AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re home and Yakov will finally stop moping around the mansion with his tail tucked between his legs, so I’m doing great.”
Yakov told me Nik doesn’t want to face the reality of his situation. Maybe it’s time he did. But before I can press the issue, a middle-aged woman with long black hair charges into the room heading directly for me.
“There she is!” she sing-songs, pulling me into a hug.
I look over her shoulder at Yakov, confused. Who is this woman? I want to ask. But there can only be one answer. Even if that answer makes no sense.
Yakov described his mother like she was elderly and on the edge of death. But this woman is tall and lean. And based on the grip she has on my shoulders, strong as hell. She doesn’t seem frail to me in the slightest.
I slap a smile on my face as she steps back. “Hello?—”
I have no idea what to call her. “Mom” is not an option. Neither is “Yakov’s mother,” but that’s all I have to work with. Somehow, we’ve made it this far without me ever once hearing her name.
It doesn’t matter, though. Because she grabs my left hand and bursts into tears.
“Oh my gosh.” I pat her shoulder. “Are you okay? Is everything alright?”
“What did I say about crying, Mother?” Mariya drawls from the doorway. She rolls her eyes. “So dramatic.”
“This ring has been in my family for generations,” she sobs, her hands shaking around mine. “When I gave it to Yakov, I hoped he would give it to a good woman—someone who would take care of him.”
“I can take care of myself,” Yakov mumbles behind me.
She ignores him and pats my cheek. “I know that woman is you.”
I don’t even know her first name, so I have no clue how she can know that. But I smile and nod anyway. “It’s a beautiful ring. I love it.”
Her face lights up. “That’s great. Because I thought we’d design the wedding around it. A sort of old world elegance. I’m thinking silver flatware and cool whites. They will look best with your skin tone.”
“She’s pregnant with his twins. I think that excludes her from wearing white to the wedding. Maybe black would be better,” Nik says, earning him another flick to his ear.
“Or,” Mariya chimes in, “Luna can wear whatever the hell she wants. It’s her wedding, after all. She should be the one to plan it.”
“She will be the one to plan it, but I’m always here if you need help,” Yakov’s mother offers, squeezing both of my hands.
“Thank you. We haven’t even talked about a wedding ceremony yet. I kind of forgot about it with everything else going on.”
I regret my words instantly because she whips around to look at Yakov. “You need to set a date, Yakov. All of the best venues will be gone if you don’t figure it out well in advance.”
Yakov squeezes her shoulder and directs her over to the couch. “We’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”
Mariya edges past me, whispering in my ear as she goes. “I hope you didn’t want to plan your own wedding. She’ll never let go of those reins now that she has them.”
“I don’t care, as long as she likes me,” I whisper back.
Mariya snorts. “You say that now, but give it a week. She’ll be driving you crazy.”
47
YAKOV
Nik is sitting up in his hospital bed when I walk into the sitting room, a cup of coffee in his hands. He looks back over his shoulder at me. “Someone is an early riser. Couldn’t sleep?”
The sky is still dark and the house is quiet. Luna was asleep when I crawled out of bed—a feat worthy of a medal, in my humble opinion. The fact I’m even conscious after what we did last night is a miracle.
“I could have slept for days,” I admit.
“So could I. You two weren’t exactly quiet last night.” He tips his head towards the shared wall between the sitting room and the library. “If you’re going to fuck your fiancée against the bookshelves while I’m living here, pick literally any other wall than this one, okay?”
