Galina Ivanov was now truly without any family. Her grandmother, Zoya Erin, had just passed away and when Galina received a registered letter summoning her to a lawyer's office downtown Boston, she couldn't imagine why until the reading of her will...
Galina's thoughts took her back over the events of her morning with Ilia. She was falling for him, that was for sure, but is it possible that he could feel the same way about her?
She was petrified of being hurt, but Zoya always told her that if she was afraid to step out and take a chance, she would never know what she'd been missing.
Zoya was right. She would take a chance, this evening, and tell Ilia how she felt. She wanted to see where their feelings would take them, if his were the same as hers. That would be the deal breaker.
Galina picked up a bundle and started leafing through the papers. This was nothing but personal things from Zoya. So she didn't need to look at that any further.
She selected another bundle and as soon as she opened it, she saw her name, Galina Toykin, plus there was another name, Mikel Savin. Was that someone related to Ilia? She kept reading further.
She clutched her heart as the words jumped off the page at her. Words like given, sold, for benefit of the family, belongs to the Savin family, Ilia's responsibility. Was she some kind of prize that had been won? Was she a consolation prize? What did this all mean?
She was beyond knowing what to think about all of this, so she kept digging. She saw Irina's name. "Oh my God" Galina whispered. It basically eluded to the fact that Irina was Ilia's cousin, not hers. All these years she was told that Irina Ovinko was her blood family.
What was this madness that she'd stumbled into? Does that mean a more sinister plot was in the works and that's why Irina was murdered? Was it because she was going to tell Galina something that she shouldn't share?
She felt lightheaded as she tried to stand. Gripping the couch, she stumbled from the study and made her way to Ilia's bedroom for her purse. She finally managed to get a pill from the bottle and placed it under her tongue.
She wanted to believe that Ilia really wanted her, for her, that the events of the last twenty-four hours, between them, had been real and not just made up for her benefit.
Ilia had been gone all day long and she hadn't heard back from him in that time and maybe it's for the best, given the current revelations.
Not being able to find anything else to wear other than Ilia's shirt, she grabbed her purse and marched to the back door, where one of Ilia's men was stationed.
"Can you please take me home? I need to gather some of my clothes and other items. Please?" she asked, putting her best innocent face forward. The man melted at the sight of her.
Galina gasped when she entered Zoya's house. It looked like the same couch only there was no blood anywhere on it. The window had been replaced and it looked like she had just returned from shopping.
Shaking her head, she headed for the shower. That's what she needed, something to wash it all down the drain. Once everything was washed, conditioned, shaved and pampered, she stepped from the shower and dried off.
Opening her dresser, she took out some boxer pj bottoms that were white with a wide gray stripe and a white tank shirt.
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She slathered her legs, arms, shoulders and stomach with her Summer Splash lotion which filled the air with it's wonderful grapefruit-type scent. Not feeling like eating, she pulled the comforter down and climbed in under the sheets.
Her mind wondered aimlessly from thoughts of Ilia and what it felt like with his body laying next to hers. The way he'd kissed her, his eyes, the way they consumed her.
Tears started forming as her mind and heart fought a hearty battle as to which one would win this time, only time would know the answer to that.
She felt like a silly little girl and she wondered if Ilia thought of her that way as well. Was she just an innocent that he needed to conquer, another notch to his belt?
Groaning out loud, flipping over to her back, she pounded the mattress in frustration and decided that she really needed some tea. Maybe that would be the magic fix, for now anyway.
Deciding to dry her hair a little more, she made her way into the bathroom to use the blow dryer. Once she was happy with not having wet hair laying on her shoulder, she disappeared into the little kitchen and picked up the kettle to fill it.
Lost in thought, Galina jumped when the kettle started whistling. Shaking her head at her jumpiness, she grabbed a chamomile and green tea bag and placed it in her tea cup. Pouring the boiling water over the bag, the smell started coming through right away.
Blowing gently on the liquid, she took a sip and closed her eyes. That was just what she needed. Padding her way to the living room, she took a seat in one the chair opposite the couch. She didn't know if she could ever sit there again.
She was bored. Drumming her fingers, she looked around the living room again at all the pictures and little trinkets that Zoya had collected.
"Oh Zoya. If I ever needed to talk to you it is now" she said softly, the tears beginning to fall again. She thought she'd rid herself of that in the shower, but they were making an appearance again.
Ilia's face kept creeping into view and part of her wished she could just quit thinking about him and the other part of her was thankful for the images.
Galina had noticed a couple of extra pillows from the closet and went to retrieve those. Getting herself set up in bed, she picked up the Charles Dickens book that Ilia had lent her.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" Galina read aloud softly. She scoffed. "Isn't that the truth, Charlie" she laughed to herself and continued reading.
She actually managed to read the first four chapters before she started to feel really sleepy and decided that she needed rest more than a book fix. Finding a piece of paper that would suffice as a bookmark, she marked her place and laid the book on the bedside table.
Reaching over, she turned out the light and scooted down under the sheets. Yawning, she placed her folded hands under her pillow and closed her eyes. Her last waking thoughts were of those steel gray eyes and beautiful lips.
