Page 49

I was happy, truly happy. I really was. Whenever Arkadi and I were together, it felt like I’d overflow, but there were cracks when I was alone, and my joy would slowly seep away. The meeting he wanted to have with my brothers to work things out never happened.

They were still too angry and stubborn, refusing to accept that my husband was no longer the person they thought he was.

They couldn’t believe he had changed because of his feelings for me, and that hurt.

I had always thought my family adored me and expected them to come around, but it was nothing but silence on their end.

Arkadi did whatever he could, still trying, and even insisting he was going to stake out all their places of business until at least one of them agreed to talk. I reined him in, telling him that would only make them angrier, viewing it as taunting them or something equally stupid.

Arkadi was stubborn too, getting pissed off all over again at them for making me sad. As much as I tried to hide it, he knew me too well, and the hurt was so deep it couldn’t help but show.

It was an overcast afternoon, and Arkadi had canceled a meeting, telling me I had an important one scheduled and he was going to stay in case I needed his help with anything.

I had no idea what it was, since I was all caught up with quarry business, and due to the time difference, it would have been an awkward hour to be calling overseas.

When he told me to just get on the computer and log into the video chat, I’d see what it was about, I just shrugged and went along with it.

I had never seen him acting so bizarre, a mix of nerves and excitement.

As soon as he saw me slide into the desk chair and click on the screen, he ducked out of the room and shut the door.

“Oh my God,” I said, bursting into tears.

On the screen, in the much too small squares, were my sisters-in-law.

Katie, Jenna, Brooke, Olivia, Daria, and Emerson all smiled and sniffled back at me.

Even Nat was there, waving at me. She was the only one who’d remained in contact with me over the last two weeks since the showdown with Ivan, and while she was upset, she was still on my side, assuring me the others would come around.

I didn’t believe it was possible, but there they all were. Was it just to tell me off?

“I’m so sorry,” I sobbed, not sure what I was apologizing for. I had so much guilt I could hardly assign a reason for it anymore.

“You should be,” Daria said, but without much rancor.

“Oh, come on, we promised we weren’t going to be hard on her,” Katie admonished her.

“She married the enemy,” Daria reminded them, as if they needed a reminder.

“Uh, you’re one to speak,” Olivia said. “I seem to recall you thinking Ivan was your enemy for a little while there.”

“Never,” she yelped, but Katie cut in.

“Mila, honey, there’s no reason to cry. We all get it. We’re not mad at you.”

“Not much, anymore,” Jenna said, smiling warmly at me from the screen. I wished I could have hugged all of them, but they didn’t dare cross my brothers when they were being so stormy.

“I don’t want you to get in any trouble because of me,” I said, looking at all of them in turn.

They all scoffed, laughed, or rolled their eyes. “We can handle your brothers,” they assured me.

“It’s going to take some time, but we’ve got this,” Katie promised.

They all agreed, and we set up a text chat on the new phone Arkadi had bought me, fearing the one Ivan gave me might have a tracker or something else insidious on it.

“Now, what about a wedding?” Brooke asked shyly.

That made me sigh. I adored big weddings and would have loved to have one, but at that point, who would come? “We’ll see. Let’s get the men talking first. Arkadi’s ready whenever they are.”

With more promises to keep working on their mule-headed husbands, we ended the call.

Arkadi stuck his head in with a small grin, and I flung myself at him, nearly strangling him with a grateful hug.

Not just grateful but relieved. My sisters-in-law and niece had convinced me that I could stop being wracked with guilt, and that my brothers would eventually quit acting so childish.

“That was the best surprise you could ever give me. Thank you,” I said, kissing his neck and breathing in his now familiar, spicy scent.

“Did I hear you talking about a wedding?” he asked.

It tore him up that he couldn’t give me everything I wanted, and a lavish affair was important to me at one time.

But I no longer cared that we only had a rushed ceremony in the middle of the night with a grumpy priest, all after one of the most terrifying events of my life.

