Chapter 29 - Ivan
Dinner is loud in the way it always tends to be with my family.
Between overlapping voices trying to tell their story the loudest, cutlery clinking, and one of my brothers laughing way harder than necessary, it’s the usual chaos.
Add a few little ones on top of that, and we have ourselves a typical Lukov night out.
As overwhelming as it might be to some, the private room is alive with warmth and affection, regardless of what that might look like. For the first time in a while, it isn’t tense, and nobody’s hiding anything.
Instead, it feels normal, and I didn’t realize how much I needed this until now.
Mila sits next to me at the table, dressed with her understated elegance without needing to try. She smiles at something Sergey jokes about, earning himself an amused eye roll from Kat, who can’t help but join in too.
Her hand rests on my thigh beneath the table, and every now and then, her thumb brushes absentmindedly. She seems a lot more comfortable than she once was, and that thought alone keeps me level.
I almost feel like she’s showing me up with how instinctively she reaches for me. But of course, I’m not going to complain.
Roman’s already halfway through his third drink, leaning back with a relaxed posture despite the very harrowing story he tells, keeping Victoria on her toes the entire time, making sure he doesn’t get ahead of himself despite the way she tries not to laugh when he emphasizes his words with his hands a bit too much.
“And what was I supposed to do, let the deal fall through?” He asks, somewhat directing the question to Artem, who listens intently with a faint glimmer in his eyes, giving away the fact that this isn’t his first time hearing it.
“It took weeks to iron out the details, and even if we were fighting down to the last minute, who was I to call it off? We both had one foot in the grave, but money is money when you’re starting out. ”
From a few seats down, Mikhail quietly mimics Roman’s story word for word, rhyming the details off with practiced ease. It’s easy when you’ve heard the same ones again and again.
Nikolai snickers into his glass, barely holding back his laughter as Mikhail’s imitation perfectly lines up in Roman’s retelling, shoulders shaking faintly from the effort. Lily has to hide her face behind her hands to keep from laughing outright.
As Roman carries on, Victoria puts a gentle hand on his forearm, keeping him from swinging it again, and he pauses.
“Water might be helpful, sweetheart,” she murmurs, lips pulling slightly.
Realizing now that everyone is trying not to embarrass him by laughing, Roman’s eyes narrow before he scoffs and sits back, though his irritation melts into resignation. “Maybe that’s for the best.”
When the restraint slips and a few chuckles surround the table, Roman waves everyone off before reaching for his glass. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” Despite his grumbling, he cracks a smile anyway.
I glance at Mila, catching her amusement from next to me, and my chest warms at the sight. When our eyes meet, it’s like we’re sharing in the moment, acknowledging how unserious these moments tend to be. It’s nice knowing she doesn’t feel like an outsider anymore.
Elena sighs at Roman’s antics, shaking her head in exasperation with a grin while she holds Talia. Wyatt’s arm is slung around her shoulders, ready to swoop in when he’s needed. “We can’t take you anywhere.”
“And here you were supposed to be my favorite sibling,” Roman muses, blending in a little better now that his tangent is over. “What a traitor.”
“Motherhood changes people,” Sergey says, smirking to himself.
“So does fatherhood,” Mikhail pipes up, not pulling back his punches. “You might learn a thing or two.”
At that, Sergey opens his mouth to retort, but he comes up short, and luckily, Kat doesn’t seem fazed by the insinuation. After a beat, he huffs out a breath and puts a light hand on the back of her head. “It’s not my fault I can’t keep this one out of the garage long enough.”
“Gross,” she returns, nose scrunching at the insinuation in front of the family.
Roman scoffs, not buying it. “I know excuses when I hear them, Sergey. You’re just afraid of diapers.”
A warm hum of laughter carries across the table when Sergey can’t deny it, then Elena looks toward Mila with a sigh. “You sure you want to deal with the madness?”
Mila smiles in such an honest way, not at all shying away from the question. “And miss out on this?”
Elena chuckles. “You’re so brave.”
Mila’s soft laughter soothes something in me that only she can ever manage to touch, and I slide my hand over top of hers, giving a light squeeze of appreciation.
Really, she could run as far away from all of this as possible, and yet, she’s right here, taking it all in like the novelty it is to her. She doesn’t have to say it for me to know she clings to these nights, since this dynamic used to be so foreign to her.
I’m just grateful I get to watch her experience it for the first time.
As dinner carries on and conversations resume easily, more stories are told, some at my expense, though many are more embellished than they want to admit.
All the while, Mila listens, eyes bright like she’s learning more about me each time.
I know she’s storing these details away for later, and I can’t bring myself to be too annoyed.
Eventually, as things start to die down and the kids reunite with their respective parents, looking drowsy and half asleep already, Artem leans his forearms against the table. “I’ve been digging into the fallout of everything, and it seems Maksim has cut ties with the remaining Grimaldi forces.”
