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She blushes as she smiles at me. I can practically feel her giddiness radiating off her as she makes her way to the altar. Mikhail graciously kisses her cheek, a gesture of good will.
“Welcome to our family,” he says kindly.
“Thank you,” she responds before stepping up to take her place across from me. I offer her my hand and guide her onto the small platform, unable and unwilling to take my eyes off her.
“You look stunning,” I murmur.
“You’re pretty dashing yourself,” she teases.
Already, this ceremony is leagues above our first one. There are no startled faces, no obvious signs of distress. We’re both here of our own volition to celebrate the love we found in one another. When the officiant steps forward, nobody tells him to cut to the chase, I certainly don’t cut him off when he asks if we have vows to exchange. I was unprepared before, but this is different. This time, I have plenty of promises to make when it comes to the love of my life.
I take her hands and begin. “Alina, I vow to be a good husband to you. I will care for you and I will treasure you, come what may. I hope to spend the rest of my days striving to make you as happy as you do me.”
It’s Alina’s turn. She smiles up at me sweetly, her eyes brimming with tears. “Pyotr, in every sense of the word, you are my savior and protector. I vow to be a good wife to you. I will support you and love you, through thick and thin. I love you so much, and I can’t wait to begin the rest of our lives together.”
In the front row, Merrybell wipes her eyes. My sisters-in-law also look incredibly misty.
“Now, the exchanging of rings?” the officiant asks.
I slip a new wedding band onto her finger. It’s far nicer than the first one I gave her, this one made of white gold and encrusted with a row of delicate little diamonds around the top. This time, she has a ring to give me, too. She takes my hand and slips a matching band of thick white gold around my finger. It feels like a far bigger promise than any oath I could ever utter. The weight of it takes some getting used to, but it also feels great. It’s a physical reminder that we belong to each other, no matter what.
“With that,” the officiant says, “it’s my honor to pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your—”
He doesn’t even get the chance to finish before I step forward, wrap my arms around Alina’s body, and pull her into a bruising kiss. I denied her the first time, but now I’m ready to practically throw myself at her. Nothing tastes sweeter than her lips, nothing makes my heart beat faster than the soft moan escaping her. The rest of the world falls away. I don’t hear my family clapping and cheering, I don’t care that we’ve probably been kissing for far too long. I’m going to savor every last moment of our special day, and nobody is going to stop me.
“I love you,” I murmur against her lips.
She grins up at me. “I love you, too, Pytor.”
“What do you say? Ready for our honeymoon?”
“We’re getting a honeymoon? What about the baby?”
I chuckle. “I hired Merrybell to be our nanny. She’ll be coming with us to look after Ava, so we won’t have to be very far from her.”
“Where are we going?” my beautiful wife asks me curiously.
“Wherever you want,” I state. “Someplace tropical? Someplace up in the mountains? It’s all up to you, lyubimaya.”
“Up to me? Goodness, you’re spoiling me.”
I smirk. “Well, you’d better get used to it.”
Epilogue
Alina
Ican’t remember the last time I was this nervous. My fingers are so cold they’re too stiff to move, yet the rest of my body feels like it’s hot enough to rival the sun. Peering out from the wing into the crowd is a grave mistake. At least three hundred guests are in attendance tonight, most of them important business and political figures. I heard there were even a couple of bonafide A-list celebrities in attendance. Pyotr’s connections are certainly impressive?
Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I have to remind myself this is for the greater good. Tonight’s charity concert has already raised over a hundred thousand dollars based on ticket sales alone, and every single cent will be put toward CyberFort’s educational initiative for inner city youth. We’re doing good things here today, and I can’t allow my nerves to keep me from stepping onto that stage.
I can’t see Pyotr or our little Ava from where I’m standing. The stage lights are too bright, and the rest of the music hall only has floor lights to illuminate the way, so it’s difficult to make out any faces. I know they’re out there, though. Pyotr promised me he would be front and center, cheering me on.
There’s no putting it off any longer. It’s my time to shine.
A thunderous applause shakes the room as I walk out onto the stage. It’s surprisingly warm under the spotlights, which makes my overheating situation that much more daunting. My palms are clammy, but all it takes is one look out into the crowd—and I see him, front and center.
My husband is only a few feet away, seated comfortably in the first row with our infant daughter in his arms. The stage is elevated by a few feet, so he has to tilt his head up to look me in the eye. He wears a small smile upon his lips, as encouraging as it is sweet. He gives me the smallest, almost imperceptible nod as if he’s trying to sayyou’ve got this.
