AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I can hear the wind whistling past my ears. The air is fresh up here, crisp and cool. The sounds of the city are distant, far below us and almost forgotten. It's a little jarring not being able to see where I am, but I trust Leo not to let me fall. With his chest against my back, he’s a sturdy support as he leads me forward.
“Are we there?” I asked him with a giggle.
“Almost. Just one more second.”
When he steps away, I finally open my eyes. I gasp at the absolutely breathtaking view.
We're standing on top of one of Moscow's tallest skyscrapers, looking down upon the shimmering lights of the city. Everything looks impossibly small from up here. People and cars appear as nothing more than ants, going about their business while we observe from above. The sun has long since set beyond the horizon, a speckling of stars splashed across the black night sky above.
Most spectacular of all, however, is the single table set up before us. There are two chairs, two place settings, and a single candle at the center. Our food has already been prepared for us, hot and steaming on plates of fine China.
I turn to face Leo, my jaw dropped open in awe. “Did you do all this?”
He nods. “Didn't want anyone bothering us this time.”
“When did you even have time to put all this together?”
“I know some people,” he says as he pulls out my chair.
I can't help but laugh softly as I take my offered seat. “You're really something else.”
“How do you mean?”
I gesture vaguely about the space. “This. Buying that restaurant. Becoming the Bolshoi's top patron. Moonlighting as legal counsel. Owning a whole company…”
Bratva.
I push the thought away.
“I only own a fifth of it,” he amends.
His modesty makes me smile. “You're a man of many faces.”
Leo shrugs noncommittally, but I catch a glimpse of something almost…guiltyghost across his features. It's gone in a flash, though, as he takes his seat and makes for his fork. “Please enjoy.”
I dig into my food greedily. We're having spaghetti tonight. A simple dish, but it tastes like heaven. Every noodle is coated in rich Bolognese sauce, and to wash it down, Leo's thoughtfully prepared two glasses of Diet Coke.
“Where did you grow up?” I ask him, eager to finally crack through that thick outer shell of his. Thoughts of Inessa try to weasel their way to the forefront, but I stamp them down into the furthest crevices of my mind. I want to enjoy myself tonight. I can deal with my mother later.
“Born and raised in Moscow,” Leo answers. “You?”
“Same.”
“Any siblings?”
I shake my head. “ An only child.”
“I'm envious. My brothers were always such a headache.”
A laugh bubbles past my lips. “Are you kidding? I'm the one who's envious. It would have been so nice to have a brother or sister around.”
I twirl my pasta onto my fork, thoughts of my lonely childhood playing across my mind's eye. The more I think about it, the more I realize it might have been a blessing. Inessa was always so hard on me. I can't bear the thought of a younger sibling enduring the same constant, suffocating scrutiny she bestowed upon me.
I chew on the inside of my cheek, glancing at him with curiosity. My gaze traces the line of his scar, the grayness of his pupil. “Can I ask you a kind of personal question?”
“Are you going to ask me about my eye?”
“Uh…no?”
