Chapter 40 Natalie
NATALIE
Six weeks later…
Claire smiled as Mikhail returned to our table in the massive ballroom. He looked like he’d gotten a few more gray hairs in the last week, but I doubted it was from the stress of getting this wedding put together.
More than anything, it likely had to do with Owen cluster feeding and going through a fussy spell of not sleeping well.
He sighed as he sat, holding his hands out to his wife for her to hand over their son. No words were necessary.
Owen fussed a bit but settled with a pacifier.
“Do you need to head to the office?” Claire asked.
He shook his head. “No. Andre’s handling it.”
Aha. “More trouble from those… guys?”
Sergei smirked, paying attention to Maisie near the dessert table while he listened to us. He held my hand, possessive and protective even when there was no threat present. I never wanted to know many details, but I was interested in and invested in my fiancé’s life.
Nope. Scratch that.
I smiled, mentally correcting myself.
As of an hour ago, when Sergei and I shared our vows in this gilded room, he was my husband.
Not my enemy, not my lover.
My man. Forever and always.
“Yeah. Those guys,” Mikhail confirmed wryly. “Roberto Giovanni’s good-for-nothing pieces of sh—”
“Okay. Okay. We’re at a wedding.” Claire cleared her throat. “Children are present.”
“I don’t think Owen will understand,” Sergei said.
“Maisie could pop back over here,” I said.
Claire nodded. “And we all know how much of a parrot she’s becoming.”
I smiled, glad that everyone had agreed with me that we wouldn’t mention to my daughter that I was pregnant. I didn’t want to keep it from her for long, but I wanted to enjoy some peace for as long as I could.
Maisie wasn’t only in the parroting-everything-she-heard phase. She also had an ask-a-million-questions-a-mile-a-minute curiosity, too.
But that was good.
Seeing her grow and heal past the quietness she had before, in those earlier months after Fitz died, had to be a good sign. She was comfortable to express herself freely. I didn’t worry about her being traumatized and shaken by the abduction. She acted like a normal, happy-go-lucky girl.
Before I would start showing, we’d tell her that she would have a brother or sister soon. But for now, keeping the news among us adults was wise.
“Does this mean that we need to postpone our honeymoon?” I asked Mikhail, glancing at Sergei.
“No. Like I said, Andre’s handling most of it,” he replied.
“No way,” Claire said. “Enjoy that vacation.” She furrowed her brow at her husband. “You can spare Sergei for a week or so, can’t you?”
He nodded, rubbing Owen’s back as he fussed more. “I swear, he’s addicted to you.”
“My milk,” Claire replied dryly.
Mikhail stood, not giving up on the fussy baby. While we sat and enjoyed our cake, he bounced to calm the fussy baby. “No, there’s no need to cancel or postpone the honeymoon. Enjoy it.”
“I think Maisie’s more excited about it than we are,” Sergei admitted. He frowned. “Are you sure you want to babysit her with Owen being so against the concept of peace and quiet?”
“And sleep,” Claire added with a sarcastic smile. “Yes, it’s fine. I think it’s cute how excited she is to be with us.”
“Anya, too,” Mikhail added. “Hey. Speaking of…” He sought out his daughter who proved to be effective at calming Owen down.
I gave him credit. He was the big, bad Mafia boss to the rest of the world, but here, with his family, he was too sweet to always step up and volunteer to handle his son so Claire didn’t have to all the time.
“She’s over there,” I said, pointing at where Anya and Daria were talking near the dancefloor.
When I considered who I’d want to invite to the wedding, she was the only person who came to mind.
As it turned out, she was stressed about issues within the department of the major she was studying for.
She admitted that she wanted to go into nursing, and I was more than happy to facilitate her meeting Claire to talk about her career with us.
Now we had Daria living in the building as an on-site nurse-in-training, taking the same courses online that Anya was starting.
Mikhail glanced down at his son sleeping, though, and he sighed with a grateful smile. “Hey, look at that.”
“I mean it, Mikhail,” I said. “If our going to Paris isn’t feasible now, I understand.”
