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“Ah, Sebastian Petrosky,” he says as we enter. “How good to see you.” He embraces him, kissing him on each cheek.
“It is very good to see you, sir.”
He laughs. “Call me, Victor tonight.” He then turns his attention to me. A wolfish grin spreads across his face. “Please introduce me to this exquisite creature.”
“Victor, this is Dr. Madison Graham, my fiancée.”
My hand is swallowed up by Victor’s. “What a pleasure to meet you, my dear.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” I reply with my most alluring smile as I hold his gaze.
His grin broadens as he snaps a finger at his servant. “Bring drinks for my guests.” He says, never taking his eyes off me. “Is this your first time to Moscow?”
“Yes, it is but it won’t be my last, I assure you.”
He hitches up a thick gray brow. “Oh, so you’ve enjoyed our fair city?”
I close my eyes dreamily. “I’ve absolutely fallen in love with it. It’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world.”
“Beauty knows beauty,” he says slyly. “Please come, have a seat.”
“Victor, this is for you,” Sebastian hands Victor a gift-wrapped bottle of very expensive Beluga Vodka.
He takes it and examines it. “Ah, a very fine vintage. You have excellent taste.” His eyes flick toward me. “In everything, it seems.”
We follow him over to the sofa. He sits in an armchair across from us and sets the vodka on the coffee table. “Sebastian tells me that you are a cardiothoracic surgeon,” he says clearly impressed. “How did you become interested in this field of medicine?”
“My mother passed away of a rare heart disease when I was a child,” I reply with enough sensitivity to suggest it was difficult but not enough that I was forever debilitated by it. “So, the study of the heart became critical to me. I hoped I could help others avoid the tragedy that I suffered.”
“Ah, most admirable,” Victor says, “but surgery…that’s not the mere study of the heart. You,” he made a sawing motion with his hand, “cut into the chest, hold the heart in your hands.” His gray eyes narrow at me. “Was it at all difficult to overcome any aversion one might naturally have to such things.”
I chuckle demurely having this conversation with numerous others. “During biology classes in high school, I may have…been sick a few times before I learned to control it. By the time I reached medical school, I could cut open the chest of a cadaver without blinking an eye.”
His eyes narrow further as he studies me, trying to figure me out. I have a strange feeling that I have…disturbed him. As if he’s having great difficulty reconciling the woman before him with a cold-hearted butcher.
He’s got it all wrong. “I want to help people, make them better,” I offer. “If that means I have to do the difficult work of removing or repairing damaged parts of their body, then I must set aside any aversions I might have and get the job done. I save lives, Mr. Volkov.” I give him a coquettish smile. “I don’t cut open people for pleasure.”
His face smooths out and he nods appreciatively. “I can see why young Sebastian has fallen so completely for you, such beauty, brains and wit are a rare combination in a woman.”
Or a man, for that matter, I resist saying. I’m here to help charm him, not school him on feminism.
“And please, dear girl, call me Victor.” He crosses his legs and sits back as he appraises me. “I believe your father was a captain in the United States Navy.” He lifts his chin. “How does he feel about you taking up with a Russian boy, huh?”
I take a deep breath and I consider how best to answer. “Since my mother’s death, my father has gone into a state of depression of sorts. I was mostly raised by my aunt after my mother passed away. Father and I speak occasionally, but he seems to have contented himself to a hermit’s life in Anchorage, Alaska. You know, where he can use his telescope to stare at the stars and keep an eye on the Russians.”
His expression falls at that. But then almost imperceptibly, a smile creeps across his face as he wags a finger at me. “Ah, a sense of humor too. I like this girl of yours, Sebastian. If I’d been a much younger man, I would give you quite the challenge.”
Sebastian chuckles, even as I sense him bristle at the suggestion.
“But seriously, my father really doesn’t have much to say to anyone these days, much less opine on my love life.” I turn to Bash. “I love Sebastian. I love practicing medicine. As long as I have those two things, nothing else really matters.”
The servant enters the room carrying a tray filled with drinks. I take what appears to be a pear martini and pretend to sip on it. Bash and Victor take what appears to be shots of bourbon. I begin to regret that we started drinking before we arrived. He’ll be smashed by the time the evening is over.
We engage in a little more small talk about my visit, about my residency and even about whether I’d consider a fellowship here in Moscow. All in all, I think it’s going remarkably well. So why do I get this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach?
Chapter 32 – Opening Salvo
Shortlyafterwearrived,another guest, a lady friend of Victor’s, shows up stylishly dressed for the evening. She’s introduced as a dear old friend who was visiting from London.
