Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 76915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 385(@200wpm)___ 308(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“Ready for the next stop?” Anton asked as he handed me a glass. I nodded happily, sipping and staring out the window as we travelled back through Brooklyn to Manhattan.
Chapter 31
Anton
“Ready to eat some more?”
“I think so,” Mishka said uncertainly. It was still early, but we had quickly changed into evening clothes in the suite and were already back in the limo. She looked so stunning in the elegant dress I had picked out, that it was hard to focus. “Another hot dog?”
I started laughing.
“No Mishka, this is going to be a singular experience. I am taking you to visit with one of the most famous chefs in the world. Think you can muster up your appetite?”
“Oh… yes, of course.”
“Maybe we will walk there. Work up your… hunger.”
“I would like that,” she said with a smile. I had noticed how much she liked to walk. And I enjoyed indulging her above all else.
Plus, it was amusing to watch everyone stop and stare at the rare beauty by my side.
We’d already visited another museum after our adventures in Brooklyn. Watching Mishka experience New York for the first time was a marvel. She amazed me. She was so sweet and gracious, always impressed by the art we were viewing. Meanwhile, her own talent was astonishing. Not just her abilities, which were tremendous, but her passion.
Her talent rivaled any of the artists hanging in the museums we visited. If they could hang music in a gallery, she would be right there beside Picasso or Monet.
I could still hear her playing from earlier in the afternoon. It reverberated through my ears, my brain, my heart. I could feel it in my very soul.
Watching her play on tinny security cameras, even the top-of-the-line equipment at my Moscow estate, did not compare in the slightest with seeing her play in the flesh. It was like comparing a gnat to a blue whale. I got chills just thinking about it.
My Mishka was one of a kind. Not just one in a million, or one in a billion, she was a miracle. One of the greatest artists of all time. I was not exaggerating due to my feelings for her.
She was magnificent.
It was not merely my desire for her that colored my opinion of her talent. She was truly brilliant. I think that even if she had not been so exceptionally beautiful, if she were a plain, meek little thing, I would have fallen in love with her after hearing her play.
I quickly communicated the new plan with my staff and they phoned ahead to Massa to let them know we would be a few minutes late. The meal was normally seven hundred and fifty per person, but since I had rented out the entire restaurant for an early pre theater supper, the charge was closer to twenty thousand dollars.
It did not matter. My Mishka was worth it. And we still had time. I doubted the Metropolitan Opera company would wait for us if dinner ran late, but I could try.
The walk across the park was lovely. I had come to appreciate strolling in a way I never had before. True, I had romped through the grounds of our estates with my brothers as children. And we had certainly enjoyed nature while game hunting in the countryside back home, as well as in Scotland, and other parts of the world.
But simply walking for the pleasure of it? For the pleasure of a woman? It was unthinkable in many ways.
And yet, walking through New York over the past few days was the best thing in the world. Particularly with the small, perfectly formed, and powerfully talented hand in mine. I squeezed her hand gently, and was rewarded with a shy smile.
Mishka was delighted by everything. The children who ran past us. The old couple sitting on a park bench. The horse drawn carriages. Even the joggers, bikers, and skaters made her smile. I made a mental note to take her ice skating the first chance we got.
The thought was unbearably romantic, and I simply could not wait.
We came out of the park near Columbus Circle this time, which was my plan. My men moved quickly now, closing ranks. They had given us a wide berth in the park. But here, they had to be closer. We headed to the tall building and took a private elevator to the entrance for Masa, which was by far one of the most exclusive restaurants in the entire world, and a personal favorite of my brothers and mine.
Mishka looked around in wonder. She was wearing a stunning black strapless evening gown, with a white ermine cape jacket. She must have known it was not going to be an ordinary evening. But I knew she was not expecting anything as special as this.
My little bird had not seen luxury like this until she had met me. And I had barely begun to spoil and pamper her. If I had my way, I would be giving her princess treatment for the rest of both of our lives.