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“You have some, um, definition happening in those pants.” she blushes, looking away.
“Something you can look at all night long,” I tease, going to her and wrapping my arms around her. I kiss her softly, then smack her bum lightly. “Come on, we better hurry, or my child will be most upset.”
She smiles that sad smile again, and it breaks my heart.
She’s still subdued when we arrive at the arcade, but I know my daughter, her bubbly personality will make it fun, and Tori will soon have a good time.
We start by ordering pizza at the bowling alley and getting our bowling on. We play against each other, and Anastasia wins the first round easily against us. I’m surprised. I didn’t realize she’d been practicing.
Tori just barely lost to me, but every time she threw the ball, it would spin, and she would burst into giggles—it was a lot of fun. In the second round, Tori and Anastasia tied. I may have deliberately made a few gutter balls on accidental purpose. In the third round, though, I don’t hold back and wipe them both out on the scoring board.
“You’re a cheater,” Tori declares as she eats another slice of pizza. “You lulled us into a false sense of security.”
“I’m strategic,” I say, sipping on my beer. Nearby some guards watch over us, ensuring no one comes over and bothers us. Anastasia waves down a waitress, “Can we get another pizza and a large cheesy fries.”
I shake my head. “Who is paying for all this food?”
“You are,” she says with a grin. “Because you love us.”
I chuckle and sip my beer again before setting it down. Once the extra pizza and fries arrive, the girls devour them. I don’t know who is more hungry, but it’s fun to watch. I manage to squeeze in one slice for myself.
After we’ve paid for everything, we go into the outdoor arcade. The indoor arcade has video games, but the outdoor games have bigger prizes you can win, and I know Anastasia has her heart set on a giant teddy bear. We find the cutest one of the lot, and luckily for me, it’s a shooting game.
I pay the guy for two rounds and pick up the pellet gun. I make my stance, take aim, and let her rip, hitting the targets perfectly.
Tori looks at me amazed, and I chuckle, “My father was an avid gun collector, and he always said he’d never raise his kids not to handle guns safely.”
“It’s unfair if you’re a professional,” the booth owner says.
I look at him, raise an eyebrow, and Anastasia picks up the pellet gun. “My turn.”
She also fires off accurate shots, missing only two.
“You won one giant teddy,” the booth owner gloats. I look at him, then grab him and pull him to me, so our faces are inches apart. “I believe I won two.”
“Of…of…of course,” the man stammers as he sees the guards advancing. “My mistake.”
He gets the two giant teddy bears, and I take them. I give one each to Tori and Anastasia and then smile. “Let’s go play some more games. I’m enjoying this.”
“Me too,” Tori says with a genuine smile.
The rest of the evening is filled with laughs, more food, and more games. By the time we get home, we’re exhausted. Leonid is waiting for me on the front porch, so I send Tori and Anastasia in to get ready for bed without me.
“What is it?” I ask, sure it has something to do with Evgeni.
Leonid holds out paperwork to me. “I don’t know what makes you think you can trust a Sorvino, but Ivan, you can’t.”
“I will trust her until she does something that breaks that trust,” I roar at him, now at my wit's end with this conversation. I rip the papers from his hand and look at them. It’s the contracts.
“I wouldn’t sign if I were you,” Leonid says quietly.
“I’ll do as I see fit,” I say coldly. “Now get out of here.”
He leaves, and I dump the contracts on my office table before getting changed and washed up. Tori is already in bed. She seems to be asleep already. So at peace. I climb into bed behind her and spoon her. I stroke her hair softly, careful not to wake her up because I need to admit this before it makes me explode.
“I trust you so much. I trust you’ve done the right thing for our family and us. Dammit, I trust you with my heart, something I thought I didn’t have anymore. Vittoria, I love you so damn much.”
I kiss her bare shoulder and settle down, closing my eyes.
