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“You haven’t met the right one yet, that’s all.”
“I just wanted things to be uncomplicated. I didn’t want my kid to be ten years younger than Evelina’s. I want them to be close like we are. But now things seem extra complicated.”
My father shook his head at me for a long time before rolling his eyes. “Leo, you’re a smart man. Maybe even brilliant in a lot of ways. But you overthink. You get confused about things that are actually quite simple.” He paused, seeming to ponder something. “Evelina has what you might be looking for. Ask her to give it to you.”
“What are you talking about, Papa?” I asked, more confused than ever.
“Your sister will know.”
I thanked him and ended the call. The jet was ready to go. I should have been in a better mood about everything, but I still wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do about Sam if anything, and just stared out the window in silence for the whole flight.
It was late when we got back, and to my disappointment, Sam was already asleep. I decided that might be for the best, though, since I still didn’t know what to say to her. On my way to the kitchen, I saw Evelina sitting up in the living room with the baby. I grabbed some snacks and joined her.
“Maks sometimes gets day and night mixed up,” she explained.
“That ought to be something to look forward to,” I said. “I talked to Papa today. He gave me hell about Samantha.”
“I know. He’ll never understand it, but he’ll get over it when he sees the baby.”
“I tried to explain that I’m just not good at relationships. I mean, even Natalia dumped me, and we had that long-distance thing going for years. This is probably the only way I’ll ever have a kid—”
“Hold up,” she said, reaching across Maks to grip my arm. “Stop right there.” She took a deep breath and forced it out in a gust. “Natalia is an idiot. She’s always been an idiot, and you need to get over thinking you’re not marriage material just because you weren’thermarriage material. And don’t try to make me believe you ever loved her. She was just the easy road to making Papa happy. Marry a nice Russian girl, have a family. That’s just not the road you want to take. I didn’t do what Papa wanted, either, but he’s coming around, and he even talks to Mikhail again now.” She squeezed my arm harder. “You need to do what makes you happy, Leo.”
I nodded slowly. I could always count on my sister to help and be on my side. It seemed like I knew what it was that would make me happy, but I was still full of apprehension.
“Hey,” I said, suddenly remembering his cryptic message at the end of our conversation. “Papa said you’re supposed to have what I’m looking for. Do you have any idea what the hell he meant?”
She screwed up her face, thinking about it, and her eyes widened. “Take Maks,” she said, putting him on my lap and running out of the room. She came back a few minutes later with a jewelry box. Sitting back down next to me, she rummaged through it until she pulled out a ring. “Do you remember this?”
She placed it in my open palm, and memories rushed back. Of course, I remembered our mother’s engagement ring and how the big diamond had bumped against my fingers when she held my hand. We were only ten when she died, but I’d never forget the feeling of her holding onto my hand.
“Is that what he meant?” she asked.
Looking down at the ring, everything became clear. As clear as the diamond and just as bright. I wanted that ring on Sam’s finger so it could bump against our child’s hand when she held it. Because she had to stay in the baby’s life. First and foremost, she had to stay in my life.
“This is it,” I said. “Thanks, Ev.”
I handed Maks back to her and raced upstairs.
“Good luck,” she called softly.
As my hand rose to knock on Sam’s door, I stopped myself. It was the middle of the night, and I couldn’t wake her, not when things had been so hectic lately. I knew what I wanted to say to her now, what I wanted for us. This could wait until morning. I put the ring in my pocket and turned toward my own room, hoping I’d be able to get to sleep despite my excitement.
Chapter 28 - Samantha
A noise outside my bedroom door woke me up with a start. I lay there with my heart pounding, trying to tell myself I was safe here, but I was supposedly safe in the other house, too. There was no way I was getting back to sleep until I checked it out.
I’d had a lovely day with Evelina, helping out with whatever I could and enjoying her adorable baby. I forced her to give me her birth story, and she made it sound even more gruesome than Reina’s. When I told her that, she laughed and said I’d be embellishing mine one day too. Once again, we lapsed into uncomfortable silence because, no, I wouldn’t. For a moment, she looked like she’d burst if she didn’t say something but had ended up holding her tongue, whatever it was.
Now I slipped out of bed and peeked out the door to make sure it was just the floors settling or my imagination. It ended up being Leo, tiptoeing past my room. Relief flooded me at seeing he was back, and I stepped out into the hall.
“Leo,” I hissed, not wanting to wake up anyone else. “Turn around so I can see that you’re all right.”
He whipped around, looking delighted to see me, and covered the few feet between us in long strides. I grabbed his face and turned it left and right, looking for bruises, then ran my hands over his head to check for any lumps.
“I’m fine,” he laughed.
I tenderly touched his shoulder where the bullet grazed him. “Are you sure? There weren’t any problems?”
