With This ring

by Le Carre, Georgia

  “Alright,” I said. “Take care.”

  “You too,” he said and ended the call.

  I threw the phone in the trash can by my desk.

  Twenty minutes of fuming later, and I picked it back up and called Britney. It was time for me to move on with my life. The way it had been before he came into it. But Britney didn’t pick up.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Maxim

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQUuqbzQVsY

  Bianca and Levan’s wedding was in three weeks and their rehearsal dinner was being held at Rice and Gold, a restaurant with stunning views of the Brooklyn bridge.

  The candles, the flowers, and the music created a very romantic ambience. It was expected to be a fairly quiet evening with about seventy of our closest friends and associates in attendance. However, they were also some of the most powerful men in the world so the restaurant was also crawling with guards.

  I was happy for Levan as I stood nearby and took in his regal appearance. He was wearing a white tuxedo suit and on his arm was the woman he was ready to give his life up for. The bliss in their eyes was unmistakable. It made the troubles we’d all endured to make their union possible seem more and more like a small price to have been paid.

  Bianca seemed extremely nervous. She kept touching the heart shaped necklace around her neck while her eyes darted around the room as though she was expecting someone. Finally, they settled on me.

  I took a sip of scotch. “Gift from Levan?”

  “No, it’s from Freya,” she replied. “I’m going to be wearing some pieces from her collection to give her some publicity.”

  I asked no further questions, as I knew that Bianca would take the reins all by herself for whatever she was trying to do.

  “She’s actually meant to have arrived here already.” Her voice lowered. “I sent her an invitation. I hope you don’t mind.”

  My whole body felt like it was on fire, but I kept my face stoic. “What if my father walks in?” I took another sip of my drink. “Will you be able to protect her?”

  “She’ll probably not come, but if she does, I’ll look out for her,” she said bravely.

  “Good luck with that,” I said, and moved away from them to take a seat on the stool by the open bar. I felt a fucking mess. The more I tried to talk myself out of wanting Freya, thoughts of that night when I almost made her mine wrapped themselves around my mind. Sometimes I woke up with the smell of her pussy in my nostrils and wrecked with an insatiable longing for her. She hated my guts, she held a gun to my head, she was too hot tempered, too wild, too everything that was wrong, I reminded myself. And then I would remember the taste of her mouth and all those objections would disappear like mist in the morning sun.

  But no matter how I felt it was beyond clear she wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. I had the message engraved into my chest forever. The fact that she had agreed to come here and put herself in my vicinity infuriated me.

  I finished my drink and ordered another.

  Normally, I would have been immediately approached by the myriads of politicians and business associates my father had invited solely for political liaisons, but I had beckoned to Viktor and Nicolai to stand next to me. Their presence usually discouraged most people from approaching. Those who found the courage felt the sting of my chill almost instantly, and quickly found an excuse to move away.

  My gaze never left the entrance.

  I realized at some point that I’d been so severely affected by the news of her arrival I’d consumed far more alcohol than what was appropriate at a function like this. My brain felt woozy. I hadn’t eaten since lunch. I signaled to a passing waiter carrying a tray of tiny little bits of food. I waggled my forefinger to indicate he should leave the whole tray on the counter. As he left I picked up something that looked like a little biscuit topped with lobster meat and some white stuff, probably mayonnaise piped over it. I put it into my mouth and reached for another. It must have been delicious, but my mouth was numb with whisky. I looked again at the entrance and … there she was.

  I stopped chewing. My heart stopped beating. They say red-heads should never wear red, they had never seen Freya in red. She was like a goddess! Proud, tall, defiant and indescribably beautiful. She was the most beautiful woman in the world.

  Her gaze met mine and the world stood still. Everything stopped for me. All the other people, the sounds, the movements, the smells, everything fell away. There was only her, in her red dress. Then she simply turned her head and looked away. As if I was nothing.

  Aggravated, I rose from the stool and exited the room.

  Yeah, message received, Freya. Loud and clear.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Freya

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOkQ4T5WO9E

  I couldn’t move. I felt as if I had turned to stone.

  I wanted to see him again... it was the whole reason I was quite possibly risking my life to be there, but I hadn’t expected it to be that soon. My heart was beating so fast it felt like there was a small bird fluttering inside my chest. I wanted to walk up to him and tell him how I felt. I wanted to kiss him and tell him I dreamed of him. I wanted to do so many things at that moment, but I heard Aldie call my name. I couldn’t ignore her. Not her. She had given me a roof over my head when I was at my worst. I owed her a lifetime of gratitude.

  I had to acknowledge her. My heart felt as if it would break, but I turned my head towards her.

  She looked beautiful, with her blonde pixie cut hairstyle and a short baby pink ruffle dress. She enveloped me in a warm hug. Her eyes were more sparkly than usual, I imagined she was quickly approaching her alcohol threshold for the night. Familiar enough with her now, I took the drink from her hands.

  “Hey!”

  “I need this more than you do,” I said, draining the flute.

  “Thank you,” I heard from the other side of me, and turned around towards Bianca.