He shook his head. “It’s fine. Go and enjoy yourselves.”
I fully understood that Sergei would always have his obligations to the Family. And I wouldn’t stand in the way of that loyalty.
“Do you not want to go?” Sergei asked me, seeming to get the impression that I was having second thoughts.
“No, no. I do.”
“You’re not worried about leaving Maisie for such a long time?” he asked.
I shook my head. “How could I be worried?” I gestured at how Anya and Daria were both holding hands with Maisie as they danced in something like a circle.
I’d never have to worry about my daughter’s safety and happiness here.
As if cued to remind me, George walked up close and tried to dance with them too, making them all laugh with his goofy moves.
He hadn’t wanted to be promoted, sticking with the honor of being one of Maisie’s official bodyguards whenever she left the property.
“But a staycation wouldn’t be bad either,” I said.
The idea of hunkering down in the apartment with my husband for a week sounded like heaven. Just the two of us. Relaxing and settling in as a married couple before life would be that much more busy with a baby on the way.
Sergei leaned over and pressed a kiss to my cheek. The friction of his short beard tickled me, like always, and I smiled wider.
“Whatever you want, Wife. I’ll make it happen.”
“Do you think you could make a dance happen, Husband?” I asked sweetly.
“For all of three seconds before Maisie wants to slip in and dance between us?” he joked.
Claire stood, grinning. “Oh, I can keep her preoccupied for a few minutes so the photographer can get a good shot of you two.”
We headed to the dancefloor, and I saw how Claire didn’t need to intervene at all. Anya brought Maisie to the piano, and my daughter sat patiently and watched as Anya played, jumping right in with the small string quartet for the event.
“Do you think she’ll be jealous of a baby?” I asked him as he guided me over the floor.
“Nah. She’ll need to adjust, but I don’t think she’s starving for attention to have to compete for it.”
I smiled, resting my head on his chest. “No, she doesn’t. She’s got two of us.”
He kissed the top of my head, and I closed my eyes at the warmth swelling in my heart. The utter and complete joy there expanded until it almost felt too tight, spilling over.
“She’s got more than just us,” Sergei said.
He was right. Maisie and I had the entire Orlov Family behind us. They’d accepted us. They’d helped me to adjust and learn my path forward without controlling me every second of the journey.
Claire and Anya were true friends I valued each and every day.
Mikhail, Roman, and Andre were wonderful men, all willing to step in and help when necessary.
They all had their jobs. All the businesses and interests, legal or not. The job of keeping their legacy and power intact and mighty was a work in progress. At the end of each day, though, I knew I could trust all of them.
I trusted them to keep my family safe—including my husband.
“Are you happy?” Sergei asked me out of the blue as we danced to the soft music.
I tipped my head up, craning my neck to face him and smile. “You even have to ask?”
“I want to make sure.”
“I’m more than happy,” I told him before tugging him down so I could kiss him.
“No regrets?”
I shook my head. “None. Do you?”
“Not a single one. I knew the second that I saw you that I wouldn’t be able to get you out of my mind. I’m glad that you stuck. That I couldn’t help but be curious about you.”
I loved hearing his confession about how drawn he was to me when I was trying to be the world’s most amateur bartender at the Diamond Mirage.
“I’m glad that I stuck, too.” Tracing my finger over the lapel of his tuxedo jacket, I said, “I’m honored and so blessed to even be able to accept a position next to you. As your wife. As the mother of your children.”
I’d never forget where I came from and who I once belonged to. Fitz would always be a part of my past, but I was finally free to allow myself the grace to let the past stay there.
I didn’t identify as a widow.
I was a married woman.
An expectant mother.
Because I had chosen love with this dangerous and fiercely protective man, I had a lifetime of an adventure ahead of me as I figured out how to be the best wife for him that I could, the best parent I could for our children.
He framed my face, dazzling me with the heat in his dark blue eyes. “I love you, Natalie, and I always will.”
I closed my eyes, savoring the bliss of his lips against mine, sealing the meaning behind the vows we’d shared with one another today.
“And I will always love you,” I replied before kissing him once more. Just because I could.