Page 35 of Born into Mayhem

Saying a quick hi to Luka and Lara, I stop long enough to ask how their two kids are doing, and then I excuse myself and weave my way through the sea of Melnikovs. Before I reach Mia, Vitaly’s shoving a plate of cake at me.

“No, thanks,” I tell him.

“It’s an ice cream cake,” he clarifies as if that bit of knowledge is going to quickly nip my hesitancy in the bud.

“I’m not hungry,” I tell him.

I see the confused look on his face right before Roman nudges my shoulder and says, “You might as well be speaking Italian to him right now. He’s never going to understand it. Trust me, it’s just easier to take the cake.”

I grab the plate, making Vitaly give me an approving nod before he starts cutting another large slice for himself. He recently bought Getthe Scoop, and ever since he added ice cream cake to the menu, he’s been bringing them everywhere. I don’t understand how he’s managed to stay in such good shape.

After I walk past him, I hand my plate to Sveta, knowing she’s just like her dad and more than happy to eat enough sugar to put a normal person in a coma.

“Hey,” Vitya says, giving me awhat the fucklook. Their twin boys are nestled in his arms, making it impossible for him to snatch the cake from his wife. He worries about her sweet tooth, insisting it’s not good for her health, but we all knew that was a battle he was never going to win.

“I’m not going to eat all of it,” Sveta insists while giving her husband a wink. “Besides, I need all the calories I can get. I’m nursing two babies,” she reminds him.

“It’s not the calories I’m worried about,pcholka,” he tells her.

She leans in and kisses him. “I’ll eat extra veggies with supper.”

He winks at her. “You better.”

I step away, suddenly feeling trapped in the middle of all the happy, loving couples, and by the time I reach the other side of the room, Mia’s gone. I catch a flash of her pink hair before she disappears again. Tamping down my frustration, I start to make my way back across the room, but before I can get to her, Dominic steps in front of me.

“We need to talk,” he says, and then turns around, knowing I’ll follow him out.

Everyone else stays in the large kitchen, eating and visiting while I’m lead down the hall, past the closet I’d just been caught making out in, and into the office at the end like a kid being pulled into the principal’s office.

As soon as the door shuts, he turns to me and asks in Italian, “What the fuck is going on between you and Mia?”

“That was fast,” I mutter, taking the leather seat in front of his desk.

“Did you really think Nat wouldn’t tell me?” He sits on the edge of his desk, looking me over in that inscrutable way of his.

“No, I knew she’d tell you. I just didn’t know she’d be so quick about it.”

He rests his hands on either side of him, studying my reaction when he says, “Tell me what the fuck is going on.”

My cousin can be ruthless, but he’s fair, and I trust him enough to be honest. With my elbows resting on the sides of the chair, I open my hands in anI have no fucking clueway and tell him, “It’s very recent.”

“How recent?”

“She spent the night at my house last night,” I admit.

Dominic scrubs a hand over his face. “Jesus fucking Christ, man. My father-in-law is just now starting to tolerate me. After he hears about this, he’s probably going to shoot me again.”

“We haven’t fucked,” I clarify.

“But you’re planning on it,” he says, knowing that’s exactly where I’m taking this.

I nod, and he groans. “If you hurt her,” he starts to say, and I quickly cut him off.

“I’m not going to hurt her, Dominic. She wants this just as badly as I do. She’s made it very clear she wants a no-strings-attached thing.”

“And what about you?”

“What about me?” I ask. When he just raises a brow at me, I shake my head. “Don’t worry about me, cousin. I think I can handle an eighteen-year-old.”