“Not because I didn’t want to, brother. Business had me out of the country until the morning. But I do have a gift for your lovely wife. If I may?” From an inside pocket, he produced a dark blue velvet box.
Alexei became still. Finally, he gave the smallest of nods. His eyes were glued to me as Kristoff produced a ruby necklace, a teardrop gemstone on a shining gold band, and stepped behind me. He lifted my curls from my back and placed it around my throat.
The entire time, Alexei’s eyes didn’t leave my face, and it was easy to read the jealousy on his face.
“Thank you.” I stepped away and touched the stone. “It’s beautiful.”Flashing a smile towards my husband, I stepped to his side, and he instantly reached for my hand. “Shall we go and—”
“Oh no, you don’t.” Easily, Gabriella slipped between my husband and me, forcing us to step apart. She hooked her arm through mine and beamed at him. “You have all the time in the world to have her to yourself, Alexei. It’s been years since I had a woman my own age to talk to at these things. You men go and smoke cigars or something.” She shooed them away with her hands.
Everyone laughed except Alexei, whose unblinking eyes didn’t look away from mine. “Amy?”
“I will be fine,” I said quickly, although I didn’t know if that was going to be entirely true. Still, dealing with one new person was going to be a lot easier than three.
“So?” she giggled. “How did you meet Alexei?”
Panicked, I glanced towards his retreating back. Laughing, she pulled me the other way. “Come on now, Amy, we are all so interested in how you made the most handsome bachelor in the city fall in love with you. It was so quick. Was it love at first sight?”
I blushed. Why hadn’t we spoken about this before the guests had arrived and gotten our stories straight? “It was pretty quick,” I said truthfully because sticking to the truth as close as possible was going to be for the best. “Nikolai, I mean his grandfather, introduced us.”
Gabriella oohed theatrically. “You’re on a first-name basis with the old man already? Wow. Now tell me the story. Don’t leave out one single detail,” she gushed.
I lost track of the amount of time I told the same story as the night progressed. I kept it simple, and I didn’t fill in many details.
We ate, they chatted amongst themselves, and every now and then I caught Alexei staring at me. His whole face was a mask of bewilderment.
Towards the end of the night, when the vodka was flowing, I began to feel a little queasy. I wasn’t a big drinker. I never had been, and the wine with dinner was starting to make me feel a little too flushed. I didn’t want to embarrass him.
“Excuse me.” Scraping back my chair, I headed towards the door.Alexei caught my wrists and dragged me towards his chair. “Is something wrong, Amy?” he asked in a hissing whisper.
“I’m just feeling a little flushed from the wine. I’m going to get some air, if that’s OK?”
He nodded, his eyes firmly on my face. Tugging on my arm, he drew my face down to his and captured my lips with his. I could taste the vodka on his smooth hand, which made me feel worse.
“Shout if you need me,” he said against my mouth.
“I will.” I hurried away as quickly as my heels would allow me.
“Oh, Alexei,” I heard Gabriella gush. “She is the sweetest angel.”
“I agree, Amy is just perfect for you,” her husband said before I closed the door. I didn’t need to look behind me to know that Alexei didn’t agree.
It was cold outside, but it wasn’t raining, and the chill in the air helped settle my stomach. I don’t know how much time had passed when I heard the door to the patio slide open and then back closed.
My shoulders hunched. “Sorry, I’ve been gone so long, Alexei. I just needed a few minutes. I’ll be back in now.”
“It’s not Alexei. It is Kristoff,” a smooth voice said from right behind me, and I whirled around to find him less than two feet from me. My hand fluttered to my throat and pressed the ruby against my skin.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you were Alexei.” I schooled my features into a pleasant smile but took a step back, glancing around. I didn’t know what he was doing out here, but I knew Alexei wouldn’t like me being alone in the dark with him.
I was suddenly hyper aware of the high bushes on either side of us, hemming us in. I took another step back.
“So in love with each other aren’t you?” He took a step forward, trying to look casual about it.
“Yes, of course.”
Just count to five and compose yourself, Amy, I told myself in a rush. This man scared me, but he wasn’t going to hurt me right here in the garden. Alexei wouldn’t allow that, surely? So why did I feel like kicking off my heels and running away?
I felt like a trapped animal.
