The Bratva King's Kidnapped Bride - Page 70

“Tell me anyway,” she urged.

I leaned away, my hands on her shoulders. “I love you, Katie. Now and forever.”

Her beaming smile had stolen my heart already, but it was like being captured all over again. She playfully shoved me away, blushing.

“I love you, too. But now, my demands.” When I was seated, she put her hands on her hips, and I wondered what I was about to have to do. I was ready for anything. “First, we’re going on a proper honeymoon. I don’t care where. And as soon as we get back, I’m starting up the lunch box business again.”

She bit her lip nervously as if she’d actually asked for the world. As if there was anything I wouldn’t give her. I couldn’t stay in my chair another second and rose to yank her close again. I kissed her soundly until she was limp against my chest.

“Anything,” I told her. “Just tell me that you’re mine.”

She reached to run her fingers through my hair, the vegetables forgotten for the moment behind her.

“I’m yours, Aleks. Just the way that you’re mine.”

Epilogue – Katie

One month later

I kicked the heavy bag with a satisfying thump, but it hardly swung at all on its chain. I kicked it again, deciding what to do next in our home gym. I’d been working out as rigorously as the doctor allowed, and loved the newfound feeling of accomplishment in getting fit and strong. It wasn’t just good for my health, or the baby’s health, but it helped me feel like I could better defend myself if I ever needed to again.

I’d also learned how to shoot, and while I didn’t enjoy it as much as the kickboxing or hand-to-hand combat that Aleks had been teaching me, I was getting more accurate at hitting targets. Just another way to become a better mafia wife.

It hadn’t quite settled with me yet, and I definitely didn’t need to know every last detail of what Aleks and his brothers did, but I adored my husband. With that, I’d come to accept his family’s traditions.

With a loud grunt, I kicked the bag again, sending it swinging a little further this time.

“Whoa, there,” Aleks said, appearing in the doorway in his workout clothes. I took in his rippling biceps and hard chest on full view in the snug tank top, and moved my eyes down to his powerful thighs under his basketball shorts. “Don’t overdo it.”

He always balked at me, trying to do even the least strenuous activities, and I rubbed my small baby bump that had just started popping out. He knew as well as I did that I wasn’t overdoing anything, but he couldn’t help worrying. It was nice to see his softer side and even nicer to think I’d helped bring it out.

“Are you ready to get your ass handed to you?” I asked, same as I always did before one of our self-defense lessons.

He laughed. “Do we have time? What about your appointment?”

I grabbed his wrist to look at his watch. “We have plenty of time for a quick lesson,” I said. “You’re just extra anxious about this one.”

“Aren’t you even curious?” he asked.

Today we might be able to find out the baby’s sex, and he was all but champing at the bit to know if we were having a boy or a girl. I pretended not to care, and for myself, I didn’t at all, but I knew how much he wanted a boy, so that made me anxious. Aleks probably only cared because of how much he father was angling for a male heir to carry on the Fokin legacy.

Papa Fokin was a formidable man, and it wasn’t until our third video chat that he actually cracked a smile in my direction. Aleks and his siblings all assured me that he liked me just fine, and that was just his way with everyone, so I took their word for it. I couldn’t wait to meet him in person when we traveled to Moscow, but that wouldn’t be until after the baby was born.

I would have been completely satisfied if I could have even gotten the same reception from Jenna as I did from Aleks’s father. But she had been deeply hurt when I finally spilled the beans about everything. She’d swallowed my story about Aleks being nothing more than a fling that wouldn’t last through the end of the year, because I’d never lied to her about anything other than the small fibs so she wouldn’t worry about money.

Springing the marriage and baby on her all at once had been a blow, and she’d iced me out for a whole week before letting me know how she felt about it all.

Jenna was pissed she hadn’t been informed about the wedding, let alone invited, and no amount of promising we were going to have a huge ceremony after the baby arrived would appease her. Not even tempting her with being able to pick out the bridesmaids’ dresses had made her forgive me yet. It only made it worse when she found out who I’d married, shrieking about Nataliye’s father and how much older he was than me. I suspected she and Nat had started a chat together to talk about how badly I’d betrayed them both.

It was only this morning that I had a glimmer of hope. Jenna messaged me saying she’d canceled her ski trip. Not because she was too angry to accept any gifts from Aleks and me but because she wanted to spend Christmas with family. Yes, even her new family. I called her immediately and she snappily said she wanted to talk to Aleks. As soon as he got on the line, she let him have it for a solid ten minutes, then said she’d see us in a few months and hung up. Needless to say, she didn’t know what Aleks did for a living yet. We’d have to ease into that conversation.

Aunt Marjorie was all in from the moment I confessed, thrilled to have a great nephew or niece, and she promised she’d be healthy enough to join us in California for the holidays.

Nataliye was our last holdout. We both messaged her every day. Aleks still didn’t get any replies, but a couple days ago, I got an emoji in response to a funny meme I sent her. It was something. It was a start, and neither of us would give up. She was my best friend, and I missed her terribly, especially when I had so many new things going on in my life. I kept her updated about my lunch box business, now with three delivery people and an assistant cook to help me put them together.

I longed to tell her everything about the pregnancy but didn’t want to rub it in her face. If nothing else, though, Nat could never resist a baby. She’d come around when it was time to meet her new half-brother or sister, and Aleks and I would be waiting with open arms.

I was so lost in my thoughts I missed an easy opening to flip Aleks onto his back and crow about finally beating him in one of our mock battles. The next thing I knew, I was in a tight hold.