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I ran upstairs to put on something cuter than the shorts and t-shirt I was wearing, pulling out several of the sundresses and rompers that I’d acquired during my short time as Yuri’s wife. And while I was in the big walk-in closet that was all mine and at least the size of my living area in my old apartment, I truly did feel like a wife. I was buzzing after my heartfelt speech, getting exactly what I wanted out of it.
Not that it was all a lie. None of it was, really. Just that I was speaking the truth for not so honest reasons. I needed Yuri to trust me, to tell me what I wanted to know, but I also wanted us to be more relaxed around each other, and not just in bed like I pointed out. He was being so sweet, keeping his promise to take me out today. It was clear how much he wanted to please me. Maybe that was for his own gain, there was no way to know. I had to assume we were both playing the game we were forced to be part of, and the best I could do was try to win without completely crushing Yuri along with my father. I didn’t even have any real rancor against the Morozovs. Theresa especially had been nothing but nice to me. They made it difficult to keep my eye on the prize, but I knew I’d never find true peace and the freedom I’d been fighting for until my father no longer had any power.
Pushing aside my guilt at the mild manipulations I was practicing, I picked out a dark green strappy dress that Yuri had never seen on me. It made my eye color pop and I brushed my hair until it shone like spun gold, then tied it up in a high, swingy ponytail. He made it obvious he liked watching my hair swing around and I liked that he liked it.
He met me at the bottom of the stairs, a big grin on his face showing he approved of my outfit choice. He grabbed me by the waist when I was on the second to the bottom stair and lifted me the rest of the way down, planting a kiss on my lips before he set my feet on the ground.
“Can’t wait to show my girl off to Miami Beach,” he said.
“I don’t mind showing you off, either,” I told him, admiring his broad shoulders in the fresh, snugly fitting shirt he’d put on, and the way his jeans clung to his muscular thighs.
I followed him into the cavernous garage, past the staid SUV he drove to work. He clicked the key to his racy red convertible and the top slowly slid back. We drove at a relaxed pace off our small island and down the causeway to the beach, enjoying the wind and sunshine.
He pulled into a parking garage and we strolled along a bustling street, pausing to look into the windows of tourist shops full of sunglasses, magnets and t-shirts, sunblock, and beach towels. He smiled at my reflection in one of the windows and pressed his finger into my bare shoulder.
“You’re getting a little burned,” he said. “You’re white as a ghost.”
I give him an eye roll. “Install an outdoor pool,” I suggested. He had an indoor one that I used a few times, but it wasn’t the same without the sunshine.
He shook his head. “You were alabaster pale on our wedding night, too. I don’t remember you being so fair when you worked for me.”
I wasn’t then, because I used to live a normal life. I dated the man I fell in love with, had a job I enjoyed, went to lunches with my coworkers. Then he dumped me and while I was crying myself into a puddle, I got a message from my old friend in Russia. It was possible my father was on my trail and I should lay low. I didn’t want to leave the city I’d grown to love in such a short time, but I had no more reason to keep going to work at Yuri’s firm, so I ghosted everyone I knew and started fresh, hiding out so I could stay in Miami, even though it meant I never got to enjoy the place anymore.
I was enjoying it plenty now, and didn’t want to talk about my reasons for becoming a shut-in. But Yuri wouldn’t drop it and I finally confessed my reasons for staying inside almost all the time, until I’d become as pale as a worm.
“A porcelain doll is far more apt than a worm,” he said, wrinkling his nose at my description. “Let’s get some sunscreen on you before we walk around anymore. There’s still a lot of sun left in the sky.”
I let him buy a bottle and smear the sunblock on my shoulders and back, carefully dabbing some on my nose. He was deeply tanned already but I felt I had to return the favor, slapping a big dollop across his cheeks and laughing at my handiwork.
With a good natured scowl, he peered at his reflection in the window of a bookstore and rubbed it in, then suggested we explore inside.
I went to find the classics while he veered off into the science fiction section. We met at the coffee shop in the back with our selections. He ordered us each an espresso and cookies and joined me in the cozy booth where I waited.
“We’ll never get to sleep tonight after this,” I said, toasting him with my tiny but strong cup of coffee.
He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Fine with me.” His hand reached under the table to squeeze my knee and I smiled, pulling over the books he picked out while he looked over mine.
“Anna Karenina,” he said. “You know I’ve never actually read it.”
“It’s a must,” I said. “But very sad. Pride and Prejudice has a much nicer ending.”
“Why are you getting books you’ve already read?” he asked, nibbling on his sugar cookie.
A few crumbs clung to his lips and I leaned over to kiss them away, feeling warm and gooey and the way I used to back when we first started dating in secret.
“I find them comforting,” I admitted. “When everything else is in upheaval, I can count on my favorite books to be the same.”
He frowned. “I don’t want things to be in upheaval for you.”
I shook my head and leaned over to kiss him again. “Show me what you picked,” I said against his lips. I wanted to maintain the illusion that we were as happy as we seemed. For the moment it felt real and it felt good. Too good to give up yet.
He showed me several books about space colonization on Mars and I looked at him with new eyes. “I never once knew you liked this kind of thing.”
“I have phases and like to try out all sorts of fiction. You can go to my library and read any of my books if you want.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “We can have a book club.”
I expected him to roll his eyes at the suggestion, but he seemed eager to give it a go, telling me to pick the first book and he’d get started on it.
