Page 36 of Frozen Heart
I gawped at the card. “What do you think I’m going to spend it on?”
He opened and closed his mouth a few times. “...shoes?”
I showed him my battered sneakers. “You really don’t know me at all, do you? Look, thank you, but...I’ll earn my own money.” I pushed the card across the breakfast bar to him.
He frowned, then sighed and his eyes softened, like I’d impressed him. “Then don’t use it,” he said, pushing the card back to me. “But at least keep it in your purse, in case you change your mind?”
I nodded reluctantly, took the card back and signed it. Then I opened the second package. A beautiful, slender watch, silver with a white leather strap. “Radimir, this is very generous, but I don’t need gifts…”
“It’s not for showing off,” he told me. “It’s for safety.” He grabbed my arm, placed the watch on my wrist and buckled it on. I sat there staring: partly because I was shocked into silence but mostly...the brush of those big fingers against my sensitive skin felt incredible. And there was something about the way he cinched the leather strap tight that was very...possessive.
He pointed to the watch face. “If you’re ever in trouble, turn the bezel a full turn clockwise.”
I blinked. “What happens then?”
“I will come for you.”
My stomach flipped.In trouble.I was a target, now, because I was with him. I looked at the credit card and the watch.My new life.Luxury and danger.
Radimir told me he’d drop me at the bookstore on his way to work, even though I was pretty sure it wasn’tonhis way. It wasstill really early but that was fine: I could get an early start. As we were riding the elevator down, I got a message from Jen.Want to get lunch? Sadie and Luna are in.
And that’s when I realized that Jen and my other friends had no idea I was getting married.
For a moment, I thought about not telling them until it was all done. I could keep a secret for three weeks. But I already felt isolated enough, with Baba in hospital. I was going to have to do this without a family. I couldn’t do it without friends, too. I needed to tell them, even if I had to be economical with the truth. So I typed backAbsolutely.
All morning, as I worked in the bookstore, I rehearsed different ways of telling them. But by lunchtime I was no closer to figuring it out. I hung the Closed sign on the door and locked up. I felt guilty closing even for an hour, but it was quiet and I had to close to go to my hospital appointment anyway.
The restaurant was just down the street, a little Italian place we’d been going to for years. It was tucked away in a basement, with tiny tables and low ceilings, but thetagliatelle mistowas amazing and it was loud and chaotic enough that my big news wouldn’t draw much attention...I hoped.
The others were already there. Jen was playing a breadstick drum solo on the edge of the table. Luna was almost hidden behind her menu, looking like a baby owl as her big, round glasses peeked over the top. She’s a hospital lab technician and the quietest of us. Sadie, the only one of us in a suit, was hunched forward over the table, trying to hear the phone she had pressed to her ear. She’s an account manager for an advertising firm and her bosses push her harder than can possibly be healthy.
I’ve known all three of them since I was eight. When my parents died and Baba took me in, I had to move schools, right in the middle of elementary school, and the kids weren’t exactly welcoming. But Jen, Luna and Sadie had already formed their own little group of outcasts and invited me in, and we’ve been friends ever since.
I slid into a seat, and we ordered. As soon as the waiter had gone, Jen put down her breadsticks and leaned forward. “What is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve got that look,” said Jen. “Is it the Russian guy again?” She leaned in even more. “Yesterday, you said it was okay. Is itnotokay? Do I need to break his kneecaps?”
“Who’s the Russian guy?” Luna wanted to know.
I tried to get a word in but didn’t make it. “Growly suited hottie,” Jen told her. “But he chased her out of the store in tears yesterday.”
“Why was he intears?”Luna asked.
Jen rolled her eyes. “Nothim, her!”
I finally got to speak. “Yes, it’s him and yes it’s okay—” I looked around at them helplessly.Oh God, how do I do this?And then I sighed and justwompedmy left hand down in the middle of the table.
All three of them froze and stared at the ring. “I’m gonna have to call you back,” Sadie mumbled into her phone, and ended the call.
“What. The. Fuck?” asked Jen, her eyes bugging out. She flagged down a passing waiter. “We need a bottle of Chardonnay and four glasses,stat!”
“His name’s Radimir. I’ve been seeing him for about five weeks.” I conveniently left out the part where in all that time, we’d spent a few hours and two nights together. Oh, and the part about him being a frickin’ Russian mafia boss.
“Fiveweeks?!”asked Sadie, mouth wide.
“I know it’s sudden—” I began.