Chapter 26
Courtney
Despite making love half the night, Daniil and I are up with Micah at seven thirty. I’m deliciously sore, incredibly relaxed, and a little sheepish as we join Sandor and Lennox in the kitchen for breakfast. Sandor immediately gives Daniil stink eye.
“I know,” Daniil says before his brother can say anything. “We’re sorry. It was the first time in… a long time.”
“You get one pass,” Sandor mutters. “It took Hayden an hour to get back to sleep.”
“We really are sorry,” I say. “We tried to be quiet.”
“Hayden’s a light sleeper,” Lennox says, handing me a cup of coffee. “So, it wasn’t unexpected, just frustrating. Since we were in the middle of something as well.” Her eyes meet mine playfully, and I grimace.
“I’m really sorry!” I say, giving her a quick hug.
She laughs. “It’s okay. Wouldn’t be the first time we were interrupted.”
“Can’t happen all that often,” Daniil says, grinning. “You are pregnant again.”
“You know I can still kick your ass, right?” Sandor growls.
Daniil wiggles his fingers in a “come here” motion. “Bring it, big brother.”
Sandor hip checks him and Daniil punches him in the gut, though it doesn’t appear to make much of an impact. They glare at each other like they’re about to really fight and then both begin to laugh.
“Jesus, that was alarming,” I tease, putting a hand on Daniil’s arm. “You two are terrifying.”
He leans over to kiss me. “We always mess around. Believe me, if we were genuinely upset, that would never happen in front of the kids.”
“I can’t think of anything you could do that would bring us to blows,” Sandor says sincerely.
“We like to scuffle once in a while, even get in the ring on occasion, but never in anger. Short of hurting my wife or children, and I know that’s not who you are, it would take something monumental to cause us to have a violent physical altercation.
We spent a decade apart in exile—I think we’ve learned to appreciate family. ”
“Absolutely.” Daniil holds out his fist and Sandor bumps his against it.
“Not to mention maturing a bit,” Lennox murmurs.
“That too,” her husband acknowledges.
“Speak for yourself,” Daniil says, laughing.
“As for last night—” Sandor gives his brother another death glare. “If we’re ever in a position like that again, I promise you’ll be the one up rocking your nephew half the night.”
“Deal.” Daniil grins and then winks at me.
Breakfast is busy but fun, the kids noisy and boisterous and the adults almost equally so.
Marcus is here as a bodyguard, someone to be on alert so the rest of us can relax, but he’s pretty much part of the family.
Harrison and Hayden adore him, and he spends almost as much time rough housing with them as Sandor does.
Micah is a little more reserved but he’s not afraid of him either, so when Marcus scoops him up and hangs him upside down to swing him back and forth, Micah squeals with delight.
“That should be me,” Daniil murmurs in my ear.
“It will be. But let him get used to the extended family. It’s good for him. Especially when he sees Marcus playing with the twins. As he gets older, depending on how much time he spends here, we don’t want him to feel left out.”
“No, I definitely don’t want that.” There’s a wistful look in his eyes, making me wonder what he’s thinking.
“Who’s ready for the beach?” Sandor asks after we’ve eaten.
The twins let out whoops of excitement and Lennox ushers them out of the room while Sandor, Daniil, and Marcus start gathering up all the supplies. Everything from a cooler with drinks to lounge chairs, umbrellas, and floaties.
“Apparently, things have taken an interesting turn,” Lennox says to me once the guys are outside.
I smile. “I guess they have.”
“Are you happy with it?”
“Of course.”
“I’m serious, Court. You and Daniil have a convoluted history. And no matter how much he likes you, it always ends with you disappearing. The stakes are a lot higher this time, though, so I’m trying to understand what you’re feeling.”
“What I’m feeling is happy,” I admit. “He’s a complicated man, and I have to be cautious, but he seems genuinely interested in me. And Micah, which is more important.”
“I think those things are equally important. You may not want to admit it, but you didn’t run because you didn’t like him—you ran because you liked him too much.”
“Probably.”
“So now fate or God or some other intangible thing has thrown you together again. Don’t you think it’s trying to tell you something?”
“Maybe, but I don’t want to overthink things,” I admit.
“Once I do, I’ll fall down a rabbit hole I may not be able to come out of.
