Chapter 20 - Vera
For the first time in weeks, I was nervous about something that had nothing to do with guns or fighting or a war looming over all of us.
“Stop pacing, Vera. You will fall down in those six-inch heels and break your neck.”
I looked over my shoulder and realized Nico was leaning against the bedroom door, watching me with obvious amusement.
He looked insanely handsome in his four-piece Armani, which fit him like it was custom-made.
Who was I kidding? Every single suit Nico Romanov wore was custom made and all of them looked absolutely gorgeous on him.
This one was a dark maroon in color, and he had paired it with a black shirt.
He looked spectacular. I almost didn’t want to take my eyes off of him.
“I’m not pacing,” I replied as soon as I was done admiring him.
“You’ve walked from the mirror to the closet about eleven times in the past five minutes.”
“I have not.”
“Twelve now.”
I glared at him and his mouth twitched. The traitor.
Three weeks ago, he had been threatening to ruin my life and was trying to make sure I suffered and now he found my anxiety entertaining.
He was right, though. My feet were already tired and the evening hadn’t even begun.
The maroon dress I had on to match his suit was a beautiful mermaid cut and hugged me in ways that accentuated my curves.
The sweetheart neckline showed just enough cleavage for it to be sexy and modest at the same time.
I looked beautiful. I knew that.
“You are enjoying this far too much,” I commented, sinking on the bed.
“Maybe.”
I threw a pillow at him and he caught it effortlessly.
Everything about him looked annoyingly relaxed.
His hands were resting casually in his pockets as if none of this was a big deal.
Like he wasn’t about to take me to a family dinner filled with people who could probably overthrow small governments if they felt bored enough. His very own brothers and sister.
“You’re impossible.”
“And yet you love me.”
I hated that he sounded so smug when he said it. Mostly because he was right. A slow smile appeared on my face despite my best efforts, and I gave in to it. Gave in to him.
“Unfortunately, I do.”
His eyes softened immediately, but the look lasted less than a second, which was still long enough for me to notice.
Those moments still caught me off guard because for months I had lived with the version of Nico who had hated me.
The version who had looked at me like I was the worst thing that had ever happened to him.
Now that wall was gone. There were still things which we needed to heal, but every day felt a little easier than the last. Every day felt a little more like us. Nico pushed away from the doorway and walked towards me. He held my hand in his and pulled me up from bed.
“You have never looked more beautiful,” he whispered, the praise he felt shining in his eyes.
“Really?” I asked, suddenly beaming. One compliment from him made me feel like life was worth living again.
“Oh yes. The dress is made for you.”
“Well, you or whoever you had pick out clothes for me clearly has good taste.”
“Thank you, my love. I will keep that in mind,” he winked. “Are you ready to go now?”
“No.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
I laughed and he squeezed my hand in his, tucking it in his side.
The simple gesture did something stupid to my chest, as if it was his way of telling me that I belonged there.
I belonged beside him. He squeezed my fingers once and then led me downstairs and right outside, where a car was already waiting for us.
We drove in silence for most of the way.
The strange normalcy of the night surprised me.
My arm had fully healed and things were still mad and chaotic, but Kliment had insisted on a family dinner.
Everyone had to come so I could be formally introduced to the family.
I loved the gesture, but it only made me exceedingly nervous.
The dinner was being held at Kliment’s house, and we reached there in about thirty minutes.
As Nico rounded the driveway, I realized that the house turned out to be less of a house and more of a luxury fortress.
The moment we arrived, I understood where Nico got it from.
Romanov men apparently viewed subtlety as a personal insult.
The front doors opened before we even reached them and a familiar face appeared.
It was Ilana and I was so glad to see her. I at least needed someone I knew around me, except for Nico.
“There she is.” I barely had time to smile before she wrapped her arms around me. The affection surprised me, but I took it happily, already feeling like a part of the family. She pulled back and looked me over. Then narrowed her eyes at Nico. “Are you feeding her?”
Nico blinked. “What?”
“She looks thinner.” She said to Nico and then turned to me. “You look thinner. Are you okay? Is it because of the gunshot wound?”
“I literally made her dinner last night; she is eating fine.” Nico slid his arm around my waist and pulled me to his side as if claiming ownership.
