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He leans in close to her, cupping her face. “I’m so proud of you.”
“I haven’t done anything yet,” she says with a laugh.
“Yes, you have.” The look of pure love in his eyes has mine welling up again. I stand to give them some privacy, not at all surprised to immediately feel Matvey’s arms around me, pulling me in for a hug.
“You okay?”
I nod and take a shaky breath. “I’m just really happy.”
“Me too, baby.”
He’s still holding me when a nurse walks in. She eyes our large group of pregnant women, tattooed men, and one German Shepherd and gives a soft laugh.
“I can see you’re all excited about the newest addition to the family.” She walks over to Emily and eyes the equipment that she’s connected to. “Your contractions are coming fast.”
“Is everything okay?” Roman quickly asks.
“She’s fine, Mr. Melnikov. The labor is just progressing very quickly. Nothing to worry about, though.” Switching fully into nurse mode, she looks back at us. “I need to examine Mrs. Melnikov. The waiting room is down the hall. Someone will come and give you an update soon.”
We leave the room, wishing them both good luck and making way more noise than we probably should before heading down the hall and into the waiting room. Thankfully, it’s empty so we have the place to ourselves. Matvey sits and pulls me into his lap, kissing my cheek and smiling.
“I can’t wait to hold him,” he admits. “I haven’t held a baby since Yelena was born. She was so tiny. I was so afraid I was going to hurt her.” Matvey never talks about his sister because it hurts him too much, but now when he mentions her name, there’s sadness in his eyes, but there’s also a soft smile playing at his lips. “She was such a sweet baby, always smiling.”
I rest my cheek against his and run my fingers throughthe back of his hair. “She never grew out of that,” I tell him, remembering the dark-eyed girl who was several years older than me. I didn’t know her well, and Matvey didn’t live in our building, so I only saw her every once in a while, but she’d always smile and say hi and ask how I was. I think she knew I was in love with her brother and thought it was cute. She never teased me about it, though, and I was always so grateful for that. I was only eight when she died, but I still think of her often, wondering what she’d be like, who she would’ve grown up to become.
“I’m so sorry, Matvey,” I whisper, wishing I could take all his pain from him.
“I have you, Alina. I can handle anything as long as I have you in my arms.”
“You’re going to make me cry again.”
“You might as well let it out.” He gives a soft laugh. “We both know you’re going to lose it as soon as you see your nephew.”
“True. I’m going to be a mess as soon as I see the cutie.”
“You’re going to be a great aunt.”
I kiss his cheek. “You’re going to be a great uncle.”
“I’m going to propose properly, just so you know. I already think of you as mine in every way possible, but I want to do it right. You deserve everything, and I want to make sure you get it.”
“I already have everything.”
He pulls back so he can see me, running his eyes over my face and smiling at the lovestruck look that I have no doubt I’m giving him. I can’t help it. For years I never thought I’d ever have him, and then I did, only to have it ripped from me in the worst way possible. I promised myself when I was trapped with Konstantin that if I ever found my way to Matvey again, I’d never take a moment of our time together for granted. I know firsthand how quickly things can change, how quickly they can be taken from you, and I won’t ever waste any precious seconds that I have with him. Sometimes memories threaten to take over and pull me someplace dark, sometimes it’s out of my control when I’m asleep and I have no choice but to succumb to them, but I never give into them willingly, and I never will. It’s a choice to embracethe good, and I’ll never stop fighting for that. I’ll never stop fighting forus.
Matvey runs a finger down my face, hooking it under my chin and tilting me up to him. The kiss he gives me is slow and deep and when he pulls back, I’m more than a little dazed. His lips brush against mine when he whispers, “I’m really glad you didn’t have time to shower this morning. I love that you’re covered in me.”
I’m still smiling when we hear the others start laughing. We both turn to see everyone staring at us. Lev raises a pierced brow at us while Vitaly nudges his shoulder. They’re enjoying this too damn much and making no attempt to hide it.
“Leave them alone,” Simona says, giving me a smile. “They can smooch all they want.”
Danil laughs and kisses her. “But if they start smooching, then we’re gonna start, and then the others will too, and before you know it, Christine will be back up here tossing all our asses out for indecent exposure.”
Simona laughs. “I said smooching. I didn’t say anything about getting naked in the waiting room.”
Danil winks at her. “A guy can dream.”
Smiling, I lay my head against Matvey’s shoulder, watching my family while we wait for the newest member to join us. Matvey runs his hand along my back, and when I rest my hand on his chest, my shirt falls down my wrist, revealing the black stitches that still mar my skin.
