They weren't at our table. For a second my heart dropped as I realized I'd ruined this once again. God, why was she always there to ruin things between the four of us? That was before I noticed the three boys standing near my mother's table, talking to the man she'd come here with. Ivan looked stiff and tense as he seemed to be arguing with the stranger and for a second I wondered if he'd somehow connected the dots. Alexei stood behind Ivan, his hand on Ivan's shoulder as if he were restraining him and Mikhail stood a bit away from them, a glass of wine in his hand as his eyes roved the entire restaurant before landing on me. Almost immediately, a smile lit up his face as I walked over. I didn't fail to notice how he tapped Ivan on his shoulder when I neared and how Ivan immediately stopped talking.

"I'm sorry for the delay. Who's this?" I asked, looking to the stranger. After years of receiving lustful glances from men much older and much younger than him, I'd recognize that look anywhere. I internally shuddered and in a flash, Ivan was in front of me, his eyes narrowed on the stranger and for a second I genuinely feared for his life. Yes, he'd been looking at me oddly but that was no reason for cold-blooded murder.

"Can we get out of here," I asked, suddenly sounding a bit too meek to my own ears. I'd just noticed my mother leave the front of the restaurant with my grandfather but I still didn't want to stay here. I'd stay for these boys, but with the look Ivan was giving this man, I knew he wanted to leave as well.

"Yeah let's go," said Mikhail, gently tugging at Ivan and Alexei who followed suit with me close behind them, my hand gripping the back of Alexei's shirt. I don't know whether Alexei felt the slight unease and disappointment radiating off me at how badly this evening had gone but for whatever reason, he reached back for me to grab his hand. I took it, and he fell into step beside me, lowering his lips to my level, his lips missing my ear and grazing its shell making me shiver slightly.

"Don't worry darling. This date's far from over," and I let a smile cross my face. I could only hope the rest of the evening would allow me to keep that smile.

"You know when I first imagined this dinner, it had been far more extravagant," announced Alexei, as he planted himself on my couch beside Ivan. Mikhail seemed to like my carpeted floor for some odd reason and was currently sprawled across it with his hands behind his neck and his eyes tightly closed. For a second, I thought he'd fallen asleep and almost jumped when he spoke.

"Oh yeah. He wanted to drive down to the city for a meal at Origiano's." My eyes widened. Origiano's was one of the most expensive restaurants in the city.

"Seriously Alexei," I asked, looking at Alexei with incredulity. We'd known each for such a short time and he wanted to go to such a fancy place?

"Anything for you darling," said Alexei, sending a wink in my general direction before peeling himself off the couch to walk around the room. He didn't lose his footing once and I could see Ivan's soft smile at that, which he quickly hid when he saw me looking his way. Alexei's hand passed over the piano I kept near the fireplace in the dining room. The room was empty now since I'd found no use in keeping a dining table for one person. He paused suddenly, his hand hovering over the piano and looked up towards us.

"Do you mind if I play," he asked, with the excitement of a five-year-old. He didn't wait for me to say yes before planting himself down on the stool and tracing his fingers almost lovingly over the tiles.

"We don't have a piano back home so that's why Alexei looks like a lovesick puppy," informed Ivan with a snort but there was excitement in his eyes as well as he looked to Alexei. Mikhail had sat up, a dazzling smile lighting up his face. I realized why as soon as Alexei played the first notes of Marriage D'Amour.

He was phenomenal. Absolutely, totally, completely incredible. I could do nothing but stare transfixed as Alexei bowed over the piano, his fingers dancing across the tiles with an expertise I could never hope to achieve. He'd never been more beautiful, shined more brightly than he had in this moment as he continued to play. I could do nothing, say nothing but watch him as he took my breath away. But what caught me, even more, was when he looked up in my direction for a brief moment, with the softest, happiest and most content expression on his face. He was looking at me like I'd given him the biggest gift in the world. 

"I think this calls for a dance."

