Chapter Thirty
Brooke
I sat there in my living room with tears in my eyes as I watched Ilya and Karina chat, so enamored with each other. She asked hard questions because she was a tough and curious little girl, and though he squirmed, Ilya answered her questions with an open honesty that only made me care for him more.
He sighed heavily at her first question regarding his whereabouts. “Russia. Do you know where that is?”
Karina nodded. “It’s the biggest country in the whole wide world.”
“Very good.”
“And it takes up space on two continents,” she added proudly.
“You’re so smart,” he whispered in awe. “That’s where I was born and lived except for the year I knew your mother.”
Karina stared at his face as if she was studying his features. “Is that why we have the same hair and eyes?”
“It is,” he agreed, and I swore I saw tears shining in his blue eyes.
“How come I don’t talk funny like you do?”
He laughed again. “Because you have Russian in your DNA, but you do not speak the language yet.”
She gasped. “But I speak English.” Karina’s eyes went as round as saucers when Ilya spoke to her in Russian.
“That means you can speak both languages, if you want.”
“Wow!” My little girl turned to me and the joy I saw in her eyes sent the tears rolling down my cheeks. She was in awe of her father, and that was exactly how it should be. “Are you gonna be a real daddy?”
Ilya crouched down and took a hold of her hand, “I promise.”
“So we’ll do things like the daddy-daughter dance? We’ll go out just me and you the way me and Uncle Ryan do every Wednesday?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll need you to help me because I’ve never been a daddy before.” He flashed a smile that totally won both of us over.
My heart and other parts of me fairly swooned at his words.
“I can help you, Daddy. Right, Mommy?”
“That’s right, honey.”
Her smile brightened and she turned away from us. “Uncle Ryan, guess what?” And with that she shot out of the living room and into the kitchen to share the good news.
“She’s perfect, Brooke. Absolutely fucking perfect. So smart and so grownup already. I can’t believe it.” He shook his head, still staring at the spot where Karina had stood. “Thank you.”
“She is pretty great,” I agreed. “But I’m a little biased.”
“Perhaps, but you are not wrong. She’s great.” He took my hand and smiled up at me. “Thank you, Brooke. For taking care of her and making her feel loved. Thank you for keeping her safe.”
“Of course.” I swiped at my tears. “I’d do anything for her.”
“So will I,” he promised. “Always.”
I opened my mouth to say more, but my growling stomach decided it was the perfect time to ruin a perfect moment. “I guess I’m hungry.”
Ilya laughed. “Then let’s get you some food. We have plenty of time.” He took my hand and kissed it.
“Ryan brought pizza and beer.”
“We brought tacos. And steak. I wasn’t sure which you’d prefer.”
Dammit, he was so sweet and thoughtful. “I like it all, Ilya. Including you.”
“Wait until you taste the steak, then you will more than like me.”
We took the empty seats around my painfully small kitchen table, surrounded by a lawman, a Russian mobster, a lawyer, and a little girl. It was a strange family I’d hobbled together, but they were mine.
All mine.
And I was happy. Really and truly happy for the first time in a very long time.