That never ends well for me. And this time it’s too important to let my insecurities or anxiety fuck it up.
So, I’m trying to go with the flow. At least until we figure out what we’re going to do. ”
She cocks her head. “What does that mean?”
“We haven’t decided yet if he’s going to officially claim him as his son.
His heir. The danger goes up exponentially if he does, and that’s the part that scares me.
He and I could be in a relationship but still say that Micah is the result of someone in my past, whose father didn’t want anything to do with him.
Or we might decide that Micah is better off without him in his life at all. ”
“We both know that’s not true.”
“I really don’t want to think about this today,” I admit apologetically. “I love you, and we can talk about it another time, but today I just want to enjoy the sun, the water, and my little family. Such that it is.”
“We are your family, Court. I hope you know that.”
“I do. Thank you.”
I grab Micah and his diaper bag, Lennox takes each twin by the hand, and we follow the guys down the winding path to the beach.
They’ve already got blankets, chairs, and umbrellas set up, along with a playpen for Micah.
The twins immediately make a beeline for their father and Sandor hangs one off each arm, running for the water.
“Take Micah,” I tell Daniil. “I want to get some pictures of you and Sandor with the kids.”
“Okay.” He scoops up his son and makes his way into the water.
I follow more slowly, pausing to snap photos along the way at different angles. I hate that we have to leave today, wanting to stay in this perfect bubble of family for just a little while longer. Landon is the only family I’ve had for a long time, and while I love him, this is different.
The biggest difference, of course, is Daniil.
I don’t know if we’re in boyfriend/girlfriend territory yet, but it feels like it.
Sex, companionship, a child…we share more than a lot of couples I know.
And I’m starting to really like it. I don’t want to lose it—or him—but I’m afraid that’s inevitable.
“Let me get some pictures of the three of you,” Lennox says, coming up beside me. She reaches for my phone, and I hand it to her before splashing into the water. I join Daniil, who’s bouncing Micah on his hip, letting him kick his little feet.
“You’re going to be a water baby like me, I guess,” I say to him.
“Turn around, you guys!” Lennox calls.
Daniil turns and puts his free arm around me, continuing to hold Micah with the other. Lennox seems to be snapping a bunch of pictures, both vertical and horizontal, and then Sandor jumps in with the twins.
A strange but comfortable feeling of contentment washes over me.
This could be my life.
Right now, it is my life. And I like it.
“You’ll have to send me these photos,” Daniil says to me once Lennox puts away the cameras and joins us in the water.
“Of course.” I move closer to him. “I wish we didn’t have to leave. It’s beautiful here.”
“Should I see if Sandor and Lennox want to stay another night?”
“Is that possible?”
He’s thoughtful. “Well, I’m supposed to be in Parliament tomorrow, but I think I can push it to Wednesday. I’m not sure what Sandor’s schedule is, though.”
“I just…” I pause, looking around. “This is magical to me. Peaceful, beautiful, with our family. The kids are happy…”
He reaches out to lift my chin. “Are you happy?”
“I am.”
“Then let’s stay. I’ll talk Sandor into it.” He leans over and kisses me, his tongue briefly brushing against mine before he pulls away and calls to his brother. “Sandor—how would you feel about playing hooky tomorrow?”
“What?” Sandor frowns at him in confusion.
“Another day at the beach with our girls and the kids. Courtney’s never been to the Black Sea before, and to be honest, we don’t come down here nearly enough. One more day. Tomorrow, we can leave early and only miss half a day.”
“What about the pipeline bill?” he asks, referring to the bill that’s always in the back of my mind.
“It’ll wait a couple of days. The country won’t collapse if we delay the vote forty-eight more hours.” Today is Monday, and Parliament only discusses matters of national security on Tuesdays, so Wednesday is the next available day.
Sandor hesitates.
“Say yes,” Lennox stage whispers. “I don’t want to leave either.”
He looks from her to where the twins are frolicking on the shore to Daniil.
“You’re all a bad influence,” he says dryly. “However, anything my beautiful, pregnant wife wants—she gets.” He grins. “Let’s stay one more night.”
Daniil turns to me. “Your wish is my desire, sweetheart.”
Why does that turn me on so much?