Page 38 of Ivory Oath

I’m not sure what to make of that, so I stare at him, waiting.

“You and I didn’t get to know each other the way most people do. We never had a first date.” He stops, considering that point. “I’ve never had a first date with anyone, actually.”

“Are you trying to humble brag about how women throw themselves at you without the promise of a free dinner and drinks? If so, I’d like to go back to bed.”

I pretend to walk away, but Mikhail grabs my elbow. He draws slow circles over the inside of my arm with his thumb. Awareness thrums through me.

In his defense, it’s not hard to understand why women throw themselves at him.

“What I’m trying to do is tell you that there has never been a woman who made me want to try. Until you.”

I’m just as frozen as I was in bed. I’m just as terrified, too. I don’t want to make any sudden moves in case this moment shatters.

“I told you before that I was a wreck after you left. And I told you that I had to come save you from Trofim because you didn’t belong there. But it wasn’t because I felt guilty about sending you away or because I was jealous that you were going to marry some other man.” He blows out a breath. “The reason I was a wreck and had to come save you is because I’m in love with you.”

Mikhail is staring straight into my eyes, saying words I never thought I’d hear, and I can’t move. Can’t speak. Tears slip down my cheeks, and I can’t even wipe them away.

So Mikhail does it for me.

He cradles my face, using his thumbs to dab my tears away. “I was wrong when I made you leave, Viviana. Even if you had killed Trofim, I still would have been wrong. Because I should have killed Trofim six years ago when I saw the way he was throwing you around that hotel room. I should have killed him for having you and being stupid enough not to realize how fucking lucky he was.”

I choke out a sob, barely managing to wrangle the emotions raging through my chest. “But the Greeks…”

His mouth quirks into the most gorgeous smile I’ve ever seen. “I already told you: being able to have you is the best reason I can think of to go to war. I’ll kill them all to keep you and Dante.”

The tears won’t stop. I bury my face in Mikhail’s shoulder, sobbing while he holds me.

“This was supposed to make you happy,” he whispers in my ear.

That, of course, only makes me cry harder.

He’s patient with me, holding me close until I can pull myself together and look in his eyes without dissolving into more tears. “So what’s the telescope for?”

“I tell you I love you and you’re still focused on the telescope?” He shakes his head. “Reminder for next time: show her the star you bought and named after her and then confess how you feel.”

I pull back, still clutching his shoulders. “You bought me a star?”

He directs me down to the blanket and checks the telescope. Then he points for me to look.

The section of sky I can see through the viewfinder is dark, white pinpricks splattered like paint.

“Actually, I bought three stars. Do you see the small cluster on the left? There are three of them. One for each of us.” His hand settles on my thigh. “You, me, and Dante.”

My heart swells. A million thoughts run through my head about what this means and where we go from here. Then I see another star just underneath the cluster of three.

When I tell him the news about the baby, will he buy that one, too? So all of us can be up there together. Forever. What if there’s more in our future? What if we buy the whole galaxy and fill it with little Novikovs?

“Do you like it?”

“It’s perfect,” I choke out.

“Anatoly mentioned flowers and chocolates,” he says dismissively, “but this felt better.”

I finally look up at him, my cheeks flushed. “You talked to Anatoly about me?”

“Shocking, I know.” He chuckles. “He was unbearable through the entire process. That should be proof enough that I’ll do anything it takes to show you how I feel. I probably didn’t need to do the rest of this.”

I squeeze his hand and press my cheek to his shoulder. He’s solid and warm—a safe place to land. “I’m glad you did the rest of it. It’s nice.”

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