Epilogue II
ANDREI
Five Years Later
The water is perfectly still around us, broken only by the slow movement of Alina’s arm as she drifts her fingers through the surface beside her. The infinity edge disappears into a sweep of impossible blue, ocean blending into sky so seamlessly it feels unreal, like we stepped into a painting.
I always rolled my eyes at places like this. I didn’t see the appeal of overpriced tropical resorts with infinity pools. Romantic destinations were for whipped men who couldn’t tell their wives and girlfriends no.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m whipped now. So is she, though. We are completely gone for each other, even after all these years.
Alina leans back against the smooth stone edge, eyes half-closed as sunlight warms her face.
There is a softness to her now that came with motherhood.
She’s just as ambitious and stubborn as she ever was, but she’s more patient, too.
Especially toward me. Thank goodness, because I can be a real asshole sometimes.
I watch her longer than I mean to. Eight years later, the sight of her still nearly undoes me. She is a perfect specimen, probably crafted by God himself specifically for me.
She opens her eyes without turning her head.
“You’re staring at me,” she says with a hint of irritation.
“I’m allowed,” I say. “You’re my wife.”
Her mouth curves, slow and familiar. “And it never gets less creepy when I catch you doing it,” she says, sticking her tongue out at me.
I lunge at her, grabbing her waist and pulling her under water with me. We emerge a second later laughing and she splashes me hard with water. I splash her back, and soon our very adult, very expensive hotel pool is the scene of an incredibly childish water fight.
“I give up,” I finally say in surrender, sputtering out the water that’s gone in my mouth. “You win.”
“And don’t you forget it!” she answers triumphantly.
“I’m always happy for you to win, Mrs. Markova,” I tell her, moving closer and kissing her gently.
She sighs against my mouth and we float there in a casual embrace for a long time, just watching the sun go down.
“I miss them,” she says quietly as the air starts to shift a bit and become chilly.
I don’t have to ask who.
“Drey tried to ride the dog yesterday,” I tell her. “Petya sent me the video.”
She laughs under her breath, the sound warm and tired and full all at once.
“That dog is going to bite him one day,” she says sternly. “And we won’t even be able to punish it because it’ll be his fault.”
“Apparently, Sonya took care of that,” I tell her. “She bit him hard on the arm and told him to leave the dog alone.”
Alina winces. “That doesn’t make me feel better,” she says, swimming toward the edge of the pool and getting out. “We’re going to have to deal with her biting. Her daycare teacher sent home a note last week.”
“I’ll just send the school some money. That’ll smooth it over.”
“That’s not the point,” she says, fixing me with a glare. “We’ve got to discipline her or she’ll never learn to behave.”
“I wasn’t disciplined much as a child,” I say, getting out after her. “I think I turned out okay.”
“Sure you did, babe,” she says rolling her eyes.
We towel off and go back into the room.
“I still feel guilty leaving them,” she admits as she heads toward the bathroom.
“They’re with your father,” I remind her. “And twenty armed men.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t miss them,” she calls to me. “They’re growing so fast. What if we get home and they don’t even remember who we are.”
I can’t help but chuckle.
“It’s only been a week,” I remind her. “And we fly home on Friday. You’re allowed to enjoy a vacation without kids.”
“Nope,” she argues petulantly. “That wasn’t in any of the parenting books I read.”
“Then let’s write a new one,” I suggest. “A full guide on how to leave your children alone with nannies and guards.”
“Drey would love the beach.” She sighs, ignoring me. “And Sonya would go crazy for that pool. She’s such a little fish these days.”
“Damn it,” I reply. “When you’re right, you’re right. We passed a playground yesterday that I just know Drey would love.”
“See?” she says victoriously. “You’re thinking about our children just as much as I am!”
She emerges from the bathroom in her bikini, and I take a moment to drink in the sight of her.
“Maybe not just as much,” I murmur, looking her up and down.
She stares back at me with dark eyes, already reaching for the tie on the back of her bikini. In one easy stroke, she pulls it free, allowing the fabric to fall to the floor.
“I promise I’ll drag you back to my dungeon soon enough,” I tell her darkly. “But let’s just enjoy this moment for as long as we can.”
I pick her up and spin her around, loving the excited gasp she lets out as I carry her to our California King bed.
The next morning, I wake up alone. I look up groggily to see her sitting on the patio with her iPad open in front of her and a plate of fresh fruit sitting mostly ignored. If I know her at all, and I’d like to think I know her pretty well, she’s looking at pictures of her hotel.
The renovations are well underway, and she should be able to open in three months. That’s the plan anyway. It’s part of the reason I brought her out here for this trip. I knew if we stayed in the city, like we’ve done for our other six anniversaries, she would just spend the whole time working.
“Hey,” I call out. “You better not be doing anything productive over there.”
She looks up at me guiltily, flushing when she catches me watching her.
“I’m so sorry,” she says in mock apology. “Bryant sent me a few carpet samples because the one we wanted was discontinued.”
I roll my eyes and smile, putting her at ease. There’s nothing I would deny her, not even a few hours to work while we’re on vacation. I had no idea when I married her what a workaholic she would be, but I’m so happy that she’s finally getting to live out her dream.
She told me about this hotel the first time we met. This has been her dream from the beginning, and she thought it would take her much longer to see it become a reality. She’s only twenty-eight. Every day I get to watch her dreams get closer and closer.
“I was thinking about the opening party,” she tells me.
“Oh?” I ask, getting out of bed and coming to sit across from her. “I thought you didn’t like parties.”
“I had a bad experience at one once,” she teases. “But then it turned into the best thing that ever happened. So, maybe a party wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”
“Thank God.” I sigh. “I called Kendra weeks ago to arrange the catering.”
Her face lights up. “How do you always know what I want before I do?” she asks redundantly.
I answer her anyway. “Because I’m so in love with you,” I answer seriously. “And I’ll always make sure that you have exactly what your heart desires.”
She smiles at me and leans forward for a kiss.
When we get home, our lives will go back to being chaos. She’ll throw herself back into the renovation, and I’ll have Bratva business to attend to. In between it, we’ll do our best to be adequate parents, and we’ll probably fail spectacularly. Our kids always find a way of keeping us on our toes.
Here now, though, we just get to be us. We have no responsibilities, no worries, and no reason not to spend the entire day naked in bed.
The End