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“Wife? Now, why in the world wasn’t your dear mother invited to the wedding?” she teases him, stepping towards me with her arms wide. I hug her, my entire body tense with nerves.

“Hello,” I say.

“This is my mother, Leticia.”

Leticia hugs me as though we’ve known each other for years, and it helps ease my anxiety.

She takes my hand and leads me inside.

“Your sister is going to give you an earful,” Leticia says, laughing.

“Ulyana is here?” Nestor says, his brows shooting up.

“I’m here.” A gorgeous girl, roughly the same age as me, walks boldly into the room and jumps into her brother’s arms. “Hey, idiot,” she laughs, hugging him.

“But I thought you went back to university?” he asks, confused.

“Yes, I was going to, but then I thought—maybe I just need a bit more time off.”

“Ulyana, that isn’t how it works,” Nestor says sternly.

“Oh, don’t you worry. I already lectured her,” Leticia says, shaking her head at her daughter.

Unfazed by either of their concerns, she walks over to me. “I’m Ulyana.”

“I’m Lara.”

“His wife,” Leticia says.

“Are you serious?” Ulyana doesn’t bother hiding any of her shock at all. “Since when?” she blurts out.

Nestor grins sheepishly. “Come on, let’s go get a drink and not hover in the entrance hall.”

He pushes his sister, and she rolls her eyes. “But I need all the details.”

Leticia and Nestor are deep in conversation, and Ulyana has pulled me aside near the bar in the living room. “I can’t believe he got married without telling me. And you’re absolutely stunning. Wow. Where did you get this dress? Perfect shoes to pair it with. What do you do? Where did you come from? How did all of this happen?” She shoots a string of questions at me, and I stare, dumbfounded, unable to keep you.

She starts giggling and shakes her head. “Sorry. I get a bit overenthusiastic. I’m very excited to meet you. It was just the other day I was telling my brother he needed to meet a nice girl and start a family. Do you want children?”

“I do. One day.”

“I want five children. A whole house full of them. But not for a long time. There’s so much I still want to do. Not that having kids stops you from doing things. I guess I need to meet a man first, before I think about children. But good men are a lot harder to come by than you might think.” She winks at me, making me laugh.

“Here you go,” Ulyana says, handing me a blue gin and tonic.

I get a fright when Nestor unexpectedly arrives behind me and slips his arm around my waist, pulling my back against his chest. “Is my sister giving you a hard time?” he asks with a tender edge to his voice.

“No, she’s lovely,” I laugh.

“See,I’m lovely,” Ulyana says, pulling a face at Nestor.

“Come on, everyone, dinner is ready,” Leticia calls out after the chef comes in to inform her that dinner can be served.

Nestor slips his hand into mine and threads his fingers through mine, leading me to the dining room. I’m taken aback by how affectionate he’s being, especially in front of his family, whom I haven’t even met until now. He’s so relaxed and gentle with me, it’s like I’m with a different man.

I’ve only seen the slightest glimmers of this person. This version of him.

“Are you doing okay?” he leans close and whispers in my ear halfway through dinner. It’s the second time he’s checked in with me to ask if I’m comfortable or if I need anything.