Chapter 14
Valeri
Evie’s eyes widen when I pull up in front of the guarded gate outside Vasily’s house, waving to the armed man on duty before he pushes a button to let us in.
The gate swings open while she lets out a soft breath and scans the land around us.
It’s still light enough for her to get an idea of how big the place is.
She sees a house off in the distance and points at it.
“Is that their house?”
“No, that’s where Andrei and Svetlana live.
I’m sure they’ll be here tonight too. You haven’t met Andrei yet, but he’s been with us since Vasily took over in Moscow after our dad was killed.
Svetlana grew up with us and has been like a sister.
Her mom’s been cooking for the Medvedev family since before I was born. ”
I wave a hand at the land around us. “Vasily has forty acres, so he has a couple of other houses on his property. There’s another one up here on the left that a bunch of the guys live in.
Vasily had it built after he brought Nina here because he was sick of Ilya’s one-night stands walking around and causing trouble. ”
“That was nice of him.”
I laugh because nice isn’t a word that’s often used to describe him. “He’d do anything for her,” I tell her, reaching over to give her hand a squeeze. “Both my brothers are completely devoted to their wives. The same way I am and will be devoted to you.”
She smiles and lifts my hand up to kiss it.
I catch sight of her diamond and smile. I love seeing it on her.
I’d chosen something that she would’ve never picked out for herself.
Had I taken her to the store, she would’ve picked out the smallest ring she could find, not wanting to spend money or draw attention to herself, but my beautiful fiancée was made to shine, damn it.
She’s done hiding away, and she’s worth every penny of that ring’s price tag.
I pull the car next to Volodya’s and get out to open her door. When she’s standing next to me, I cup her face and lean down to kiss her. “Relax, baby. They already love you.”
She smiles and nods, but I can tell she’s still a bit nervous. Grabbing her hand, I pull her towards the front door. Right after I knock, Nina throws open the door and waves us in. She gives me a big hug and then wraps her arms around Evie.
“It’s so good to see you again,” Nina squeals and then grabs Evie’s hand when she sees the ring. “Maddie, get over here and look at this!”
I laugh while they huddle around Evie, looking at the ring and hugging her again.
“Damn, Valeri, you did good,” Maddie says, walking over to give me a hug. “Congratulations, I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks, little sis,” I tell her, kissing the top of her head. When Svetlana walks out from the back, they wave her over. “Evie, this is Svetlana, and that’s her husband Andrei and their daughter Alina,” I say, pointing him out to her.
“Hey, Evie,” he calls, leaning against the counter with his daughter in his arms.
Evie waves at him and then returns the hug Svetlana gives her. She’s smiling, but I can tell she’s a little overwhelmed, so I snake an arm around her and pull her towards me.
“Come on, I want you to meet my nephews.”
On the way to the living room, Vasily stops us and gives her a hug before smacking me on the back with a huge grin. “Congratulations, brother, on the upcoming wedding that you swore you’d never have.” He squeezes Evie’s arm. “Welcome to the family, Evie.”
“Thank you.” She returns his smile while leaning even more into me.
“Are the kids in here?” I ask him.
“Yeah, with Volodya.”
We pass through and find Volodya sitting on the couch with his son in his lap while Dmitri plays with a huge pile of blocks on the floor at his feet. He’s building a tower that I’m confident is going to topple any second.
“I heard the commotion,” he says with a grin. “Congratulations to you both.” He meets Evie’s eyes and says, “Welcome to the family.”
“Thanks.” She looks at Misha and asks, “Is this your son?”
Volodya ruffles his son’s hair and gives one of his rare full smiles. “It is.” Misha’s hyper-focused on the toy in his hands, but when he hears his dad’s voice he lifts his head and gives a big smile. It grows when he spots me standing in front of him.
I tell him hi in Russian and then take him when he lunges for me.
Volodya laughs and hands him over. “Misha, this is your Aunt Evie,” I tell him.
He smiles and drools and reaches for her.
I swear I see her heart melt right there on the spot.
She grabs onto him and pulls him against her, laughing at how cute he is.
She studies his face for a second and then looks at Volodya. “He looks just like you.”
I didn’t know my brother was capable of smiling that big. He beams at his son and then snags Maddie when she walks by, pulling her down into his lap.
“She said he looks just like me, kiska. Now we just need a daughter who looks just like you.”
