless mock turtleneck, a short black skirt, and tall black boots, Michael more casual in a black button-down and dark blue jeans.

"Good morning, Mother," Sydney said, dropping a kiss on her mother's cheek before taking the seat adjacent to Irina. Irina smiled approvingly. Of course Sydney wouldn't throw a fit about being summoned earlier than she'd requested. She knew her place better than that.

"Irina," Michael said, taking a seat across from Sydney. Irina and the young man hadn't spoken since he'd called her a bitch and stormed out of her office. She wished he'd learn to control his temper.

"Good morning, Sydney, Michael," Irina said, nodding at the two of them. "I trust you slept well."

"Absolutely." The furtive smile Sydney shot Michael told Irina that they hadn't gotten much sleep at all.

"Good," Irina said with a nod. "I wanted to confirm that the mission went well, then the two of you are free for the remainder of the day. I'm not hungry myself, but would the two of you like something to eat?" She watched as her daughter and Michael held a silent conference with their eyes before Sydney spoke for the two of them.

"I think we'll go out for breakfast after we've finished here," she said. "We have some shopping to do, and a few other things to take care of."

"Really?" Something felt wrong to Irina. The two of them were definitely hiding something from her. "Like what?"

Sydney looked at Michael, asking him a question with her eyes. Michael nodded in response. Irina fought the urge to roll her eyes. What, the two of them were communicating telepathically now?

"Well, Mother, we wanted you to be the first to know." Irina's eyes widened as Sydney lifted her left hand to reveal a glittering diamond. "Michael and I are engaged."

"Well." Irina wasn't sure why this surprised her. Yes, she had seen Michael's eye begin to wander, but she had sensed that Sydney had a firm claim on his heart. "I suppose congratulations are in order."

Sydney's face broke into a relieved smile, and once again Irina fought the urge to roll her eyes. If Sydney had really expected her to fly off he handle about this, she didn't know her very well at all. So this changed the rules of the game a little. Irina could still play.

"Things to take care of," she mused, glancing from Sydney to Michael and back again. Their eyes betrayed an odd combination of excitement and fear. Not so different from any soon to be married couple, she supposed. "You don't mean you intend to get married today, do you?"

"Not today." Sydney reached across the table to take Michael's hands, a happy grin lighting up her face. "We need to see about a marriage license, and we need to buy wedding bands, and a dress for me."

"Yes," Irina said with a smile. "Well, if you're going to do this, I insist you do it right."

Sydney was shaking her head before the words were even out of Irina's mouth. "No," she said vehemently. "We don't want some huge affair that takes months to plan. We want to do this soon."

"Well, that's all fine and good, darling," Irina said. "But that doesn't mean you can't celebrate a little, either. I would love to throw you an engagement party."

Another silent conversation between Sydney and Michael. "That would be very nice, Mother," Sydney said after a moment.

Irina smiled at the two of them. "And I'd love to send you somewhere fabulous to have your wedding. Wherever you like, of course. Somewhere you could have a nice honeymoon."

Sydney looked at Michael again, but this time Irina didn't give them a chance to converse silently. "What do you think?" she asked. "Today's Monday, we could have the party Friday and you could leave Saturday."

Sydney's eyes widened. "That sounds-- well--"

"Oh, you don't have to decide right now," Irina assured her, rising from her seat. Michael and Sydney followed her lead, Sydney moving to the other side of the table to stand beside Michael. "Why don't the two of you do your shopping and think about where you might like to go? And you don't have to do it next weekend, if you like. Whenever you want."

"Oh, we want to do this as soon as possible," Sydney told her. "You've just given us a lot to think about."

Irina smiled. "Well, do tell me as soon as you've decided, so I can make arrangements. And of course you'll charge whatever you buy today to my account. Spare no expense."

"That's very generous of you, Mother." Irina smiled at the way her daughter's eyes were shining. "Thank you."

"Well. How often does my only daughter get married?" She leaned over to kiss her daughter's cheek, lifting the girl's hand. "What a beautiful engagement ring."

"Isn't it, though?" Sydney purred, wrapping an arm around Michael's waist and resting her head on his shoulder. "He spoils me."

Irina watched as a blush rose to Michael's cheeks. They really were quite adorable together, if you were affected by that kind of thing.

"Well, I'll leave the two of you alone. Once again, congratulations." A smile played about Irina's lips as she strode out of the room, sure that the two of them were staring after her, bewildered. Just the way she liked them.