"You can just tell them I'm sick, I don't have to go, you know. I know this is breaking the rules a little," Rose told Dimitri the moment she entered the passenger side of his car, which was waiting for her just outside of her apartment.

Rose had spent the morning getting ready for Sonja's party, ignoring the nauseated, nervous feeling eating away at her. What do you even wear to a baby shower anyway? Would she be too dressed up? Too casual? Would she fit in with Dimitri's family? Settling with what was probably her safest bet – jeans and a nice top – she also threw on some natural make up and left her hair loose. She hoped she looked somewhat presentable.

"Oh no, you have to come," he told her. "My grandmother knows everything. She'll know it's a lie if we make excuses."

"So?"

"So there's no messing with my grandmother," Dimitri chuckled in spite of the nervous look hidden behind his smile. Rose knew him well enough by now to know that he was just as anxious as she was, but he wouldn't admit this to her of course!

Rose sighed.

"As long as you're sure," she said, casting one final look at herself in the rear-view mirror to check her appearance. "Do I look okay?"

Dimitri turned and looked at her, taking in her outfit, his gaze lingering on her loose curls slightly before falling into her sparkling eyes.

"You look great," he told her.

When he looked away to turn on the ignition, Rose could have sworn that she heard him mumble the word 'perfect' under his breath, but that had to be her ears just playing tricks on her.

The drive to the Belikov house felt like an eternity, with a million thoughts and questions racing around Rose's head almost as fast as the butterflies fluttering around her stomach. Would his family like her? Would he introduce her as his girlfriend or his friend? It was obvious to his mother and grandmother that they were something more than friends when they found her at his apartment at the crack of dawn! Would it be incredibly awkward, or would it feel as natural as being with Dimitri did?

Meeting Mason's family for the first time had been a breeze, but then their relationship had been far more straight forward than her 'relationship' with Dimitri. She would just have to be herself, she thought. She would be friendly and approachable, but let Dimitri do the explaining. That was probably her safest option.

"We'll probably just be mingling for a bit," he told her as they made their way up the path to the front door of the house. "There'll be food and cake, and then the girls will probably want to play some sort of baby shower games after - if Viktoria has her way at least."

Rose instantly fell in love with the house as soon as she stepped inside, following just behind Dimitri as he let himself in. She could feel the warmth and love coursing through the walls, making her nostalgic for her childhood and these feelings that she had missed out on in her own home. Her parents were almost never around, which meant that her house had always felt like, well, just a house. It wasn't a home. Not like Dimitri's anyway.

Family photos lined the walls, the memories each telling their own story and Rose felt as though she knew Dimitri more personably just by looking at them. The house was lively with activity, with Dimitri's large family mingling and chatting away happily to one another – in English, thankfully. With guests there other than family, it made sense for them to switch to English for the time being!

"Dimka!"

A petite, younger girl ran towards them and enveloped Dimitri in a tight hug, who reciprocated by picking her off the ground and twirling her in the air. She had to have been about seventeen, and Rose deduced her as Dimitri's youngest sister... Viktoria - that was it. Her long brown hair was streaked with gold, and her dark eyes sparkled just like Dimitri's did when he grinned.

"Hey Viktoria," Dimitri greeted her once they broke apart.

"Where have you been? You haven't been here for ages!" She asked him with a mock scowl, crossing her arms in front of her to show her disdain.

"Oh yeah, just over a week," Dimitri rolled his eyes, his lips curling into a cheeky smile. "It's been so long that you've got wrinkles and turned grey."

Viktoria scoffed at him and returned his eye roll, slapping him lightly on the arm before turning her attention to the woman standing just off his right left shoulder.

Sensing her confusion, Dimitri introduced them.

"Viktoria, this is Rose," he told her. "She's, uh... Rose."

Rose inwardly groaned, while plastering a friendly smile on her face. Was that as awkward as it sounded? Dimitri must have had the same concerns as she had about how to introduce her. Not noticing anything was amiss, Viktoria all but leapt on Rose, crushing her with a hug almost as strong as the hug she had given Dimitri.

"Rose! It's so nice to meet you! Dimka hasn't brought a girl here since –"

"Viktoria," Dimitri cut her off. "Where's Mama? And Sonja? We should let them know that we're here."

Following Viktoria into the living room, Dimitri introduced Rose to the rest of his family, choosing to introduce her simply as 'Rose.' If that's all he said, he could hopefully avoid any awkward questions that he didn't know how to answer!

Each of his sisters and his mother greeted Rose with a grin and a hug, including Sonja who Dimitri had previously explained as often being quieter and more reserved than his other sisters. Yeva simply stared at her with dark eyes, just as she did the day before at Dimitri's apartment. Her gaze was sharp and piercing, and Rose could have sworn that the older lady was looking straight into her soul.

As the party went on, Rose began feeling more comfortable and relaxed, and she felt confident enough to leave Dimitri's side and spend time on her own with some of the other guests at the party. Eager to make a good impression, she spoke to everyone that she could – Olena, Karolina... even Sonja and Sonja's friends. She didn't speak to Yeva, however. Rose thought that she would have to have had about five shots of vodka to have the confidence for that! Besides, as far as she was aware, the old lady only spoke Russian, and that would be a very one-sided conversation!

