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“Last night. Drago had it planned for months, but this whole Armstrong thing kind of threw things off and he was going to postpone it, but he said fuck it, and did it anyway.”
“Congratulations, mladshaya sestra,” Ivan said, reaching out to give her right hand a squeeze as Hannah was still holding her left one, pointing out details to Nikolai. “You deserve happiness.”
Katya gave her brother a smile filled with emotion—tenderness, wonder, relief. She looked at him as if she was always surprised he was there, and therefore it threw her into an instant state of gratitude.
“Thanks, brother. So do you, you know?”
He gave me a soft look. “I do know.”
“I can’t wait to see your dress—you're designing it, right?” Hannah asked, switching the conversation back to the wedding.
“Of course, and all your dresses, too.”
Drago walked up behind her, put a drink in front of her on the table, then pulled her back against him. If my mom wanted a man who got her drinks, hanging out in a Russian bar seemed to be a step in the right direction.
“From all the hollering, I presume they noticed your ring, kotyonok?”
“Yeah,” she said, blissfully staring up at the tall, intimidating Russian.
They made such an odd pair. Katya was creative and stylish with her flair for clothing design and fashion. Her petite elegance and glowing beauty made her a startling contrast to her fiancé. Drago was fierce and intimidating and while his features were handsome, they carried the scars that were a testament to the brutality of his life. In a million years, I wouldn’t have put them together, but seeing them in front of me made something warm spark in my chest. They couldn’t have been any more different, but there was no question they were perfectly matched in every way that mattered.
I leaned back against my own fearsome Russian and considered all those things I thought about Katya and Drago could be applied to us. Nothing about us made sense, not really. When I met him, Ivan was closed off and untrusting, traumatized by life at an early age. Fortunately for both of us, when we met, I hadn’t been in a position to respect his clearly telegraphed boundaries. I clung to him, bonded to him, and ultimately, fell in love with him the first time I met him.
And now he was mine.
Forever.
Epilogue
8 months later
Emmy
“Where’s my other earring?” Katya wailed, frantically searching through a pile of cosmetics and jewelry on the vanity.
“Where are my shoes?” Hannah murmured, as she got on her hands and knees and started looking under furniture.
“Do I have to wear this dress?” Anya scowled into the mirror as she tugged on the soft, delicate material of her bridesmaid dress.
We were all wearing dresses made by Katya and they were all beautiful. The material and color were chosen to perfectly complement our skin and eyes. It wasn’t Katya’s fault that Anya had the coloring and appearance of a fairy princess.
The pale-blue dress, a perfect match to Anya’s eye color, was knee-length and floated around her slim frame like a cloud. It was simple, a nod to Anya’s own style, with wide straps and a fitted waist. Katya couldn’t resist making the skirt a bit voluminous and it splayed widely around Anya if she were to twirl, which I couldn’t imagine happening.
Hannah’s dress was a similar design in indigo, the color of her eyes. Katya changed the neckline, giving it an asymmetrical goddess neckline that Hannah loved. Mine was similar in shape, but with a halter neckline, the color matching the cobalt of my eyes.
Questions flew around the dressing room, as Hannah, Katya, and Anya rushed around before Katya and Drago’s wedding ceremony. Though I wasn't in the wedding party, opting to play the harp for their ceremony instead, I offered to help them get ready and it was a flurry of last-minute chaos.
“Yes, you have to wear it,” Katya snapped. I couldn’t blame Katya her temper. She had been ruthlessly organized throughout preparation for the wedding. Up until today, she’d been like a machine. It was only a matter of time before she cracked. Now, as she pawed through the debris in front of her, she looked like she was on the verge of a meltdown.
“Katya!” Anya barked, her attention pulled from her own reflection to Katya’s manic searching. “You need to calm the fuck down.”
“How can I calm down when I can’t find my earring?” she ranted, still searching.
Anya rolled her eyes and walked over to the vanity. “Here,” she said, holding up the earring.
Katya’s cheeks pinkened as she grabbed the earring and put it on. “Oh, how did I miss that?”
“You’re freaking out, that’s how.”