  Dressed in an olive-green, wrap-around dress she was stunning. Her hair was up in a bun with stray tendrils framing her face.

  I was delighted to see her. “You look beautiful. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you, babes,” she said, and placed a kiss on my cheek. She seemed so put together I had to remind myself sometimes that we were the same age.

  “Aldie, I don’t want to see you with another drink for the rest of the night,” she said.

  Aldie gave her a pout.

  “Please take care of Freya. Show her where the food is. I need to be by Levan’s side.” She sighed. “It almost seems as though I’m getting introduced to the whole of New York. I’ve met the Governor and Warren Buffet. Can you even believe it?”

  She shook her head and I suddenly noticed my heart shaped necklace on her neck. “Oh my,” I gasped and lifted the delicate diamond heart. “It’s beautiful on you.”

  “It’s beyond beautiful on its own,” she replied. “I can’t wait for you to launch officially. You’ll do amazing.”

  “I have one of yours on too,” Aldie said, holding her hand up.

  I turned to see my Notte, half-moon bracelet around her wrist.

  My eyes misted with gratitude. They could have worn something from the top designer brands and yet they had both chosen to wear my stuff. “Thank you both so much.”

  “You’re welcome, sweetheart,” Bianca said. “I’ve been getting compliments all evening from everyone about my piece so it’s not like I did you a favor.”

  I bit my lip. “The people here are pretty high profile. I hope the jewelry doesn’t seem too cheap to them. I didn’t exactly make it with this kind of crowd in mind. Everyone here seems to be able to have jewelry costly enough to buy a house.”

  “It’s affordable, beautiful, and just my style,” Bianca said firmly. “If they are too rich to appreciate it then that’s their loss. I’m wearing your diamond earrings with my wedding dress tomorrow and its mention will be in the magazine interview I’ll be doing after our honeymoon along with yo
ur name as the designer.”

  “Thank you so much, Bianca,” I said and hugged her again.

  Then it was time for her to mingle again. While she was saying something to Aldie, I took the opportunity to look around the room for Maxim, but he was nowhere to be seen.

  I went with Aldie to the bar where we caught one of the waiters who continually passed by with endless trays of canapés. I popped the tiniest mushroom pizza in the world into my mouth. It was delicate and delicious.

  “Bianca seated you beside me at the table,” Aldie said, looking at her watch. “Good, it’s almost 7:30. I can’t wait to eat.”

  “What about Levan and Bianca?”

  “They’re opposite us.”

  My heart began to pound again. “Their whole family?”

  She gave me a reassuring look. “You’re worried because of Maxim, right?”

  I smiled nervously and she looked amused. “You’ll be fine. He doesn’t seem to hold a grudge, although I still can’t believe you shot him.”

  “I still can’t believe it myself,” I replied as I sipped champagne from the flute I snagged from a passing waiter. “And I’m sure he must be silently furious. My saving grace is he’s really good at keeping himself in check. Hopefully, I won’t be seeping out blood at the dinner table.”

  She shuddered at the statement. “You mafia peeps are too gruesome for me, and by the way, I’m officially impressed.”

  “Impressed?”

  “What a hell of a way to refuse a marriage proposal,” she teased. “Bianca says Levan told her that Maxim’s never been shot before, and he’s been in more than enough situations to attract bullets. So they’ve always seen him as almost indestructible. Well, you ruined that for them.”

  I buried my head in my hands in mortification and she laughed and patted my shoulder in consolation.

  Suddenly, a reduction in the volume of the music and the sound of metal tinkled to get everyone’s attention.

  A graying man in a tuxedo stood up to speak. “Please take your designated seats at the tables. The dinner will be starting now.”

  People began to head towards the candlelit tables, and I felt myself begin to tremble.

  Lifting my glass to my lips I drained my glass.

  “Hey, you don’t have to finish it all now. You can take it with you to the table.”

  I placed the emptied glass on the counter. “At the table,” I said to her. “I’ll need more.”

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Freya

  I was right.

  Three glasses of champagne later and I was still wired and unable to relax.

  All jittery and anxious and all because of the man seated a few seats across and down from me. I didn’t even dare sneak a peek at him, too afraid of being caught, but at the same time, I couldn’t get him off my mind.

  I felt hot, as though just being in the same room with him was charring my skin, and it all made it too difficult to breathe. The dinner went on and on. Course after course that I pushed into my mouth and swallowed. Duck breast and Yellow Wax beans mixed with truffle pasta parcels, washed down with lime and blueberry sorbets. And I tasted nothing. There were well wishes and toasts given to the couple. I smiled when everyone else did, and clapped when others raised their hands. For more than an hour I ignored Maxim. Then, in a moment of weakness when I truly couldn’t take it anymore I picked up my champagne flute, raised it to my lips as a cover, and let my gaze dart over to him.

  And crashed right into his!

  His were hard, unflinching... and angry

  I was so startled, I nearly choked on my drink.

  “You alright?” Aldie asked.

  I turned red with embarrassment as I nodded and tried not to choke to death in front of everyone. I was in a bad way because that wrong turn of the drink down the wrong pipe was anything but comfortable. I needed to cough in the most unladylike, uncivilized manner possible to clear the blockage. Leaping up to my feet I hurried off to the bathroom.

