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Danil lets out a soft laugh while Matvey steps closer, making a show of reading her name tag before resting an arm on the counter. She eyes the tattooed hand in front of her and then the inked skin of his neck before meeting the hard look he’s giving her. His thumb continues to gently caress my skin, reassuring me that everything is okay.
“Christine, my brother is becoming a dad today, and we all want to be there for it. Finn is a part of this family, and he’s coming with us.”
When she starts to open her mouth to protest, he wags his finger at her. “Don’t interrupt me, Christine, we’re just getting to the good part. Do you see this beautiful woman standing next to me?”
Christine looks over at me, and I give her an awkward smile and an even more awkward wave while Vitaly coughs out a laugh.
“I love this woman more than life itself,” Matvey tells her, “and she needs Finn, so end of story as far as I’m concerned.”
When Christine still doesn’t seem convinced by his speech, heleans in closer and says, “Now you’re just pissing me off. I don’t like your attitude, and you’re about to have my foot up your ass and a giant fucking lawsuit, in that order, if you don’t let us through.”
Her eyes widen and her face turns an angry red, but she seems to finally understand that this is happening whether she wants it to or not. In our defense, Finn is a registered service dog and has every right to stay with me, no matter where I go.
Matvey smiles and holds out his hand to her. “One more visitor pass, please.”
Christine hands it over with a very pinched look on her face. While Matvey clips the badge to Finn’s harness, Vitaly gives the woman a cheery grin. “Thanks so much, Christine. You’re the best.”
Not even Vitaly’s charm is going to work this time, though. She just frowns at all of us, watching us walk past, no doubt thrilled to not have to deal with us anymore.
“Wow,” Simona whispers when we get to the elevators. “What a grump.”
Katya laughs and looks up at her husband. “Not even your charm was working.”
He cups her ass and pulls her closer. “My charm was working just fine,ptichka.” He juts his chin out at Matvey. “He scared her off.”
Matvey grins. “I did.”
I reach down and pet Finn. He licks my hand and gives me those cute puppy-dog eyes. “Did you see the way she looked at Finn? She deserved it. How could anybody not fall in love with him?”
“I agree,” Simona says. “He’s adorable.”
Finn looks up at us, knowing we’re talking about him. He wags his tail, looking every bit the professional with his harness and visitor’s tag.
I’m still smiling down at him when the elevator opens and we all step in. When we’re on the right floor, we get a few funny looks from the staff and the other visitors, but we finally find our way to the maternity ward where a much kinder woman lets us know what room Emily’s in. After knocking softly, Roman opens the door, looking equal parts terrifiedand excited.
I quickly wrap my arms around him for a big hug. “I’m so happy for you,” I whisper.
He squeezes me tightly and gives a soft laugh. “We wanted you to be here for this so badly, Alina. As soon as we found out Emily was pregnant, we all knew we had to get you back before the birth.”
When he pulls back, there are tears in my eyes, and I’m trying like hell to keep it together. He cups my face and kisses my forehead before his brothers swarm him to offer congratulations and smack him on the back like he’s the one about to push their baby into the world. With a laugh, I smile at Emily and walk over to the hospital bed she’s lying in.
“How are you holding up?”
“Much better now that Roman insisted they give me an epidural.”
She squeezes my hand and smiles. I can see the excitement in her eyes, but there’s also a bit of fear. I remember how she’d insisted on coming with me for my examination with Dr. Bianchi, how she’d refused to let me go through that alone, and I’m more than happy to return the favor now. I sit on the edge of her bed and give her hand a squeeze.
“You’re going to do great.” I rest my hand on her stomach. “I can’t believe we’re about to meet him. He’s damn lucky to have you,” I tell her, and then look at my smiling brother. “They both are. You’re going to be an amazing mom.”
Her eyes are glassy when she squeezes my hand. “And you’re going to be an amazing aunt. We’re so happy you’re here for this. It means everything to Roman, tous, to have you here.”
“Hey, no crying yet,” Roman says, walking over to us. He kisses Emily and rests his hand on top of ours, laughing when we feel his son give a hard kick.
“He really wants out,” Emily says and then sucks in a quick breath when another contraction hits.
“It still hurts,solnishka?” The fear in Roman’s voice has her smiling at him so he won’t worry.
“The epidural takes the edge off, but I’m not sure there’s a way to make it completely pain free. I’m okay, though. I promise.” She grabs his hand and kisses it.
