“Let’s both stand up. You’ve been on one knee long enough.” I laughed.
We rose, and I extended my left hand in Sergei’s. He slipped the ring onto my finger, sending sparks through my wrist and up my arm. What the stone may have lacked in size, it made up for in brilliance. I’d never seen a diamond shine so brightly.
Sergei placed his lips on the ring. “Forever.”
I wound my arms around his neck and echoed, “Forever.”
Over his shoulder, I took in the romantic splendor around us. “The terrace looks amazing. When did you plan all this?”
“I’ve had the ring for a couple of months. I wanted to propose in this spot since it was here I first knew I had feelings for you.”
“The dinner party.” I smiled as I remembered some of the looks Sergei had given me that night.
A couple of raindrops landed on Sergei’s nose, and he glanced up at the night sky. “I think that’s our cue to take this party inside.”
I grabbed the book and helped Sergei blow out the candles. We hurried into the house, and I didn’t realize how cold I was until I met the contrasting warmth of the living room. I removed my wet leather boots and cuddled with Sergei on the sofa. We both agreed dinner could wait.
“Everything you said was so beautiful.” I ran my hand down his chest and smiled at my ring glinting in the light.
“I had more planned to say in case you needed persuading.” He grinned and kissed the tip of my nose. “I was going to list what I love about you.”
“ Aww , I wouldn’t have accepted so quickly if I’d known.” I winked and angled my head to one side. “Can I still hear the rest?”
He kissed my lips lightly. “I love you because you are kind.” Another kiss followed on my forehead. “And exquisitely beautiful.” His mouth moved to my cheek. “Mind-blowingly smart.” Then to my other cheek. “Gracefully strong.” His lips brushed along my jaw. “Irresistibly sexy.” And a gentle kiss on my neck. “And amazingly sweet.”
Under Sergei’s touch, my body had more than thawed. I took off my jacket and tossed it onto the coffee table.
Sergei toyed with the strap of my camisole and kissed my bare shoulder. “Did I mention sexy?”
I was sure there must be a puddle on the floor where I had melted. Sergei locked his lips on mine and eased me back onto the fluffy throw pillows. With our arms and legs entangled, I couldn’t tell where one of us ended and the other began.
“I love you so much,” I whispered between kisses. “I can’t wait to be your wife.”
“I was thinking tomorrow could work.” His smile flashed mischief.
I laughed. “I was thinking more like late summer. I need time to plan.”
“You think too logically.” He nuzzled my neck.
“My mom’s probably going to need some time to digest the news.”
“Well, your dad already knows.”
“He does?” I maneuvered upright.
“While you were partying at Nationals, I was having a talk with him. I wanted his blessing before I asked you to marry me.”
Love overflowed in my heart and poured out as tears. I jumped onto Sergei, pushing him back onto the sofa. My hair hung like curtains around his face. I lowered myself onto him, and my mouth hovered close to his.
“Thank you so much for doing that. It means the world to me.”
“I know how important your family is to you.”
I kissed him and ignored the shrill ring of the phone. The answering machine picked up, and the urgency of Mom’s message pulled my attention from Sergei.
“Emily, please call me as soon as possible. I need to talk to you.”
I sat up and sighed. “I guess Dad told her. I should probably deal with this now.” I reached around Sergei for the cordless phone on the end table.
Mom answered on the first ring, and I started talking, “Mom, please don’t get negative on me again. You’ve been getting along so well with Sergei, and this is the happiest day of my life.”
“This isn’t about your engagement, although we do need to discuss that. I called because I received a very disturbing phone call from Viktor.”
The familiar tightness returned to my stomach. “Viktor?”
Sergei’s eyes darkened, and he leaned toward me. Mom spoke in a rush, “He asked me if I know you’re seeing Sergei. I told him what you do is none of his business. Then he asked how much your reputation is worth to me.”
“What it’s worth to you?”
“He wants money to keep quiet, Emily. Did you know he’d found out about you and Sergei?”
I bent forward and rested my forehead on my clenched fist. “He made some threats at Nationals, but we thought he might just be trying to scare us. I never thought he would involve you.”
Sergei touched my arm. “What did he do?”
I slanted the phone away from my mouth. “He’s asking them for money.”
“Your father wants to go to the police. This man is trying to blackmail us.” Mom’s hysteria increased with each breath.
“No, you can’t go to the police.” I leapt to my feet. “Then the media will get hold of it, and we’ll be in the middle of a huge scandal.”
“Well, we can’t let Viktor do whatever he wants!”
Sergei stood and planted his feet. “We have to go to the federation and tell them about Viktor’s threats.”
I looked at him in disbelief. “If we do that, we have to tell them what he has on us. What if they decide to make an example of us and discipline you? What if they stop you from going to the Olympics?”
“I heard what Sergei suggested,” Mom said. “And I think he’s right.”
Sergei took my hand. “I’m not going to give Viktor any more chances to hurt you or your family. This has to end.”
His eyes blazed with determination. I put my arms around him and heard Mom calling my name through the phone.
“You’re going to the federation?” she asked.
I watched Sergei for any sign of wavering. His jaw remained set, and he pressed his palm against mine. He seemed so sure this was the answer, but I feared the backlash.
