“Yes, a date.”
“But what about security? What about the Irish being after me?”
“Taken care of. A man in my position with my connections can make lots of things happen,” he says as he smiles at me.
“Where are we going?” I ask him.
“You’ll see. Now go upstairs and get dressed in something comfortable,” Ivan replies.
“Okay.” I hop off my seat at the kitchen island, and Ivan playfully swats my butt when I walk by him. I’m finally getting out of this house. Granted, I don’t know where we’re going, but at least I can be a little relieved that I’m not stuck inside all day.
I quickly climb the stairs to my room and throw on a pair of jeans and my favorite sweater. Ivan said to dress comfortably, and this is my comfiest outfit. I swipe some mascara on my lashes and gloss on my lips, then put on my shoes and head back downstairs.
Ivan is waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase with my coat. He helps me into it and squeezes my shoulders. Taking my hand in his, he leads me out the front door and to a waiting car.
“So when are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I ask Ivan as we make our way into the city. Ilya is driving us in a car that has a divider between the front and back seats.
“You’ll see,” Ivan replies. He’s still holding my hand, and I’m loving the feeling of it.
Soon, we are pulling up in front of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
“We’re here,” Ivan says before opening his door to get out of the car. He holds his hand out for me to take and helps me out the door, closing it behind me.
“I’ve been wanting to come here since I moved to Boston,” I say as I look up at the building.
“Oh yeah?” Ivan asks, holding open the front door of the museum so I can walk inside.
“Yes, I’ve always had an appreciation for art and history, and this place kind of has it all when you think about. It’s a pretty incredible collection.”
“Not as incredible as you are,” Ivan says, looking at me like I’m the most precious thing in the museum. I look up at him, and he places a soft kiss on my temple.
“Mr. Kiselyov, Ms. Murphy, welcome to the Gardner museum,” a woman’s voice greets us. She reaches out to shake both of our hands, and we return the handshakes.
“Thank you for having us,” I tell her.
“Are you ready for your tour?” she asks.
“Our tour?” I look between Ivan and the woman.
“We have the entire museum to ourselves for as long as you wish,” Ivan tells me.
I stare back at him in shock while the tour guide just smiles at us. I take a look towards the museum entrance, and notice that Ilya and my new bodyguard are standing just inside the door, while several other members of Ivan’s security team stand outside the entrance.
“The museum is closed just for us, Emma,” Ivan whispers in my ear. “There is nothing to worry about. Nobody can get to us here.”
“Are you sure?” I ask him.
“Just let them try and see what happens,” Ivan replies with a smile. “We are ready for our tour now.” He smiles at the tour guide, threading his fingers with mine. I can’t help but jump with excitement and giggle like a school girl.
The next three hours are spent wandering through the Gardner museum, both inside and out. He lets me go on and on about the things that excite me. I think he did it mostly just to see me smile. Sometimes, I would wander off to look at something while Ivan studied a painting or sculpture. It wouldn’t be long before I would feel him wrap his arms around my shoulders and press his front to my back.
“Are you hungry?” Ivan asks as I’m standing in front of a portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner.
“Starving,” I reply. My stomach grumbles in agreement.
“Good.” Ivan smiles and takes my hand as we say goodbye to the tour guide and walk out to the car.
Ilya and my new bodyguard return to their seats up front and drive us to the restaurant. I really need to get the name of the new guy if Yuri is no longer going to be around.
