Chapter 20 - Benedikt
The week has been going fantastically. Yesterday, Kaz took Maria out for a snowboarding lesson. She came back powdered by snow and grinning like a madwoman; she was so hyped up.
Joe took her out for dinner the other night, and I want to drive her in to explore the little village this morning.
Every time we leave the villa, someone accompanies her because even though we’re out here, away from everything, there’s still a risk that someone might have followed.
I refuse to take chances when it comes to Maria.
Over the past few days, we’ve all had reports of our operations getting attacked in the city, and I have no doubt in my mind that it’s Misha up to no good.
After how the meeting went with Misha, I have a lot more suspicions about the guy, and it makes my heart break for Maria. We haven’t told her anything, and I have no idea how she’s going to take it when she finds out her brother might not be the man she thinks he is.
We’re all sitting around the breakfast table, chatting and enjoying a cozy morning inside.
“Do you want to join me in exploring the village after breakfast?” I ask, setting down my empty coffee cup and looking across the table at Maria. She’s wearing a cute sweater with a cat on the front.
“I’d love to. I’ve been dying to go and see what’s there,” she says, her eyes growing wide.
“There really isn’t much there at all. A book shop, an antique shop… a clothing shop, that sort of thing. And a grocery store,” Artur explains.
“Art, you don’t know a lot about girls if you think a book shop and an antique shop aren’t enough reason to go somewhere,” she giggles, teasing him.
He smirks, which is something he’s been doing a lot more lately. It’s the closest to a smile I think he can get for the time being, but it’s nice to see him letting down some of his walls.
I guess Joe was right about forcing him to meet up with Misha. I thought it was a bad idea to take Artur. I tried to go in his place, but it turned out it was good.
After breakfast, I tug the car door open for Maria and hold her hand as she ducks inside.
She grins at me. “Such a gentleman, Big Bear,” she says, her eyes twinkling.
She teases me a lot, and I adore it. Over the past few days, we’ve gotten a lot closer.
And the more time I spend with her, the more I want to protect her from everything going on around her.
It wasn’t fair that she got dragged into this, but secretly, selfishly, I’m thrilled it was her. She’s an incredibly special person, and I believe I’m lucky that the universe somehow threw us together in this strange situation.
“There’s an ice rink nearby,” I say as we drive past a sign.
“Oh, I’m terrible at ice skating. But I bet you’d have a good laugh watching me fall on my butt the whole afternoon.” Her eyes glimmer when she looks at me.
The expression on her face brings a big burst of laughter from me.
“Actually, I would love to watch you fall on your butt, as long as I can be there to lift you back up again,” I agree.
“Alright, then maybe I’ll give it another try after exploring the village,” she says.
I park outside a coffee shop, glowing warm light onto the street from the fireplace burning inside. “Don’t get out, wait for me to come around,” I tell her as I shut the car off.
“I’m perfectly capable of climbing out of a car on my own, Bear,” she muses.
“Of course you are, but that isn’t the point. The point is that I will open the door for you and offer you my hand so you can climb out of the car like the lady you are,” I insist.
Her cheeks glow pink, and a cute smile traces over her lips.
There is a light, slow-falling shimmer of snow in the air. It looks like glitter falling from the sky as I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her closer.
“I don’t want you to slip,” I tell her, but the truth is I just want her close to me.
“I never saw snow on the mountains like this. I love it,” she says thoughtfully, holding her gloved hand out to catch a snowflake.
“There’s nothing quite like it. Artur sure chose a remote place to experience it, though, didn’t he?” I muse.
“He did, but I’m happy about that. It’s something different. We could have gone on vacation to a tropical island or a fancy ski resort, but this experience is more unique,” she says.
“So you don’t mind that it’s not as fancy as a luxurious ski resort?”
“Not in the least!” she replies, confused.
I smirk and steer her toward a cozy little bookstore, but she’s got her eye on something else. “I want to go there!” she points across the street to a flower shop. “How do they have flowers here when it’s so cold?” she asks.
“Let’s go find out,” I reply, changing direction.
Inside the flower shop, there are gorgeous flowers in all colors. Bright blues, pinks, reds, yellows, and oranges are scattered throughout the store in buckets of water.
“Hello,” the older woman tending the flowers says, dusting her hands over her apron.
“It’s nice and warm in here,” Maria says, smiling at her.
“Oh yes, we have to keep the flowers happy,” the shopkeeper replies. “What can I help you two lovebirds with?” she asks, eyeing us.
I grin, happy to be called Maria’s lovebird.
“We’re exploring the village, and I had to come in here and look around,” Maria explains.
“How does it work?” I ask.