As she mingled, she kept looking over towards Dimitri, observing the carefree way he interacted with his family. She noticed that he carried himself differently around them. It was as though he hadn't had a care in the world - nothing bothered him, he had no bad thoughts lingering in the back of his mind... He was happy. Not that he wasn't happy when he was away from them, but Rose could tell that he put barriers up around himself, as though he wanted to protect himself from any further emotional damage.

Rose took a sip of her drink, jumping out of her thoughts as she felt the sofa dip next to her as someone joined her – Viktoria.

"Dimitri looks very happy," she grinned, nodding towards the direction Rose had just been looking. "And he hasn't really taken his eyes off you once since you guys got here. He keeps looking at you with this mushy look on his face."

Rose smiled at her and took another sip of her drink, unsure what to say.

"I didn't think we would ever see that sparkle in his eyes again, not after Tasha," she added, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Yeah, he told me about her."

"Really?" Viktoria seemed surprised. "Dimitri doesn't usually speak about her. He was heartbroken after what she did to him."

"I would be too. I don't know how somebody could do that to someone they loved," Rose sighed.

"Well, I'm glad he's found you. He's got his smile back," Viktoria giggled, and the butterflies came fluttering back into Rose's stomach. Had she really made him happier? Or was that just something his family thought by putting two and two together? After all, they believed they were a real couple – they didn't really know what was going on between the two of them. They could easily see things that weren't actually there.

"Anyway, I'm going to see if Sonja wants to open her presents yet!"

With that, she skipped off in search of her older sisters, leaving Rose alone on the sofa once more. That is, until a man with tousled, sandy hair and a cheeky glimmer in his blue eyes plonked himself down next to her.

"Hello Rose, it's nice to see you again."

Rose turned to see who had joined her, recognising him from their brief encounter at the club and the photos hung in Dimitri's apartment,

"Oh, hey Ivan, I didn't realise you'd be here."

"I just arrived," he told her, "but of course I'd be here! I'm part of the family, me."

"Yeah, I got that impression," Rose laughed. "Dimitri talks very highly of you."

"I could say the same about you."

"Really?" Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What does he say about me?"

Ivan let out a loud laugh and leaned back into the sofa further. "Oh no, I can't tell you that. I already got it in the neck for what I said at the club before."

The memory of when she met Ivan for the first time flashed across her mind.

"Ah… so you're Rose… wow," he said, looking her up and down. "Dimitri told me you were stunning but, man, I didn't know just how right he was!"

She chuckled to herself, a small blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"If I'm being honest, I'm surprised you're here," Ivan told her, bringing her thoughts back to the present.

Rose furrowed her brows, unsure as to what he meant.

"Really, why?" she asked.

"Because Dimitri tends to distance himself from what he thinks he wants and what is actually good for him."

"What do you mean?"

"Dimitri's a dick," Ivan shrugged. "Or well he acts like one to keep his feelings and other people at bay. He's not really like that, he's actually a big softy."

Rose laughed.

"But I think he's scared to get hurt again, so he has this false confidence that he uses to try and stop that from happening. It makes him act like an idiot."

"I see," Rose sighed, looking towards Dimitri's direction, where he looked over at her and Ivan with a sceptical look on his face, before returning his focus back to his own conversation and laughing at something Karolina had said to him.

"I've probably said too much," Ivan said with a cough. "Don't tell him I told you any of that."

"I won't," she assured him with a wink, before turning the conversation to other things. Ivan began recounting many stories of their time in college, and Rose found herself mesmerised by his memories of a younger Dimitri. A happier Dimitri who hadn't had his heart broken.

Rose could see why Dimitri liked Ivan. He was easy to get on with and made her feel at ease with his humour and slightly laid-back demeanour. He reminded her of Adrian in a way, just without his nicotine dependency and constant attempts to get her to go out with him!

The rest of the shower ran smoothly and soon Dimitri and Rose were saying their goodbyes. Just as they did when she'd arrived, his sisters and mother hugged her goodbye, with Olena telling her that she must come by again soon. She, like Viktoria, had thought that Dimitri looked happier than usual, and she could only think that this was all thanks to Rose!

When Olena had whispered a 'thank you' in her ear as they hugged, Rose had to choke back the lump in her throat and stinging in her eyes. She couldn't fall in love with Dimitri's family, she just couldn't. Things between them weren't permanent and it wasn't a real relationship. They were just having sex, for crying out loud! But they had all made her feel so welcome, and spending time with Dimitri and his family had felt like they were in a typical relationship. As she got to know them all, listened to stories about Dimitri's childhood with his sisters, and his time in college with Ivan, she couldn't help but feel a tiny glimmer of hope that one day they could be something more.

She pushed that thought away.

This was what she wanted, right? She didn't care that it wasn't a real relationship as long as it got her over her break up with Mason and she could feel something other than guilt for once. She didn't care that it was just sex because he was so good at it that he made it worth it, right?

So why did she feel so sad now?

The drive home was almost silent, with Dimitri getting nothing other than one-word answers from her when he tried numerous times to engage her in conversation. He had wanted to ask what she and Ivan had been talking about, but it was clear that Rose was no longer in the talking mood.

"Are you sure you're okay, Roza?" He asked when they pulled up outside her apartment.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she told him, a smile on her face. He could see through her completely, but didn't want to push her. He wondered what could have gotten her so down suddenly.

They said their goodbyes, and Rose quickly made her way up to her apartment building, feeling his eyes on her back the whole way.

She had barely made it through the door before her tears fell.

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