I looked up, startled out of my trance and noticed Mikhail had both his hands outstretched, one to Ivan and the other to me. Ivan practically slapped Mikhail's hand away with a familiar scowl on his face. Mikhail rolled his eyes at him before turning to me with a hopeful expression. He was asking for a dance. Could this boy be any sweeter? Those golden brown eyes looked so uncertain. I let him pull me up to my feet and as if on queue, Alexei's song picked up the pace. Mikhail led me to the dining room and his eyes were shining with amusement as I let out a laugh and twirled away from him, before spinning right back into his arms. Ivan had come to join us in the dining room, and he slowly dimmed the light to a neutral color that made the room seem more secluded and private. Almost like we were the only four people in the world. A hush seemed to envelop us and even Alexei's music seemed more intense than it had been moments before. As Mikhail spun me away, I felt Ivan's arm catch my waist and pull me into him, his green eyes shining with mischievous pleasure.

"I didn't know you knew how to dance," I said, surprised at how out of breath I was.

"Are you kidding? I'm the best dancer in this room," he said with an uncharacteristic playfulness as he dipped me so low, my head touched the ground. He pulled me flat up against him in a flash and our foreheads were barely a centimeter apart. All of a sudden I was breathing hard for a completely different reason. Those green eyes turned a shade darker for just an instant, before he spun me away from him, back to Mikhail, who was looking at me with wicked amusement.

"What," I asked innocently, the blush on my cheeks most likely embarrassingly prominent.

"Nothing beautiful," he said simply and then all three of us were dancing together, pulling the most ridiculous moves that didn't even fall in line with the music. Alexei continued to play song after song, and when he got tired Ivan switched on the radio and Alexei joined the three of us, endearingly sweet and sexy at the same time as he did nothing more than slow dance with me whenever slow songs came on and whisper things in my ear that had me laughing in amusement or my ears turning red with embarrassment.

And after all of this, we took our places in the living room, with Alexei and Ivan sprawled out on the couch, and Mikhail on the ground with my head in his lap as he twirled strands of my hair between his fingers. I watched with strange peace as Alexei and Ivan nodded off and the crackling fire slowly dimmed with them, casting odd shadows across Mikhail's face as he looked down at me.

"Thank you. For talking Alexei into seeing me last night," I said softly. He looked absolutely stunning in the fading firelight. The light somehow brought out a few brown streaks in his black hair and his eyes were subdued with quiet happiness as he continued to play with my hair. I felt every limb in my body relaxing in a way it had never done before. This was happiness. Pure, undiluted happiness. All because of these three boys. 

"I'm meant to thank you," he said.

"For what?"

"For letting the three of us into your life. Those two may not admit it but I've never seen them so happy in all the time I've known them," he said sincerely, his lips tilted up in a warm smile. My heart warmed at the fact that I'd been able to give them at least an ounce of the happiness they gave me. 

"And you? Were you as happy as they were," I asked, even though I already knew the answer as I twisted lightly to get a better look at his face. 

"Yes, in fact, I think...never mind it's too soon," he said, his sentence cutting off abruptly as his cheeks lit up with a blush. He turned from me and ran his hands through his messy hair. I reached up and turned his face back in my direction and his fingers stilled in my hair. I let my fingers trace the light stubble on his jaw and I heard him inhale a sharp breath before relaxing into my touch. 

"I'm not going to judge Mikhail." He took a deep breath in, almost like he was afraid that I would run away. 

"I was just going to say that with you three around me, I think I'll always be happy," he said and my heart melted at his words and tears pricked the back of my eyes. My heart almost felt like it was burning with happiness. 

"Well, in that case, I'd better stick around," I said as I turned from his intense gaze. For a second, I'd wanted to do something, something I couldn't even admit to myself and if I'd looked to him just a moment longer, I would have.

"I don't think any of us are letting you go anytime soon sweetheart," he whispered. I let my eyes close with those beautiful words ringing in my head, my body suddenly weary from all the events that had transpired throughout the evening. But even that weariness didn't stop my mind from registering the moment when Mikhail gently lifted me up into his arms to place me in my bed with almost heartbreaking gentleness. His lips met my forehead in the sweetest kiss before his mouth came near my ear.

"Good night beautiful."

And with that last word, he left my room, the door shutting quietly behind him. 

Date Part 2! I've had this scene planned since the moment I first started writing this book. I don't know whether I did justice to the scene I imagined in my head so let me know if you liked this chapter in the comments below. A bit sappy, and a bit too sweet but that's Mikhail and I love him for it. He reminds me so much of Troy, who he will be meeting soon btw. I think an official meeting between Troy, Violet and the boys is long overdue. 

Close to 900 reads! Thank you so so so much. I wouldn't have made it this far in the book without each and every one of you <3

Love

-ASH