With This Ring

“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

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?”