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“Stop, please. Thank you for thinking of me,” the dark-haired beauty says, “but I want to do this. Max wouldn’t want me to stop living and he’d want to be part of this, so he is with me here. And I’m having fun.”

I throw my arms around her and hug her again. “Anytime you want to leave or it’s too much, we’re out of here.”

“And miss this?” She smiles, but I see a little sadness mixed in and maybe that’s okay, that’s how it has to be. “Besides, left alone, you’ll probably get some cheap sundress, and then we’ll all have to deal with my brother in some fancy-ass suit, ready to bite my head off.”

“Well, I don’t think he’ll be in a fancy suit,” I say, lying. It’s Demyan. He has fancy everything. “We’re eloping, remember?”

“I know, but he might be keeping it simple, but he wants it classy. Demyan is very detail oriented. I think you know that. If he gave me the unlimited card, he wants us to spend and make this memorable and you in your dream dress.”

I swallow hard. “I guess I’ll try some things on.”

Both Alina and Kara pick a pile of dresses and I drift to the simpler ones, picking some of them out.

I go and change. The first one earns wedding cake from Kara and Stefina-like from Alina. Which is fine by me. I don’t like it.

The next dress is too fussy for me. The two of them settle in, Sasha with a juice box and the girls have champagne. And not one of the dresses has a price tag on it, which scares me.

Personally, I don’t care what I wear. I’m happy that Demyan’s proving himself, and my feelings for him have been validated by the cancellation of the fake marriage plans with Stefina. For the first time it’s like our relationship’s equal.

But Alina’s right. Demyan wants me in something I think is perfect. And he is into detail. If I just grab anything, he might feel let down, and…

With the little tux, and if I find something perfect, then I think it’ll be the perfect start to our marriage, a real new beginning.

I look at the dresses in the big changing room and I sort through them, finally picking out some very simple ones, a sophisticated one and at the last minute, one that either Kara or Alina chose, calf-length, fitted but with lace.

I show them a few more and they select two to put aside. Then I try on the lace one.

And I know.

This is it.

I walk out and the girls stand.

“Mama!” Sasha says. “Pretty.”

The girls are gushing, and I stare at my reflection. The gown fits tightly with a scoop neck and the satin ends mid-calf. But the lace… It brushes my feet and near my throat with its intricate and delicate design. It’s utterly gorgeous, managing to be romantic and simple and sophisticated, everything at once.

It’s tight and accentuates my still-flat tummy. And whenKara holds my hair up, it looks even better. Since the wedding’s next week, we don’t need to get it adjusted.

The dress is absolutely perfect. And it looks good even with my bare feet.

After I get changed, the dress is taken away and boxed up. And the girls are looking at beautiful combs in the display box.

They pick one that I’m not allowed to see, and that gets bought, too.

When we’re finished, Kara has to rush off to work and Alina, Sasha, and I spend the rest of the day noodling around. The day is perfect.

The next day,Sasha’s with Alina and Demyan and I head to the OB-GYN clinic. I didn’t see him all morning, but I’m guessing that’s part of the deal with marrying a man who heads his own empire, who runs part of Chicago.

He doesn’t say much as he drives us there, and when we pull up, instead of excitement lighting up his face, he seems distant, like his head is elsewhere.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing, just got a lot of work going on.”

I swallow. “You don’t need to come.” It’s the ultrasound, so I don’t want him to miss it, but we can always reschedule that since I’m also booked in for a checkup.

“And miss seeing my kid for the first time? No fucking way,Lyubimaya. I’m where I want to be.”