His (Ties That Bind 2)

“I know you lost your scarf. The one Joshua gave you. I know how important it was to you.”

My face falls a little at the thought. After what happened with Vasily, the hotel had cleared out our room, but when Lev picked up what was there, the scarf wasn’t among our things. I’m not surprised. It was so ragged they probably thought it was trash.

“It’s okay, Lev. I—”

“I found this. It’s not the same thing, but I thought you’d want to have it.”

I’m afraid to look down as he turns it over and holds it out to me, but I do, and this time, it’s like something squeezes my heart. I reach out to take the wrinkled old photograph.

Joshua and me. Cassie took the picture with one of those instant cameras. The photo is faded, but I can still make it out.

“We can see about having it restored,” he says.

I can’t answer him. There’s a lump in my throat I can’t quite breathe around, and I wipe away a tear.

Joshua and me in Halloween costumes. We’re both skeletons. All three of us were. The Georges wanted to show us around town, their charity cases.

“She had it framed beside her bed if you can believe that,” Lev says.

In the photo, I’m smiling, leaning my head on Joshua’s shoulder. He’s taking a bite of a huge Snickers bar and laughing around it. In my hand, I have my jack-o’-lantern to carry our candy.

We’d had fun that night.

“Kat? You okay? Shit, another bad idea?”

I shake my head and look up at him, hugging him, letting myself cry for a moment when he can’t see me. Letting myself mourn once more.

“It’s in the past now. If I could bring him back, I would, but I can’t, and the rest, it’s done. She’s dead. It’s over. Bury it, Kat. Let’s have a future.”

He draws back, digs something out of his pocket. It’s a small box. I recognize that special, happy blue.

I look up at him, and he’s watching me. He takes both my hands in his and just touches his mother’s ring, which I’m still wearing on my right ring finger.

“Time to make it official,” he says.

“What did you do?” I ask, my tone different than the last time I asked the same question.

He opens the box and turns it to me, and I try to imagine Lev in a Tiffany store, and it makes me laugh. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just nervous, but I can’t help it.

“That’s not exactly the reaction I expected.”

I look up from the engagement ring. The platinum band holding a single, perfect diamond at the center. Simple and elegant and…

“I love it.” I throw my arms around his shoulders and hug him hard. He hugs me back, dropping the box on the bed when he does, holding me so tight.

I wonder how I’d survived so long before he found us. How I survived when he wasn’t there to hold me like this.

He draws back, and there’s a warmth in the air, something just for us.

“Will you marry me, Katya?”

Six Months Later

Epilogue 1

Kat

I look at my reflection as the hairdresser pins my veil to the chignon she’d made earlier. She has set my bangs off to the side and has curled a long strand to fall softly over my right temple.

The dress is beautiful. It’s absolutely not something I would have chosen or even looked at simply because the price was insane, but Gleb insisted. I would have argued except that when I turned to look at him and saw the tears in his eyes, I couldn’t.

But the veil. My goodness.

It’s a cathedral length ivory veil of the most intricate lace I’ve ever seen. It was my grandmother’s, apparently, and I love it. I love everything about it.

“Just one more thing,” she says, turning my chair a little and picking up a tube of coral lip stain.

I sit patiently as she dabs the littlest bit on.

“Perfect,” she says, and when I look at myself, I think yes, it’s perfect. I’m ready to marry Lev now.

The thought gives me goose bumps.

“Thank you,” I tell her as a knock comes on the door.

“My pleasure.”

She begins to clean up her things as the door opens, and I see Gleb standing there wearing a very fancy suit. Beside him is Josh, wearing a matching one and holding a piece of paper in his hand. Dima stands behind them, out of the way but always close at hand.

“Wow,” Josh exclaims, drawing the word out when he gets a look at me. He walks toward me slowly, eyes wide.

“You look handsome,” I tell him, adjusting his collar when he’s close enough.

“Mommy, you’re beautiful.” I remember how he used to say booful what seems like just weeks ago. Time is moving too fast.

“Don’t make your mother cry,” Gleb says, but when I look up at him, he’s looking a little emotional too. “Give her the drawing, Josh, and then you’ll need to get ready to go to the church. Your dad won’t want to be late.”