Page 53 of Marrying the Silver Fox

“She did?”

“She had a good eye for these things,” he remarks. “That was why I always kept her so close to the business, you know. She could see through anyone, could tell what anyone’s motivations were at a glance. I just—” He clears his throat heavily.

I don’t speak, not wanting to cut off his memories of her. I know how hard it must be for him to speak about her, given how we lost her, but it feels like something of a salve to know that she has not been forgotten.

“I should have done more to keep her safe,” he replies. “You take care of Andrea, don’t you, Nikolai?”

“Of course,” I reply. “If it wasn’t for her, Max wouldn’t have lived long enough to get out of the country.”

“She has a good sense about her,” he remarks. “And she’s kind. Fine qualities for a wife.”

I take a deep breath. This seems like as good a time as any to just come out with it.

“Or a mother.”

For a second, he doesn’t say a word, processing the enormity of what I’ve just told him.

“A mother…?”

“She’s…she’s pregnant, Dad. Andie’s pregnant.”

I hear him suck in a sharp breath. “She’s pregnant? You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

I know I should wait until we’ve had a chance to confirm it with the doctor, but I know he needs something to hang on to right now—some reminder that the family is not whittling down to nothing, even with the loss of Max.

“Nikki, that’s wonderful news!” he exclaims, so loudly I have to draw the phone away from my ear for a moment.

I chuckle. “I thought you’d be pleased. An heir for your empire, eh?”

“Oh, that will come when they’re old enough,” he replies. “But a grandchild—I’ll be a grandfather…”

He continues to speak, rattling through all the ways he will pamper this child of mine—I can already tell they’re going to be spoiled, but hey, I guess that’s what grandparents are for. I barely had a chance to know mine, and despite my father’s age, I know I will do everything I can to make sure that my children have a chance to get to know the older generations of their bloodline. To make sure they understand that their lineage stretches back and forward, that they’re part of an expansive whole.

“How do you feel about it?” he asks me finally, once he has finished rushing through everything that’s on his mind.

I blink—for a moment, I’m slightly caught off guard by the question. I’ve been so focused on making sure that Andie is safe that I’ve hardly had time to ponder what my life will be like as a father. For so long, the idea of an heir has been an abstract one; one that I will fulfill so I can ensure that this business has somewhere to go when the time comes.

But now, it’s real. Concrete.

It’s the baby taking shape deep inside Andie right now, the tiny life that’s flickering awake.

“I’m looking forward to meeting them,” I reply. It’s the truth. A whole person, half me, half Andie, who will be shaped by the kind of life that we give them. It’s a huge responsibility, but I know that the payoff will be worth it.

“You’ll be a good father,” he remarks to me. “You’ve got the patience for it.”

I chuckle. “I’m not sure about that.”

“Well, you’ll have to, if you want to make it through the early months,” he chuckles. “I still remember how you terrorized your mother and me, not sleeping through the night…” His voice takes on a tinge of nostalgia. “You’ll bring them here to meet me, won’t you? The little one?”

“Of course I will.”

It’s a promise I’m certain I will be able to keep, even if I haven’t discussed it with Andie yet. She seemed to really take to my father, and judging by what she told me about her own upbringing, it doesn’t surprise me that she felt so welcomed by his presence.

“Good,” he replies. “They need to know where they came from. And Russia is a beautiful country, even more beautiful to a child’s eyes. I’ll take them to the house in the mountains for Christmas, that way they can see the snow on Christmas morning…”

As he rambles, I smile, listening to him filling his head with ideas about how he’s going to indulge his grandchild. There is hope for us, despite it all. Despite what Max did, despite the absence of my mother, despite the losses we have suffered. It might not be how either of us had imagined our lives would unfold, but there’s still joy to be found there, no matter what.