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Chapter 39
Aurora
Getting ready for my first date with Misha, I try on another dress.
Abbie shakes her head again. “You look like a kid going to a birthday party.” Getting up from where she was sitting on my bed, she says, “I’m going to grab a couple of dresses from my closet.”
I watch her dart out of my bedroom before looking at my reflection in the mirror.
Yeah, she’s right.
Damn, when did I even buy this?
I take the dress off and check through my clothes but give up after a minute.
Abbie comes rushing back in with her arms full and drops the dresses on my bed. “Let’s see.” She digs in the pile and pulls out a shimmering jade dress.
A chuckle escapes me. “I think that’s a little too formal.”
“So?” She cocks an eyebrow at me. “It’s your first date with Misha.”
“Yeah, but I’ll stand out in a restaurant.” My teeth worry my bottom lip. Abbie shoves the dress into my hands, then looks me dead in the eye.
“So what? Ra-Ra, it doesn’t matter what other people think. Screw them. You’re a bratva slash mafia princess. You can wear whatever you want.”
She’s right.
“Okay.” Giving her a smile, I step into the dress.
Abbie helps me pull up the zipper, and when I check my reflection in the mirror, a wide smile splits over my face.
“Now that’s what I call a first date dress,” Abbie murmurs, looking a little emotional.
Turning around, I give her a hug. “Thank you for sharing this moment with me.”
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
As I pull back, my eyes scan over her face. The bruises are healing nicely. It’s been two weeks since the attack, and things have returned to normal.
With all the threats kind of dealt with, it’s safe for us to leave the grounds. I’m saying kind of because things are tense between the bratva and the yakuza after the attack. Then again, Kazuo went against orders, so the yakuza doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
There’s also a heavy bratva presence in Switzerland while things are settled between Viktor and my father.
“I better not do a lot of walking tonight,” I say as I sit down on the side of the bed to put on my high heels.
“Pfft.” Abbie waves a hand. “Give Misha half a chance, and he’ll carry you everywhere.”
“Right?” I chuckle. “I love how he dotes on me.”
Abbie’s eyes lock with mine. “I’m happy for you, Ra-Ra.”
Reaching across the bed, I give her arm a squeeze. “Thanks, my friend.
Hopefully, your Prince Charming will come soon.” She shakes her head. “Nah, I’m done with men.”
My eyebrows fly into my hairline. “I never thought I’d hear those words.”
She lets out a chuckle. “For now, at least.”
“So there’s really nothing between you and Nikolai?” I ask as I get up, testing to make sure the heels aren’t hurting me.
“No, there’s nothing.” Her features tighten for a moment with a flash of pain. “Nothing at all from his side.”
“And Alek?” I ask to change the subject of Nikolai so I can distract Abbie. “He’s been kind of nice to you since the attack.”
Abbie lets out a bark of laughter as she shakes her head. “He’s just taking it easy on my ass because I got the life beaten out of me. We’re just friends. Sort of. It’s more like there’s an unspoken peace between us because you and Misha are getting married.”
“Everyone getting along for once is a nice change of pace.”
“Yeah,” she forces a grin to her face. “Come on. You still need to do your hair. Misha will be here soon.”
“Shit, you’re right,” I laugh. “I would’ve gone out with my hair looking like a rat’s nest.”
Just then, there’s a knock at the door. Abbie darts up from the bed. “I’ll get it.”
Rushing to my bathroom, I pull the clip out of my hair and pull a brush through the strands.
When I turn to head back into my bedroom, Misha comes into view, and we both freeze.
Holy shit, he looks hot in the charcoal three-piece suit. I’m so freaking glad Abbie told me to wear this dress.
“Absolyutno zakhvatyvayet dukh,” he murmurs in total awe, telling me I look absolutely breathtaking.
My lips curve up as I walk closer to him. “And you look amazing, baby.
I kind of wish we could stay in so I could slowly strip you out of the suit.” “Okay, bye,” Abbie shouts, and then the door slams shut.
We both laugh at her quick retreat, then Misha wraps his arm around me and presses a soft kiss to my lips.
“Khristo, you’re a vision,” he murmurs. “I’m a lucky bastard.”
