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“Wait, when did you buy this ring?”
“The day after we slept together for the first time,” he said. “I wanted to be prepared when the moment was right.”
I stared at him in shock. “Are you saying that you wanted to marry me even before you knew I was pregnant?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he said firmly. “I’ve been holding onto this ring for months, trying to get the courage to tell you how I felt about you, hoping that I was right, and that you loved me too.”
I lifted my hand to cup his cheek. His stubble felt rough against my palm.
“You were right Michael, I do love you. I have for a long time.”
He gave me a huge smile and pulled the ring out of the box, slipping it onto the ring finger of my left hand.
“So, will you marry me? Or do I need to ask your father first?”
“I will marry you, Michael. I’m a grown woman who can make my own decisions, although according to Alona, this will not come as a surprise to anyone in my family. Apparently they’ve ‘shipped’ us for a while now.”
“We can tell them the news tonight at dinner,” he said. “All the news.”
“Tonight?” I asked.
“It’s Saturday, Family Dinner Night at the Pavlenkos, remember?”
It struck me then that Michael was already part of my family, long before I even realized it, and that felt pretty special.
“They may like you, but my parents are going to be super pissed with both of us. You need to be prepared for that.”
“They’ll get over it, especially when your mother realizes that she’s finally getting that grandbaby she never thought would come,” he said confidently. “Besides, we’ll have Alona and Jayden there to back us up, right?”
“Yeah.”
I stood up and shifted so I could straddle his lap, my knees coming to either side of his hips. Taking his face between my hands, I gave Michael a long, deep kiss. When I pulled back, we were both breathing heavily.
“I love you,” he said. “I can’t wait to have a family with you and the baby.”
Somewhere in the next room Nutella let out a shriek, and we both laughed.
“Yes Nutella,” Michael called. “You’re part of our family too, little buddy.”
He hugged me close. “I hope our baby looks just like you.”
“I hope he or she looks like both of us,” I said. “Let’s just keep them away from martinis, okay?”
Epilogue – Michael
Eighteen months later…
I stood at the front of Olga’s family’s church, nervously tugging at the collar of the starched white shirt I wore underneath my black suit. My stomach churned with nerves, making me shift back and forth on my feet.
Behind me, Olga’s brother-in-law Jayden nudged me. I’d spent a lot of time with him and Alona since Olga and I officially got together, and we’d gotten to be pretty good friends. Good enough friends that I made him my best man for the wedding.
“Just so you know, if you run, my brothers and I are prepared to chase you down, cut you into a dozen pieces, and throw your sorry carcass into Lake Michigan.”
The entire Oliver clan had turned up for the wedding, filling up two rows of seats. I turned and gave my future brother-in-law a wry look.
“While I appreciate the amount of effort you’ve spent planning my death, Mr. Pavlenko will kill me first. Besides, Olga and I have been living together for more than two years and we have a child together, I wasn’t planning to run.”
“Ah, so you’re nervous she’ll be the one to run?” he asked. “Don’t worry, Alona won’t let her skip the ceremony. You know their mother’s already upset that you waited so long to get married. If Alona lets her get away, her mama will never forgive her.”