The only thing that mattered was that we had managed to stay together. I only shrugged off his question.

“We’ll do something when your brothers calm down and accept us,” he said, for the hundredth time. “But in the meantime, I have another surprise for you.”

I looked around, patting his pockets for a gift. There was nothing, and I looked up at him with a question in my eyes.

“What do you have planned? You look a little bit devilish.”

“We’re going on a honeymoon,” he said, cutting off my excuses for why we couldn’t leave LA.

The most important one was that I was on the verge of opening a new boutique.

The location was perfect, in the heart of a bustling shopping district, and the biggest and best of Arkadi’s many surprises.

It had been ages from being opened, but I was already diving into decorating, ordering, and hiring.

I was confident that the lessons I learned the last time would make this a success.

But Arkadi put his foot down. He thought we needed a minute or two to breathe. Our entire relationship had been one harrowing thing after another, jumping from country to country, either running or chasing. Never a dull moment.

“What if we don’t get along when there’s nothing exciting going on?” he asked.

He was being ridiculous, because nothing sounded more enticing than just being peaceful with my handsome husband.

Before I knew it, we were relaxing at his cozy place in Rio de Janeiro.

I rolled over on the big double lounge chair with my empty hand outstretched.

Arkadi smiled and poured me another glass of the delicious local wine without needing to be asked.

Nestled up against his bare chest, I stretched out my legs, which were comfortably sore from swimming in the sea, long walks in the moonlight… and other things. The sound of the waves lapping the shore washed away any lingering cares that might have traveled with me from LA, and I sighed.

Arkadi wrapped his big hand around mine, twining our fingers together before bringing my hand to his mouth to press a kiss to my knuckles. “I suppose now’s the time you can admit I’m always right.”

I laughed, almost too lazy to get the sound out. Tearing my gaze from the pristine beach laid out before us, I looked up at him with a smirk. “Are you going to make me miss the sunset, having to tell you all the ways you’ve been wrong?”

“Name one,” he countered, waiting patiently.

Just as I was about to remind him he had me kidnapped, I snapped my mouth shut. That might have been a crazy idea, but was it wrong when there was no other way on earth I would have been lying in his arms right now?

I found the energy to raise myself up enough to kiss him, letting him know I agreed with him without having to utter a word.

We had only been in the charming village outside the city limits for three days, and we’d already done so much, from water sports to shopping, to taste testing the local cuisine.

It was a perfect mix of things we both enjoyed, and there was always his adorable villa to come back to each night.

Falling into the big bed together was the highlight of every day. Even as our bodies were tangled up together on the lounge chair, I was already thinking about getting under those crisp, cool sheets with him once the sun made its final bow below the horizon.

He promised we could stay as long as I wanted, and since he knew me so well, I was certain he had a dozen or more things that I would love planned for the days ahead. In fact, he started to inform me of the next day’s excursion, but I hushed him with a kiss.

After a long, slow melding of our lips, I pulled back to smile up at him. “I’d be fine never leaving this chair as long as we’re together. But if you want to do all those things…”

It was his turn to cut me off, and I let myself melt against his warm strength. He held me close, almost too tight, before tipping my chin up to look into his dark eyes.

“You’re all I need,” he said. “My everything, my queen.”

I didn’t blink, captured by all the emotions he conveyed to me, just with his eyes.

Everything he said was true. I believed every word with all my heart, but I didn’t need to hear any of it, not when he looked at me like that.

And his actions had proven time and again that I was the most important thing in his life.

“You gave up so much for me,” I said, running my hand over his freshly cut hair. I smiled at the bristly feel under my palm and almost missed the pain that flashed in his eyes.

“You have to,” he reminded me.

At that moment, my brothers’ stubbornness was barely a flicker in the back of my mind.

I shook my head, kissing him again to show him exactly how I felt.

Yes, I might have lost my family to be with him, and he’d never regain the properties they took from him.

We’d both given up so much to be together.

But as his lips met mine, I never felt so complete.