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“How are they going to know I called you a horse’s pee hole?”

“The twins are like sponges,” I said, watching Artyom collapse the stroller down again.

“The witch said it snaps into place,” Maksim said, smiling at Alexei.

“Give me Alexei, and grab the bags,” I said to Maksim. “Just leave the stroller.”

Artyom was still trying to set it up without it collapsing again when a family stopped to help us. The woman did it in two seconds before going about her day.

“No one breathes a word about this to the witch,” Maksim snapped at us.

“What’s it worth to you?” Artyom asked while I sat Tatiana in the stroller.

“I think Alexei needs changing,” Maksim said with a grimace while holding him away from him.

“Yeah, change him and come meet us at the beach,” I said with a grin.

“I’m your driver,” he said, but I was already walking away with my excited princess.

???

I sighed when I pulled the covers over me. Mariya shuffled over to me, and I laid my arm out for her to snuggle up with me. Her hand was doodling over my chest, and I prayed that she wasn't horny tonight because the twins energetic day had taken it out of me. I yawned and stretched my back out before tightening my arm around her.

“You seem tired tonight,” she said, rubbing my cheek.

“What? No,” I lied.

“Oh, good, because that picture you sent really got me in the mood,” she said.

Fuck. I could do this.

I closed my eyes and focused until I heard her laughter.

“You were falling asleep when I was feeding the twins,” she said, slapping my chest.

I was too relieved to be mad at her. Before Orla got here, I thought it was easy to look after the twins, but that had been in the house and under Mariya’s strict routine. It went all up in the air when you took them outside.

“They had fun today. Thank you for giving us a break,” she said, kissing me.

Those sweet lips of hers, I couldn’t resist them. I held her jaw and kissed her back, gently deepening the kiss until the familiar stir in my loins made my hands begin to wander. She pulled back and kissed my chin.

“Go to sleep. We have the trip into the city tomorrow,” she whispered.

“You're such a tease. I should’ve kept you in the basement,” I grumbled but pulled her closer to me and closed my eyes, smiling when she mooed at me.

???

One week later, I was barred from the bridal shop while the girls tried on their altered dresses for the final fit. I sighed again and tapped my fingers near the window before glancing back at the twins, who were knocked out after their last feed.

“That bastard Artyom is going to see her dress before me,” I muttered to Maksim, who wisely remained quiet.

I paused my tapping when I saw the pharmacy. After checking my phone and calculating how long it had been since Mariya’s ovulation period, I turned to Maksim.

“I’ll be right back,” I said before jumping out of the car. “Keep an eye on the kids.”

“I’m your driver,” Maksim muttered while I closed the door and stuck my middle finger up at him before turning to look into the bridal shop, but there was no sign of Mariya. I knew who would be cleaning up any mess when we began potty training the twins.

Mariya and Orla had a plan set out for them. We were waiting until their communication skills got better. They were beginning to say more words now, and I had started to teach them simple Russian words.