"Do you ski?" Isabella continued. "I heard the slopes in the Alps are incredible!"
"Been a few times. St. Moritz has excellent snow quality."
"Amazing! I've always wanted to go but never found the time..."
"You should check it out sometime." His tone carried encouragement—the kind of warmth he'd never shown me.
"Noelle, do you ski?" Isabella suddenly turned to me.
I snapped back to attention. "No."
"That's such a shame!" she said regretfully. "Skiing is so much fun! Right, Kholod?"
"Yeah," Kholod responded. "Though not everyone's suited for that kind of sport."
I bit my lip and kept walking with my head down.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Isabella suddenly perked up. "Kholod,didn't a new French restaurant open in Philadelphia? I heard the chef came from Paris—Michelin three-star!"
"Le Jardin? Went last week. Food was excellent."
"I can never get a reservation! That's the Morozov influence for you!"
Every word stung. Art, skiing, Michelin stars—these weren't topics I couldn't discuss, but I'd never been interested. I preferred natural landscapes and handicrafts. When I'd chat with Isabella about these things before, she'd always find me boring.
Kholod even smiled—making him look less harsh but utterly foreign to me.
"...there's this Children's Art Foundation organizing a charity auction soon. I've been invited to help," I heard as I tuned back in.
"Is that so?" Kholod sounded interested.
"Yes!" Isabella nodded. "But it's my first time doing something like this. I'm a bit nervous..."
"Need help?"
"Would you really?" Isabella looked at him with delight.
"Tell me what you need."
"I..." Isabella seemed embarrassed. "I was thinking, if we could have a really significant piece as the finale..."
"I'll have Dmitri arrange it."
Isabella's eyes lit up with excitement. "Kholod, thank you so much!"
He agreed so readily. Yet when I'd wanted to go out shopping, he'd insisted on having me watched.
"By the way, Kholod," Isabella continued, "have you been to Iceland?"
"A few times," Kholod said. "Mainly for business."
"Noelle always talks about wanting to go there. It must be beautiful, especially the northern lights."
"The winters are long, but it's definitely worth seeing."
He was discussing Iceland with her. My dream destination. The place I'd mentioned repeatedly in my photo albums and blog posts.
My fingers clenched tight.
