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Ivan and I cut our cake on the patio where he saved me from being assaulted by one of his guests all those months ago.
I point out the eerie full-circle feeling as Niles swoops in to finish cutting and serving cake to the guests. Ivan and I head to the dance floor for our first dance.
“Saved you?” He snorts. “You didn’t act like I ‘saved you’ at the time. I remember you not being very thankful at all.”
Our guests are in a wide circle around the lawn while cello music swells against the warm night. My dad is dabbing at his eyes with a white handkerchief. He’s been a blubbering mess all night. I guess I know where I get it from.
“It was only because I could have handled him on my own. That guy was a sloppy drunk. He was handsy, but I could have fought him off.”
“Thank God for that,” he breathes.
I frown. “Excuse me?”
“That sloppy drunk destroyed your dress. I have him to thank for finding you naked in my office.” Ivan’s amber eyes undress me, turning darker by the second. “It set a lot of things in motion.”
I roll my eyes even as a blush spreads over my skin. “Maybe you should have invited him here tonight. We have him to thank for our relationship.”
Ivan swirls me out and then back against his chest, holding me close. I’m not a good dancer, but Ivan is graceful enough for the both of us.
He presses his cheek to my temple, his words soft in my ear. “No. This is all us, Cora. You and me. We got ourselves here.”
I look over his shoulder at Jorden and Yasha standing shoulder to shoulder, smiling like two idiots in love. Anya and Lev are sharing a piece of cake, feeding each other little bites and laughing. Even Ivan’s dad looks marginally happy from his perch at the table in the far back corner. Boris Pushkin probably still doesn’t approve of me, but he’s smart enough to stay quiet about it.
Then there’s the gifts I saw on the gift table earlier. A card from Katerina without a return address. She’s on the other side of the world, single and happy. Even Konstantin sent a gift. Ivan told me it was his peace offering. The elder Sokolov knows Ivan killed Mikhail, but he also knows his son was a reckless asshole. Ivan didn’t have a choice.
All around us are the signs of a new beginning. A future we’ve carved out for ourselves.
I can’t wait another second to get started.
“You’re right.” My voice is shaking, but I power through. “We got ourselves here. All three of us, actually.”
Ivan spins us with ease, but I feel the moment he falters. His hand tightens around mine and he draws back to look down at me. I’ve never seen him so still.
“The three of us,” he repeats, taking in my fresh wave of tears and the smile I can’t bite back another second.
“We’re having a baby,” I blurt. “I’m pregnant.”
Ivan crushes me into a hug just as the song ends. The guests cheer, but they aren’t in on our little secret. It’s just for the two of us.
As the orchestra plays on, everyone shifts onto the dance floor. But Ivan drags me away in the other direction.
He hauls me by the hand upstairs, down the hall, and into his office. I can hear the hum of the party and see the glow of the lights through the French doors as my husband wraps my legs around his waist and presses me against the wall.
Unlike the first time, this isn’t a fantasy I accidentally let myself get lost in. Being with Ivan isn’t a break from reality that I will try to enjoy as long as I can before he is gone forever.
Ivan is my real life fairytale.
This is our happily ever after.
EPILOGUE: CORA
TWO YEARS LATER
Ivan parks and kills the engine, but I can’t bring myself to get out of the car. I sink down in my seat and stare up at the house. The porch steps might as well be Mt. Everest.
“I feel terrible,” I mumble.
“We’ll get you inside and you can lay down.”