Ilana gasped dramatically. “You cooked?”
“I can cook.”
“That is deeply concerning.”
I started laughing, and Nico looked personally offended. Avgust Chernykh appeared behind his wife, looking fine as ever in yet another custom-made suit. Did all these mafia men wear custom cuts only? I was genuinely intrigued.
“Ignore my wife, Nico. She has a habit of making sure everyone suffers.”
“I am trying to ignore her, Avgust, but it is rather impossible. You really need to fix these bad habits of hers.”
“I am standing right here?” Ilana croaked out, horror written all over her face. Despite that, I knew it was all fake.
“I did try to fix it, but she only kept getting worse, so now I have just learned to live with it,” Avgust shrugged, trying to appear sad.
“Such a drama queen.” Ilana rolled her eyes. I could see these two were in love because it was exactly the way Nico and I fought as well.
“Oh, you’re still here,” Avgust said, sharing a look with Nico and me. “Didn’t notice you.”
“You married me.”
“One of my biggest mistakes.”
“Lie.”
“Probably.”
She smiled, and Avgust smiled back. The look they shared lasted barely a moment, but it was enough to convey that love lived there.
The quiet kind. The permanent kind. I suddenly understood why Nico’s sister looked so happy all the time, because a part of me was beginning to feel that happiness too.
“Come inside,” Ilana said, taking my hand in hers. “Before the men start discussing business and ruin everyone’s evening.”
I walked inside what I could only call a mansion and tried not to gawk at the paintings that lined the walls.
Ilana, who was an artist, gave me a rundown of every painting.
She was very happy that Kliment had finally given her leave to commission paintings for the house, and she had only gotten the most beautiful pieces.
I couldn’t agree more. Every painting was exquisite.
Even someone like me, who was not an art nerd, could guess that much.
We finally reached the dining room, which was already full.
I recognized everyone immediately because Nico had shown me pictures after I had demanded to see them.
Kliment and Misha were seated at one side while Fyodor and Elisse occupied the other.
Jarek was sitting by the window on the rocking chair, nursing a glass of whiskey in his hands.
These were people I had spent months hearing about. Even when Nico and I had been together all those months ago, he hadn’t introduced me to his family. But for the first time now, I wasn’t standing on the outside. I belonged here and the realization felt wonderfully strange but still terrifying...
“Look who finally showed up.” Kliment’s voice carried easily across the room and Nico groaned.
“Don’t.”
“You’re late.”
“We are not.”
“You are.”
“We’re five minutes early.”
“Late.”
I looked between them, confused and Misha jumped into the conversation, shaking her head. “Don’t worry, Vera. Kliment has a habit of reminding everyone they could have always come earlier.”
“Yes,” Fyodor answered immediately. “He does this every day, all the time to all of us.”
“Several times a day, actually, since I live with him,” Misha chuckled, glancing lovingly at her husband.
Kliment looked pleased.
Nico took my hand and walked further into the room. “How do you even survive him, Misha?”
“I wouldn’t have been able to if I wasn’t down bad in love.”
Laughter erupted around the table. Even Kliment laughed.
Though he looked suspiciously proud of himself.
Who wouldn’t be when someone as beautiful and brilliant as Misha Chernykh was in love with you?
Nico had told me all about her solo attempts to dismantle a sex trafficking ring, and it would be an understatement to say I was in awe of her.
“Okay everyone, behave,” Misha said, standing up and walking toward me. “Thank you so much for coming, Vera. I have been looking forward to meeting you.”
“We all have been, really,” Elisse chimed in, getting up from beside her husband and coming toward us. “Ilana has been bragging about how she got to meet you first, so we wanted to make sure we jumped right in.”
I laughed, awestruck by the warmth I felt from their tones. I had never had sisters, so this was an alien experience, and I was already beginning to love it.
“Welcome to the family, Vera,” Kliment said, standing up. “Let’s start dinner, people. I am hungry.”
Everyone settled around the dinner table and conversation flowed naturally.
For once, nobody was discussing attacks or operations.
There was no talk of threats or enemies or how the warehouse situation had been handled.
Neither Papa nor Adrian were brought up even once, even though everyone knew the situation was still boiling hot.
I appreciated that. I was already on edge and a discussion of that sort would only make things worse.