With Dima and Kira clinging to either side of him, Roman snorts. “That’s not surprising.”
“No, but from what I’ve gathered, he’s being cautious now. I’d be surprised if he was willing to take the same risks in another alliance, even if it means halting his plans for now. He seems to be focusing on rallying his units against his cousin.”
I absently brush over Mila’s knuckles, aware of how sensitive the topic still is. “He might be lying low for now, but that won’t last forever.”
“True,” Artem agrees, finishing the last of his drink. “He’s still out there, just quieter for now. I don’t imagine things are going smoothly for the Balakins at this time.”
Knowing there’s potential mutiny unfolding between Yuri and Maksim is interesting, and it certainly changes things. We might’ve pulled the teeth out of the Grimaldis, but the Balakins are still worth monitoring, regardless of their current leadership issues.
“And what about Yuri?” I ask, glancing between Artem and Roman. “Any word?”
The former shrugs. “He’s still unaccounted for, but obviously not gone. My siblings have been looking around the clock, and as soon as they spot him, you’ll know.”
I nod to myself, knowing there isn’t anything we can do right now, despite not wanting those loose ends to exist for much longer.
“I suppose it could be worse,” Roman says with a vaguely satisfied sigh. “At least all fronts are quiet for now.”
“Don’t tempt fate,” Mikhail warns, though he looks just as relaxed.
Roman grins. “Then fate can have a word with me, if it likes.”
The others either chuckle or shake their heads at his bravado, and the rest of the evening passes a little easier.
On the way out, I feel as Roman’s hand finds my shoulder, and he murmurs to me, “For all the shit I gave you before, you did good.”
The sincerity in his words catches me off guard, and a small part of me questions if it’s just the booze in his system talking. Though he seems coherent enough. “What, no lecture?”
“Don’t push it,” he says with a faint smirk before letting me go. “And no, not tonight.”
My brother’s acceptance and subtle praise follow me back home, leaving me feeling better about how everything has unfolded, regardless of the initial turmoil. At the very least, I didn’t screw things up beyond repair.
The drive is quiet but good, all the while Mila’s head rests against my shoulder in the back seat, and her fingers idly trace patterns against my palm. She’s completely relaxed now, at ease and not seeming troubled like she used to be.
I soak that in too, pressing my cheek against the top of her head and leaving the occasional kiss.
As we head inside the building, following the usual route until we reach the condo, her hand stays in mine like she hates the idea of separating even for a moment.
I eventually slip my arm around her waist instead once we reach the final stretch, brushing my fingers over the slight swell of her stomach.
“You know, I do love my family dearly, but I was counting down the minutes until we got back here,” I hum, pressing a quick kiss to her neck as I grab my keys, catching her hitched breath.
Interest sparks in her eyes at that, and Mila smiles, not moving a muscle while I hold her hip with my free hand as she stands in front of me. “Is that so?”
Once I get the door unlocked and push it open, I steer her inside by the hips, lips lingering by her neck still. “Absolutely. I just kept thinking about all the ways I was going to make you soft for me.”
A small shiver moves through her then, and it doesn’t escape my notice. Mila grins, allowing me to guide her in before the door closes behind us. “It sounds like you might be the soft one here.”
I scoff against her skin, but I don’t deny it as I gently nip at her pulse point before turning her around. “And I bet you revel in knowing that.”
Seeing her warm, faintly amused yet receptive glimmer in her eyes up close makes me want far more than that. I can already feel my barely-restrained need rising to the surface.
When Mila’s hands find my waist in a reciprocal touch, she leans in closer, nose nearly brushing against mine. “I do every day. It might be why I keep you around.”
The audacity makes me laugh, light and genuine, and I pull her even closer. “Then I guess I have no choice but to stay soft. Just not in the ways that count.”
She snickers, hands lightly running up my back in return. “You’re lucky I love you.”
“Yeah,” I murmur, dipping my face a little lower to press a soft, quick kiss to her lips. “I’m incredibly lucky…But I guess I’ll just have to prove that I love you more.”
Regardless of the teasing and lighthearted nature of it all, Mila’s expression softens a touch, then she kisses me again, a bit deeper and more drawn out.
I relax into it, sliding a hand to her cheek to keep her there. This time, I meld our lips together in slow reverence, savoring every moment I have her like this.
Staying as close as physically possible, lip-locked and gripping each other, we gradually move through the condo, letting the occasional laugh slip whenever we bump into something along the way.
All the while, I can’t help but consider just how different all of this has been for me. Despite the way I used to live, it all changed for her, and because of that, I get to have this. I get to have her and everything we share as easily as breathing.
And for the first time, I let myself believe this can actually last.