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Aleks gives me a quizzical look and I only shrug. I have no idea what that’s all about, and I have to admit I’m a little curious what the rules are for Polina. Will she have to marry one day, too?
Lev comes in behind Nikko, both of them speaking in rapid Russian. Nikko looks at Aleks and says something I can’t decipher. Aleks frowns and responds. I love it when he speaks his native tongue, but I get curious, too.
“What’s going on? Why the Russian?”
“Not trying to keep you out of the loop. Sometimes it comes naturally to us and we lapse into it without thought.” He shrugs. “Sometimes our mouths move quicker than our brains do.” Leaning in, he kisses my cheek. “You ought to know that personally.”
I bat him away, flushing at the subtle reminder of exactly how well he used that mouth this morning.
I gesture to where Ivy’s happily coloring at a little side table with Ekaterina. Ekaterina’s holding baby Sasha, asleep on her shoulder, dressed in the sweetest little baby tuxedo onesie. “Honestly, Aleks,” I whisper. “Not in front of the children!”
My heart leaps at the sight of his wicked, crooked grin.
We take pictures, and the photographer shows us proofs before we even leave the studio. My eyes grow misty at the sight of the family surrounding me, my ample belly a sign of our own growing family.
After the pictures, we make our way over to the food.
Mikhail sits up straighter and nods to Aleks. “We need to talk.”
Aleks’s jaw tightens. “We do.”
I sit beside Aria. “What’s going on?”
She frowns. “We’ve found the identity of the men responsible for hurting Lev and suspect they have something to do with the attempt at poisoning you as well, but we aren’t quite sure yet. We have a few more things we need to check out before we… act.”
“Oh, no,” I whisper. “Seriously?”
Based on my own family history, this could go many ways.
Aria nods. “The Romanov family is still relatively small, though they’ve been made stronger because of the two men they just initiated. But still, with fewer numbers, they’ll have to plan another means of retribution.”
Another means of retribution.What will that mean?
“Such as…”
“Could be anything. Financial demands. An insidious cyber-attack, which Aleks and I could easily orchestrate. They could take an eye for an eye. Or…something else.”
I tap my chin thoughtfully. I’m one of them now. Someone hurt my brother-in-law, and that isn’t something I’ll allow to happen without serious recourse. “Perhaps they’ll need someone who canshoot?”
Aria winks. “We’ll make a good team, the two of us.”
“Harper.” Aleks gestures for me to come over. I stand, newly informed and ready to face whatever comes next. Life will never be boring beside Aleks and his family.
“So,” I say, taking two sandwiches and nestling them onto a plate. “Time to tell Mikhail?”
Mikhail’s sharp eyes meet mine. “Tell me what?”
Aleks begins to chuckle and I grin, taking the ultrasound picture out of my bag. “We have news, everyone. It appears….” I hold the picture up and point. “We’re about to havetwins.”
THE END
