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Ever since he’d broken up with Mylène, Ivan had been adrift.
He’d fallen into the wrong crowd, carousing around Paris at night and spray painting buildings where no one would see until the morning. He was doing that now, holding a can of neon green paint and spraying a cat’s paw print to represent the Chat half of the superhero duo.
Painting the police building was a bold choice, but Ivan knew that if he wanted to impress the leaders of the group, he’d have to do something reckless. Something drastic.
As he moved his can quickly over the building’s exterior, his face mask slipped off his nose and he accidentally breathed in some of the chemicals of the spray paint. Ivan actually liked the smell. If he wasn’t worried about exposure, he’d go without a mask all the time.
Just as he was putting his mask back on, a flashlight landed on him. “Freeze!” a masculine voice yelled, and Ivan bolted away from the scene of the crime.
Thudding footsteps sounded behind him; the flashlight bounced around, casting its glow all around his body and illuminating his bulk. He weaved into alleyways and through the Parisian streets until he collided with a young woman, knocking them both to the ground.
“I’m sorry, I’m...” Heat blasted Ivan’s cheeks as he saw whom he was straddling: Sabrina Raincomprix. She stared up at him with a dazed sort of look, her red hair fanned out around her head like a fuzzy halo. “I didn’t mean to. Are you okay?”
Seeming to come to her senses, Sabrina nodded, placing her hands on his chest. “Help me up?”
Ivan rolled off her and into a stand in one fluid motion. Despite his size, Ivan could be graceful when he wanted to be. He offered her a hand and basically pulled her to her feet when she took it. Because his jerking motion was so strong, she overbalanced and landed against his chest, her hand resting on his shoulder.
They stared at each other for the briefest of moments, with Ivan noticing how beautiful and blue her eyes were, until a flashlight shone on her face from behind his head.
“Stop in the name of the law!” Roger Raincomprix panted from the exertion of the chase. “I’ll have you know, you’re in violation of ordinance--”
“Daddy!” Sabrina called, wrenching herself away from Ivan, but curiously taking his hand. “What are you doing to my boyfriend?”
Your what? Ivan thought, his wide eyes darting to her.
“Your what?” Roger echoed Ivan’s thoughts. “He… He was spray painting the police building, and--”
“Can’t you just let him off with a warning this time?” Sabrina fluttered her eyelashes. “For me, your only daughter?”
What is she playing at?
Roger harrumphed, folding his arms and casting the light down a dark alleyway. “Listen, sweetie, you don’t understand how grievous his offense is.”
“Please?” Sabrina stared at her feet, one of which was toeing the ground. “I know you don’t want to let him off, but… please? For me?”
Ivan’s hand began to sweat in Sabrina’s. She had him in a tight grip, and he wasn’t about to shake her off, lest her father start chasing him again. She was all the protection Ivan had.
Roger frowned deeply. “All right, sweetheart. Just this once.” Then he shook his finger under Ivan’s nose. “But you’d better not do it again. Are we clear?”
Ivan nodded rapidly. He had no intention of ever spray painting remotely near that building again. “Crystal, sir.”
Sabrina squealed. “Thank you, Daddy, thank you so much!”
Roger grumbled something under his breath that Ivan didn’t catch. “And you’d better treat her right.”
Ivan almost pulled off a salute but thought better of it. “Of course, sir.”
Roger gave each of them a steely-eyed look, and then turned on his heel to stalk off towards parts unknown.
Ivan waited until the man was out of sight before letting loose the breath he didn’t know he was holding. He let go of Sabrina’s hand, turning to her in awe. “Thank you for that.”
Sabrina shrugged. “It was no trouble.”
“Boyfriend?”
Her cheeks pinked gorgeously. “Oh, yes, I… I thought he might be more lenient on you if he thought we were attached.” She tucked a lock of her red hair behind her ear. “And… I wouldn’t mind having you for a boyfriend, Ivan.”
Ivan was floored. He saw Sabrina in a whole new light; she was someone who would stick up for him, even if he was in the wrong. She’d protect him from legal trouble, and she might protect his feelings, too.
Ivan smiled down at her, cupping her cheek. “In that case… Would you like to get coffee together?”