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I can’t help but smile as I think about the adventures that lie ahead. With Maks by my side, I know we can face anything. Our love is a beacon that will light our path as we journey together into this new chapter of our lives. Life is good, and it’s only going to get better as we welcome a new member into our family.
We are surrounded by the love and warmth of our friends and family. This is a moment frozen in time, one that we will carry with us as we step into the future hand in hand, ready to embrace the blessings and challenges of parenthood together.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
MAKSIM
One Year Later
Now that Aleksandr Volkov is gone, the war is over, and I’m not ashamed to admit that the Federov brothers are back on top. I can feel it as I step out of my car onto Mom’s estate and am greeted by my two younger brothers, Dimitri and Alexei.
“Took you long enough,” Alexei ribs. “What, did you get stuck in traffic?”
“What traffic?” Dimitri piles on. “It’s two o’clock on a Saturday.”
“Maybe rather than giving me a hard time, one of you lazy slouches might offer my wife a hand,” I suggest, adopting my best gruff tone. But in truth, nothing can put me in a bad mood these days.
“Heidi,” Alexei greets her, taking little Efrem from her before wrapping her in a one-armed hug. Then he holds my son above his head, exacting a giggle from the little boy as he jiggles him playfully.
“Ready, Sarah?” I ask, opening the back seat to find she’s already unbuckled herself and is doing her best to crawl down from the car on her own.
Just like her mother—independent as hell and unwilling to ask for help, even when it’s perfectly within reason.
“Daddy, can I go find Cousin Liam?” she asks as she drags the little rainbow-colored backpack of art supplies from the car floor and slings it, upside down, across her back.
“I bet your Uncle Dimitri will know just where you ought to look,” I suggest.
“Come on, kiddo,” Dimitri says, offering Sarah his hand.
She takes it, and the two vanish into the house as I stoop to reach into the back seat of the car to help Heidi unload supplies.
“I thought I heard that car of yours,” Camille says brightly, stepping onto Mom’s pillared front patio.
The voluptuous and talented young chef married to my brother Dimitri shields her eyes as she smiles down on us. Next to her, my brother Alexei’s wife, Nadia, has a newborn baby girl cradled in her arms.
That makes three kiddos for my youngest brother, a miracle, really, considering Nadia thought she would never be able to have kids of her own until Alexei came along. Her petite dancer’s frame is a stark contrast to Camille’s, and yet they’re both strikingly beautiful women in their own ways.
“We brought the fruit salad, as requested,” Heidi says, displaying our contribution to the barbecue as we ascend the porch steps.
My wife shares a warm hug with both of my sisters-in-law before they give me a hug. I love how well all three of our wives get along. It makes being so close to my brothers—both in business and as family—far easier, and in my book, more meaningful.
“Maks, when did you get here?” Mom, her steps growing frailer by the day, hobbles out to greet us, using her cane for balance and support.
“Hi, Ma,” I murmur, grasping her forearm to gently steady her before I press a kiss to her temple. “We just arrived. My brothers have kidnapped both of our children, however, so you’ll have to chase them down if you want to see your grandchildren.”
“Are you all hungry?” Camille asks. “The grill’s nice and hot. If we want to head out back, I can get started on the brats.”
“I’m famished,” Heidi confesses. “I only just finished with my client this morning and haven’t had a chance to eat yet today.”
“You are going to work yourself to the bone if you keep up like that. Hasn’t Maks told you it’s okay to take a break every now and again?” Nadia teases, linking arms with my wife as we all head toward the back porch.
My brothers’ herd of children are already playing on the lawn past the cement patio, chasing each other across the lawn with excited squeals. It would seem that Sarah’s found them as well, and she and Liam giggle as they run circles around the younger ones.
“I brought you the fixings, love,” Dimitri says, exiting the house from the kitchen with a platter of garnish and a pair of tongs. He presses a kiss to Camille’s cheek as he sets the food down next to the grill she’s busy manning.
It doesn’t take long before the burgers are ready, and after a bit of a challenge wrangling the kiddos into chairs at the kids’ table, we all sit down to eat beneath the warm summer sun. The chatter is light, my brothers offering up an endless stream of banter as we all laugh.
I can’t think of a time in my life when we have all been so happy, and I sit back in my seat to soak up the joy that surrounds me now.
