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Fuck. He isn’t wrong. I didn’t hear a word.
“The old ball and chain has got you all turned around,” he chuckles, a little twinkle in his eye. It’s the same look he used to get when we would tease Maksim about Cyrille back when they were newlyweds.
I feel a million years away from the man I used to be back then. The kind of man who’d heard he was going to be an uncle and felt an overwhelming sense of joy.
It’s a far cry from the way I felt when I learnedIwould be a father.
All I could think about in that moment was how much I stood to lose.
“She’s getting close with everyone,” I say reluctantly. “My mother. Nikita. Cyrille and Ilya.”
“I’m not surprised,” Konstantin replies. “She’s a breath of fresh air. She reminds me of how we used to be before all this Bratva shit came in and complicated our lives.” He smiles. “Remember those camping trips we used to take?”
Of course I remember.“Maksim used to call himself a ‘man of the woods,’” I chuckle.
Konstantin snorts. “He could be one with nature… just so long as he had a king-size mattress and indoor plumbing to go back to at the end of the day.”
“Or if nature came inside to him. Like Hootie,” I say without thinking.
“Jesus, the fucking owl! That thing hated me.”
“He loved Maksim, though.”
“Yeah, yeah. Most animals did. Whatever,” Konstantin says, rolling his eyes. “It’s weird visiting Cyrille and Ilya now. It’s weird seeing them without Maksim and all the pets in that fuckin’ menagerie they called a house.”
I haven’t really noticed. I haven’t been around enough to notice. “Are they happy living with my mother and Nikita?”
“Maybe you should ask Cyrille next time you see her.”
I wince. I’d rather not. Watching Cyrille mourn feels like dredging up my own grief. She draws it out of me.
I get to my feet. “I’m done for today. Let me know if anything important pops up. The merger—”
“—will be done in a matter of days,” Konstantin says. “Are you prepared for Petyr’s wrath once he discovers you’ve bought his company from right out beneath him?”
“I’ve been trying to incur his wrath from day one. Safe to say I’m ready.”
Konstantin frowns, but I don’t want to hear what he has to say about this. I walk away and go upstairs.
My wife has been out all day with my mother. It’s becoming a regular occurrence. And a real irritation. But when I step into our bedroom, I hear running water coming from the bathroom.
I walk inside to find Paige sprawled in the huge bathtub, all the best parts of her covered by foam and bubbles.
“Hi.” She smiles, but it’s hesitant. She’s watching me with the wariness that comes from dealing with someone unpredictable.
I recognize it because Maksim and I used to look at our father the same way.
I sit at the edge of the tub. She’s still wearing her pendant, the soap suds clinging to the chain.
“Did you have a good day?” I ask in a monotone.
“It was amazing,” she gushes. “We had a whole spa day. Even your sister joined. I think she’s trying to give me a chance.” She sounds hopeful. Nervous, but hopeful.
“Cyrille came, too?”
She nods. “We picked Ilya up after school. He’s such a great kid. I thought this wedding would be something I’d have to endure, but honestly, I’m enjoying myself.”
I can see how buoyant she looks. Like she’s floating on the surface of the bathtub. She seems lighter lately.