  In there, I coughed as hard as I needed to clear my throat. Finally, when I got myself back in control, I stared at my flushed cheeks and restless unhappy face in the mirror.

  As I gazed at the sad woman in the mirror I stopped lying to myself. The realization of what was really going on was striking, and a thousand times as devastating. I wasn’t just at that party because I wanted to confirm he was okay. I was there and scared to even meet his eyes because I wanted Maxim. Wanted him to the point of obsession.

  His icy gaze came back to mind, and I felt a zap through my body.

  It had always registered in my brain that he was handsome, but tonight especially, he seemed to outshine every other man I had ever come across. How had I ever hoped to be able to resist such an aggressively profound and effortless sexuality?

  I was starting to realize just how terribly blind and dumb I’d been all along.

  I pushed my hair out of my face, and decided I had had enough. The longer I stayed the more the profound the need for him became. It was not even like he returned the feeling. Hell, the way he looked at me, was as if he hated me. I squeezed my eyes shut. It could have all been so different. I had done everything wrong and now it was too late to go back or make amends. I had nearly killed him, for God’s sake. I opened my eyes. In the mirror I looked like a woman defeated. The red dress that I had agonized over and paid too much for seemed like a joke. I was ridiculous. Coming here after what I had done.

  It was time to go home, with my tail tucked between my legs.

  Exiting the restrooms, I grabbed my coat from the hatcheck girl, and made it to the exit without being spotted. I stepped out onto the steps feeling a little guilty for leaving in the middle of dinner, but I couldn’t go back. I sent a text to Aldie to tell her I’d left because I wasn’t feeling too good and I would speak to her in the morning. Then I descended the stairs onto the main road and stood on the sidewalk, breathing in the slight chill in the October air.

  Cars zoomed past on the busy street, and horns blared in the distance, the night alive with lights from the innumerable skyscrapers that soared into the sky.

  I should have taken the subway home. The walk would help clear my head, and I’d save money, but the alcohol and a strange heaviness in my heart made the journey seem troublesome. So I put out my hand to hail a taxi.

  A black town car stopped next to me. Absent minded, I moved ahead to continue my search for a taxi, and felt annoyed when the car moved forward again to halt in front of me.

  I frowned at the window. Then the glass was rolled down.

  “Get in,” he said, and my heart dropped into my stomach.

  For a second, I hesitated, but then I couldn’t let this chance, whatever it was, and whatever would be the outcome of it, go. Time with him had been all that I’d wanted for the last several weeks. I pulled the door open, and stepped into Maxim’s car.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Maxim

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47CgsSz4dE

  Where had the feisty woman I had known for so long gone?

  She was like a frightened kitten, although she remained still and tried to hide it, but I knew Freya. And right now she was frozen. She barely breathed. Had she become afraid of me?

  “Where to?” I asked.

  She nearly jumped out of her skin.

  It would have been amusing if it didn’t sadden me. This was never what I wanted from her.

  “A-anywhere would be fine,” she responded, still refusing to meet my gaze. “Sorry for making you leave the wedding. I mean you probably didn’t do it for me, but uh... I mean because of me uh...” She shook her head in exasperation with herself, and turned towards the tinted windows. I could tell she wished the ground itself would open up and swallow her whole. I was perplexed. Was it guilt? Why was she so … lost?

  “I’ll take you home,” I said.

  She only nodded.

  When we arrived at her apartment in the Bronx, she finally turned to face me.

  �
�Thanks for the ride,” she mumbled without meeting my gaze and turned to pull the latch open. It remained jammed.

  She looked at me then. “I … it’s locked.”

  I leaned forward and addressed the driver and bodyguard occupying the front passenger seat. “Leave,” I said in Russian, and they immediately got out of the car and closed the door shut behind them.

  Only the two of us remained, and I could have sworn I heard the thumping of her heart against her chest. Without a word, my hand went to the buttons that held my tux together and I unfastened the top one.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her eyes wide with shock.

  Silently I continued to undo the buttons of my white dress shirt.

  She looked at my hands, her mouth slightly parted. When my shirt was open, I turned towards her. The wound was still fresh and pink, but it was healing quite well, with no sign of inflammation. I wanted her to see it so that she could get back to the wonderful, wild, stubborn, independent creature she was.

  “See. I’m fine,” I said. “You can stop being so jittery now and get back to what you were.”

  Her gaze was on the scarred flesh. “Does it still hurt a lot?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

  I shook my head as I watched her watching me. My breathing hitched when I saw her hand lift. The seconds seemed to drag on forever as it reached for my skin, and then at the last moment it stopped mid-air.

  “Can I?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Of course.”

  Her slender fingers brushed lightly across the wound.

  “I’m so very sorry,” she whispered, and I saw her eyes fill with tears and roll down her cheeks. A warm drop fell onto my hand and for the longest time I just stared at the moisture on my skin. Finally, I lifted my gaze to hers and she leaned forward, and with a soft, shaky hand on my neck, slanted her head and kissed me.