“You can select whatever you like and build your own arrangements,” she explains.
“Where do the flowers come from?” Maria asks, brushing her fingertips gently over a blue iris.
“We import them from all over. Georgie flies back and forth with supplies, and he always arranges a flower delivery for me at the same time. You have to keep your home looking cozy and beautiful, even when it’s snowing outside,” she smiles.
“Go on, baby bird, choose the flowers you like,” I tell Maria.
“Really?” she asks, happily.
“Of course,” I say.
I watch her take her time, not rushing the process at all. She pulls long stems from the buckets and holds them next to each other.
Her long fingers hold the flowers gently. Sometimes she stops to smell one of them and smiles to herself.
When Maria has the bouquet of her choice, the shopkeeper wraps the stems up in tissue paper and then a plastic layer. I pay for the flowers, and we head out of the shop together. “Thank you,” Maria calls to the lady as we leave.
“You two have a wonderful day,” she calls back.
I pull Maria close again. I always want my arm around her. I always want her close to me.
“Shall we get some hot chocolate at the bookshop? I see they have a little coffee stand in there,” I say.
“Let’s go to the bookshop and then get a waffle and hot chocolate at the cafe with the fireplace where we parked,” she suggests.
“A woman who knows what she wants. It’s unheard of,” I tease.
“Pfft,” she scoffs, laughing at me and shaking her head.
I pull the book shop door open and stand aside. A bell over it rings softly.
Maria pauses before she walks through the door and pulls a long-stemmed rose from her bouquet.
She hands it to me and stands on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek.
She smiles beautifully, then walks into the book shop, leaving me standing outside staring at the flower, blushing, my heart overwhelmed with emotions.
“You coming?” she calls out.
“Yes, yeah, yes…I’m right behind you,” I stammer, walking inside, unable to stop smiling.
My heart is overjoyed and doing strange flips as though a thousand butterflies are trapped inside my chest.
I walk quietly behind Maria, staring at the single rose in my hand.
She has the sweetest, kindest heart. She makes me smile. She makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt. She makes me think there’s so much more to life than what I’ve been experiencing all this time.
She’s got me falling head over heels for her.
It’s like a lightning bolt going off in my head when I realize what’s happening. I am falling for her.
I’m falling pretty hard, actually.
In front of me, Maria sways, and I jump to action, slipping my arm around her back.
“What is it?” I ask, worried. Her face has gone pale.
“I don’t feel so well suddenly,” she explains.
“How? What’s wrong?” I blurt out.
She laughs softly and reaches up to touch my face, “Stop worrying so much, it’s just a little bit of a stomach flu or something,” she tells me.
“I’ll get you home. Come on, baby bird.”
I scoop her up into my arms, and she giggles, sounding weak and tired. “Bear, I can still walk.”
I ignore her protests and carry her to the car, tucking her safely inside with her flowers on the back seat.
Back at the villa, I carry her up to her room, where I tuck her in beneath the blankets. Kazimir follows behind me, worried about what’s happening.
“You’re both overreacting,” she tries to say, but pain shoots through her, and she groans as she curls up, holding her stomach.
“I don’t think we are,” Kazimir says, horrified. “I’ll see if they have any medicine here.”
“No, I don’t like taking meds. Maybe they have ginger or peppermint tea?” she asks.
“Come hell or high water, I shall get you what you want,” he says, brushing his fingers over her cheek, then resting his hand on her forehead.
***
All afternoon, Kaz and I take care of Maria.
I watch him with her, and to me it’s glaringly obvious that he has the same feelings I have for her. He’s also falling for her. But Kazimir is a lot more reluctant to admit it, even to himself. For some reason, he doesn’t want to accept what he’s feeling.
Maybe not all people are as curious about the magic in this world as I am. Because I do see falling in love as a form of magic, it’s a beautiful thing that shouldn’t be denied.
I’m sitting quietly in the corner of her room on a chair by the window, reading a book. Kaz comes back in. He whispers, “How is she doing?” as he walks silently to her bedside.
“She’s been asleep for about two hours now,” I update him.
He brushes her hair away from her face.
“Do you think she’s okay?” he asks, worried.
“I think she needs us right now,” I say, watching him again.
He nods, his eyes locked onto her, and a longing spilling from them.
“I’ll make her some more peppermint tea when she wakes up. It seemed to help earlier,” he says thoughtfully.
“It did. It helped her relax enough to get to sleep,” I agree.
I wonder how long it’ll take him to realize he’s falling in love with her?
I smile as I look back down at my book.
I’m happy to fall in love with such a beautiful person.
She is unique in so many ways.
He’ll come around. He can only deny it for so long.