Maddie laughs and returns his kiss. “Soon, baby. He’s barely one. I need more space between them.”
He keeps her on his lap and whispers something in her ear that makes her blush a deep shade of red while I turn and squat down next to Dmitri and pull him in for a hug, making sure to steer clear of his wobbly tower.
He tells me hi in Russian and then asks who the woman standing next to me is. I laugh and kiss his cheek.
“This is Evie,” I tell him in English, “and she’s just agreed to marry me.”
He eyes her for a second and then nods his head, apparently giving her his three-year-old stamp of approval. Getting up he walks over and holds his hand out.
Vasily walks in and laughs. “Dima, aunts get hugs not handshakes.”
Evie kneels down and opens her free arm to him.
He wraps his arm around her and his little cousin and tells her hi in Russian.
She repeats it, and hearing her speak my mother tongue has me grinning and giving her a wink.
Mentally I’m already making a list of all the phrases I’m going to teach her, none of them appropriate for her to speak in front of anyone but me.
“And this big guy,” I say, running my fingers through the thick, black fur, “is Ruslan.”
Evie laughs when Dmitri runs over and starts to rub the dog’s belly. “Good boy,” he tells him in Russian before going back to building his tower.
“Wow.” She walks over and gives him a good scratch behind his ears while Misha plays with a strand of her hair. “I’ve never seen a dog this big before.”
“I hadn’t either,” Nina says, coming in to stand next to Vasily who immediately wraps an arm around her and pulls her closer. “He’s so gentle with Dima, though.” She pats her stomach and looks up at Vasily with a big smile on her face. “I wonder how he’ll be with a little girl to protect.”
That gets our attention. Volodya laughs while Maddie lets out a squeal and claps her hands. Andrei and Svetlana beam at them while their daughter laughs at everyone’s reactions.
“A little girl?” I ask.
Vasily’s whole face is lit up in a grin. “Yeah, we just found out today.”
“Man, I can’t wait to see you surrounded by baby dolls and princess costumes,” Volodya says with a laugh.
“Just wait until she wants her Uncle Volodya to play dress up with her,” Vasily says, shooting me a big grin.
“Maybe she’ll be a tomboy,” Nina says.
“I’m painting her nursery pink anyway,” Vasily says. “She can change her room later if she wants, but I’m actually looking forward to pink, girly things. Our family’s always been men. It’s about time we livened things up.”
He looks over at Andrei holding his daughter. “It’ll be good for Alina to have another girl to play with. They’ll keep the boys in line.”
As if on cue, Misha lets out a squeal. He grabs Evie’s hands and uses her for support as he pulls himself up onto chubby, unsteady legs.
He loves walking with help, but he’s still hesitant to do it on his own.
Volodya smiles and leans forward, holding his hands out for his son.
Misha laughs and takes a few more ungainly steps until Volodya scoops him up and sets him on his lap next to his mom.
“All right, Katya’s left us with a shit ton of food, so I hope you’re all hungry,” Vasily says, leading the way to the kitchen.
While the others follow, I grab Evie and pull her against me. “Doing okay?”
She smiles and wraps her arms around me. “I’m doing great. I really love your family, Valeri. You’re so lucky to have them.”
I think about how lonely she must’ve been growing up with no one except an abusive father. I don’t know how in the hell she survived it, especially while remaining so sweet and nice.
“They’re your family now too,” I remind her, “and soon we’ll have our own kids running around.” I give a soft laugh and kiss her head. “The holidays are going to be so much fun.”
She runs her hands along my back and laughs. “They will be. I can’t believe how quickly my life has changed.”
“Me too, but I’m so fucking glad it happened.”
I cup her face and kiss her before we join the others in the kitchen. With loaded plates, we decide to eat on the veranda since it’s so nice out tonight. Ruslan runs around, eating scraps and then following behind Dmitri when he finishes up and runs for his little scooter.
It’s a perfect night. Usually I’d be the lone single guy here, and as soon as it was over, I’d hit one of the clubs, but just the thought of going back to that life is enough to depress me.
As soon as Evie is finished, I pull her onto my lap, needing the reminder that I never have to go back to that again.
She relaxes against me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and kissing my cheek.
“I love you,” she whispers in my ear, and fuck if that isn’t my most favorite thing ever.
I squeeze her hip and turn to meet her eyes before giving her a kiss. “I love you too, baby.”