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I’m sitting at the breakfast bar sipping my coffee when Sierra comes down the stairwell. She’s in a matching pair of lilac-purple pajama pants, and when she spots me, she looks around nervously. “You hungry,malyshka? I can make you something to eat,” I suggest, knowing she hasn’t eaten since we were on the jet yesterday.
Sierra nods without hesitating one bit. I need to get going, so I can handle some family business. Ruslan hasn’t killed Artos yet, but I believe today will be the day when that insufferable bastard takes his last breath.
“What would you like?” I give her the opportunity to choose something because I know we’ve been exposing her to a lot of foods she’s never experienced before. She never had the simplicity of pizza or cookies before, so I don’t want to overwhelm her palette.
“Um… I’m not sure. What did you have?” Sierra inquires, and I’m not sure if she’d like what I had for breakfast.
“I had a pumpkin tart, but I don’t know if you’ll like it.”
“I’d like to try it at least,” Sierra replies with a smile, so I go grab the pumpkin tarts from the counter.
I think she’d like it if it is warmed up, so I put it on a plate and pop it in the microwave for forty-five seconds. While I let that heat up, I get her a tall glass of milk. Finally, when themicrowave beeps, I grab the plate for her and place it on the breakfast bar. “Give it a few seconds to cool down, okay?”
“Okay,” Sierra acts like she has more to say, but she’s quiet for a few seconds until she has the courage to speak up again. “Are you and Mom married? I didn’t see a ring on your fingers, and when Uncle Ruslan and Aunt Amelia came by to see us last night, they had rings, so why don’t you and Mom have rings?” Ah, she’s diving into the thick of it. I didn’t even think she paid that much attention, but she obviously does.
“No, we’re not married. Not yet, at least, but I do see myself marrying your mother one day. I wanted to speak to you about something, though.”
“About what?” Sierra asks as she touches her pumpkin tart. It’s still quite warm, so she lets go of the tart and blows on it with her mouth.
“Since you’re here, I thought you might like to pick out things for your room. The one you’re in right now isn’t yours. It’s the extra bedroom. Yours is down the hall, but nothing is there. I thought you might want to pick a color, and maybe you and your mother can decorate it the way you like it.”
Sierra’s eyes widen with happiness, and she can’t keep her smile back. “Really? I get to choose everything in my room?”
I nod. “Yes, you do… if you want to.”
“I’d love to! I’ve never even had a bed to myself before… so this is a lot. I feel like a princess! Like in one of the movies Mom and I watched on the way here.” Emily and Sierra spent a lot of time watching Disney movies on the flight over here. It was obvious Sierra had never even seen one of them before, and she thought every movie was magical and beautiful. Now that she’s with her mother and me, she’ll never have to fight for anything else in her life. She won’t be spoiled, but she will have things provided for her, just as she should. We have a lot of time tomake up for, and even though Sierra is with us now, I know her mother still has an undeniable guilt that plagues her.
A set of footsteps coming down the stairs causes us to turn, and Emily walks into the kitchen. “What is that? It smells delicious.”
“Dad made pumpkin tarts,” Sierra’s quick to tell her, but Emily knows damn well I didn’t make them. That would be the café Amelia and Emily go to that made them.
Emily giggles lightly. “I’m sure he did.”
I go grab another pumpkin tart and put it on a plate, putting it in for the same exact amount of time that I put Sierra’s in for. When I’m done doing that, I fetch her a tall glass of milk. Meanwhile, my phone goes off. I answer it without even looking to see who it is.
“Hello.”
“Brother, you need to get here. Our patience is wearing thin,” Ruslan’s frustrated voice greets me.
“I’ll be there within the hour. I’m finishing up breakfast with Emily and Sierra.” My brother knows how important Sierra being with us is, so I know he won’t be a smartass right now.
“Very well, but when you’re done, rush your ass over here,” Ruslan tells me, and the two of us say our goodbyes.
“Was that Ruslan?” Emily questions, and I nod as I hand her the glass of milk I got her.
“It was. There’s some business I need to tend to, but nothing is more important than being here with my girls.” I smile at the end, and Emily blushes. I know that my supporting her through all of this has been very important to her.
“It’s okay, you can go. We understand there are things you need to get done.” Emily gives me an out, and while I’m appreciative of it, I want to be here.
“I’ll leave when I’m ready, but I was telling Sierra about her room, so maybe the two of you can go look at some paint colorsand pick out some furniture. Ludvik will be with you both, of course.”
“Of course, he will.” Emily laughs and rolls her eyes, but I know it’s all in good fun.
“Yeah, Mom! Dad said we could do it together.” Every single time Sierra calls me dad, I feel like my heart is going to explode. She has so much trust placed in me, and I hope Emily can see that I will be the best father in the world to her daughter.
I fish my credit card out of my wallet and hand it over to Emily. “Get whatever she wants, and I mean it.”
“I’m sure we will.” Emily laughs, and I go to get her pumpkin tart. I grab it from the microwave and place it in front of her. She touches it, but it’s so hot she pulls her hand away and then blows on it.