His compliments have me beaming from ear to ear as we walk to the door and leave the suite.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask. “A restaurant.”
I roll my eyes at him, which earns me a slap on the ass.
When I step out of the castle and see a limousine waiting in front of the steps, my eyes dart to Misha.
He waves a hand for me to walk, then opens the back door for me.
I climb into the luxurious vehicle, and while I adjust my dress, I glance at the drive. Tilting my head, I say, “Seriously? Alek and Armani are coming with?”
Misha gets in next to me, then says, “It’s for our safety.”
“I thought it would be just us,” I complain, not happy to share my date with them.
“They’re just driving us to the restaurant,” Misha explains, then he presses a button that has a black screen going up between us and the front seats. “Pretend they’re not there.”
Feeling better that they won’t be joining us for dinner, I relax against the seat and focus my attention on Misha.
His eyes caress my face, and soon an intimate bubble forms around us. “I like this,” I admit.
“Do you still feel it?” Misha asks. “What?”
“The explosive spark between us.”
My lips curve up. “Every single day.”
He leans closer to me, and placing a finger beneath my chin, he presses a tender kiss to my lips.
The vehicle eventually comes to a stop, and Misha grins at me. “Are you ready to be wined and dined?”
Chuckling, I nod and let him help me out of the back seat. I glance at the front of the limousine, but it’s already vacated, and there’s no sign of Armani and Alek.
“They’re checking our surroundings. I don’t want to take any risks with you out in the open,” Misha explains.
Awww. Swoon.
He places a hand on my lower back, and as we walk toward the entrance of the restaurant, he keeps glancing around.
Always on guard. My protective caveman.
We’re seated at a beautiful candle-lit table in the back corner, where it’s more private.
Instead of sitting across from me, Misha takes the chair to my left.
A server pours us each a glass of champagne, then he says, “Would you like to wait a couple of minutes, or should I bring the starters?”
“Give me five minutes,” Misha replies.
When the server leaves, I lean into Misha and press a kiss to his lips. “This place is gorgeous.”
“Not half as gorgeous as you,” he murmurs as he takes hold of my hand. “There’s something very important I need to tell you.”
A serious expression tightens his features, and it instantly has nerves spinning in my stomach. “Something bad?”
He shakes his head. Clearing his throat, his eyes lock with mine. “You’re like a shooting star, Aurora. Two years ago, you brightened my life
for one night, and ever since, I kept looking up, hoping for another glimpse of you.”
Oh. Jesus.
Realizing what this is, tears jump to my eyes.
“I swear, I live for every word you say, every smile that curves your plump lips, every tear that falls because you’re happy.” He reaches for my face and brushes a tear from my cheek. “Even though the marriage wasn’t our idea, I want you to know that nothing will make me happier to be your husband. I don’t need time to think about it. I don’t have any doubts that it might be too soon.”
I suck in a shuddering breath, trying not to ugly cry in a five-star restaurant.
Misha’s eyes soften on me. “I want you to make the choice, not because you’re forced, but because it’s what you want.”
I quickly nod.
Misha slides off his chair, and getting down on one knee, he says, “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, Aurora? Will you be my little deer until the day we die?”
I nod like a possessed idiot. “Yes.”
The server sets a plate down in front of me. There’s a glass lid covering smoke, and as the lid is lifted, the smoke escapes, and I gasp at the sight of the emerald engagement ring displayed on a bed of…shit, I don’t know what it is, but it looks like a starry night.
Misha takes hold of the ring and brings it to my left hand. As he pushes it onto my finger, he asks, “Are you sure, because once I put this ring on your finger, there’s no backing out?”
I let out a chuckle. “Liar.”
The corner of his mouth lifts. “Yeah, you’re right. There’s no way I’ll let you go, ring or no ring.” He pushes it all the way on.
“Thank you,” I whisper as emotion pushes up my throat again.
Misha looks deep into my eyes, then says, “This restaurant is built on the spot where the nightclub was. I wanted the rest of our lives to start in the same place I first saw you.” He points at the table. “I think this is the exact spot where I gave you your first kiss.”
My lips part, then his words sink in, and I launch myself at him.
This is where I met my Prince Charming, the love of my life, and the man I will build a family with.
The End.
Next series coming soon!