“Yes. God willing, they won’t turn it around on us,” I said.
“Dad and I will speak to whoever we need to and tell them you’ve done nothing wrong.”
“You’ll speak on Sergei’s behalf?”
She hesitated, and I prompted her, “Mom?”
“Of course. I know I had reservations about your relationship, but I’ve seen how much Sergei loves you and how well you’ve handled working together. His ability to coach shouldn’t be questioned.”
I exhaled. “Thank you. I have a feeling we’re going to need all the help we can get.”
“Now, whether I think you’re ready to get married is another issue.”
“Can we talk about that later? We should focus on getting through this issue first.”
After Mom and I wrapped up our conversation, I dug out my U.S. Figure Skating rulebook, and Sergei and I read through the grievance filing process. He helped me draft my claim against Viktor, which detailed each incident of inappropriate behavior. My next step was to fax the letter to the head of the grievance committee.
“I have to tell Aubrey I’m doing this. I hoped it wouldn’t come to this and she wouldn’t get caught in the middle of my problems. But Viktor couldn’t let it go,” I cried and flung the rulebook across the sofa.
Sergei brought me into his arms and gently rocked me. He was still holding me when Aubrey arrived home. She jogged up the stairs to the living room, shrugging out of her coat, and noticed our solemn faces.
“What’s going on?”
Sergei kissed the top of my head and stood up. “I’ll get out of here so you can talk. We can send the letter in the morning.”
Aubrey cast a worried glance from Sergei to me. “This sounds serious.”
“I’ll be back in a minute,” I said.
I walked Sergei to the door and hugged him. “It started out as a wonderful night. The most wonderful night ever.”
“It’s still the most wonderful night of my life. No matter what happens with the federation, nothing’s going to change the fact that we’ll be together forever.”
We shared one final sweet kiss, and I trudged upstairs. I sat next to Aubrey on the couch, but before I could speak, her eyes zeroed in on my left hand.
“ Em !” She grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand up to her face. “Is this an engagement ring?”
I couldn’t look at the diamond without smiling. “Yes.”
“Congratulations!” She threw her arms around me. “Why did you guys look so upset? Why aren’t you celebrating?”
“There’s something else going on you need to know about. Something that will affect you, too. It involves Viktor.”
Her smile faded. “What about him?”
“He found out about me and Sergei, and he’s threatening to expose us. He came after me, physically, and now he’s asking my parents for money.”
“What did he do to you?” She appeared afraid to hear my answer.
“He caught me alone after the party in L.A., and he got very rough and said I needed to make it worth his while to keep my secret. I’m not sure what he would’ve done if Sergei hadn’t shown up.”
Aubrey’s mouth twisted and her eyes glistened, not with tears of shock but what looked like tears of understanding.
“You don’t look surprised,” I said.
Her chin quivered, and she shook her head slowly back and forth. “I’m not. Because it’s happened to me, too.”
“Aubrey,” I said softly and laid my hand on her knee. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Viktor said he would tell everyone I came on to him. I didn’t want to get into a big messy scandal. I just wanted it to all go away and forget about it.” Her voice was firm despite her tears.
“How bad did he hurt you? He didn’t . . .” I didn’t want to think about the possibilities, much less state them aloud.
“No.” Her head shook with more vigor. “He groped me and tried to kiss me, but I fought him off. It happened almost two years ago. He hasn’t tried anything since then, so I thought he’d learned his lesson. But I guess not.”
“Would you consider filing a complaint now? The more evidence we have, the stronger our case will be to have him dismissed.”
She leaned back and stared at the ceiling. I twirled my new ring in circles around my finger, waiting for her response.
“I’ve wanted to leave him for a while,” she said. “He’s so negative, and sometimes he gets so angry he scares me. But Nick and I don’t want to move, and Viktor is so well-connected, we figured we’d tough it out.”
“You don’t have to put up with him anymore. We can make sure he doesn’t get away with the things he’s done.”
She sat up and faced me. “You know, he’s the reason I was so skeptical of your relationship with Sergei. I didn’t trust Sergei. I thought he might be messing with you.”
“Sergei is nothing like Viktor.”
“I know. It took me some time to see it, but he’s crazy about you. You guys are amazing together.”
“I hope the federation can see that. I’m scared they’re not going to be so understanding.” I lifted my feet to the couch and hugged my knees against my chest.
“What does Viktor have to gain from ratting you out, anyway? Is he just getting some sick pleasure from all this?”
“He thinks Sergei’s had everything too easy. He wants to do whatever he can to screw us up right before the Olympics.”
“Well, he’s going to regret he started this.” Aubrey’s eyes had cleared and become sharp. “It’s time he got what’s coming to him.”
I clutched her hand and gave it a hard squeeze. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“Excuse me, I need a glass of water.”
Sandpaper lined my throat. I’d spent the morning at Viktor’s hearing, describing his actions to a U.S. Figure Skating panel. Now, two federation officials were in my living room, questioning me about my relationship with Sergei. A trip to my kitchen would give me a minute to recharge. The officials sat casually on my couch, but with their detailed questions, I felt as if we were in a courtroom.