Page 112 of Thorns of Silence

“What’s wrong?” Tatiana asked, noting my expression.

I reached for my phone and typed.I’m underdressed.

She read the message and chuckled. “You’re with us. We make the rules.”

The waitress showed up and placed our drinks down. She said something, watching the Nikolaev ladies who were clearly regulars here, before she turned to me. “What can I get you?”

“Just water, please,” I signed as Branka translated.

Tatiana sighed. “Now I know you and the girls don’t drink water when you go out,” she teased. “Isla has shared some pretty juicy stories.”

I blushed, then shook my head. “I need to eat before I start drinking.”

“Smart,” Isabella commended. “It’s too late for me, but don’t let that woman corrupt you.”

Tatiana snickered, sipping on her own water. Except we all knew why she was drinking water. She was far from subtle about her pregnancy, and was obviously over the moon about it.

“I’m an angel,” Tatiana announced. “Let’s just blame Aurora.”

She rolled her eyes. “How did I get sucked into this?”

The beautiful woman vibrated with self-confidence, which was in line with her position as a federal agent, I supposed. I couldn’t help but wonder how someone like her ever crossed paths with the likes of her husband—a mobster who didn’t seem to have a single inch of his skin left unmarked by tattoos. They were like night and day. They should have never found themselves in the same time zone.

So, I voiced my curiosity. “How does an FBI agent end up married to a…” I paused, thinking of the best word to use. “…mobster, and make it work?”

Branka translated for me again and I shot her a grateful glance.

Aurora shrugged, chuckling, and her eyes found her husband’s across the restaurant. If I stepped between them, I’d burst into flames. They looked at each other with so much love that it made my chest hurt.

“You figure out your priorities. Family always comes first, and he’s mine,” she finally answered, her gaze still on her husband.

“Are you close with your family?” Branka asked me while signing as best she could.

I nodded. “Yes, my sister and I are very close. My friends, too. Not sure where I’d be without them.”

She smiled, but I recognized torment and pain hidden beneath the surface, making me wonder what her story was. “That’s important. Good friends and family.”

The words rang true. Reina had always been there for me, through thick and thin. My friends too. When we didn’t have Papà or when Grandma was wrapped up in her new husband, we relied on each other.

My eyes flicked to the table next to me where Skye and Nikola continued their push and pull. I smiled softly.

“You never told me how Skye lost her hearing,” Tatiana asked Branka curiously.

“It’s Pendred syndrome,” Branka explained. “A genetic disorder that causes early hearing loss in children.”

It was something Skye had inherited from me. I’d suspected it, but numbness flooded me anyway. As a mother, I wished she would have been spared, but in my eyes, she was still the most perfect little girl in the world. I loved all her perfect imperfections.

“What made you adopt?” I asked, meeting her gaze and steering the subject away from genetics. “Skye said you learned ASL for her.”

Branka’s eyes flashed with momentary sadness, but then her gaze found Skye and she smiled softly. “I can’t have children, and the moment I saw her…” Guilt pierced through my chest, and I knew it’d stay with me for the rest of my life. “She felt like she belonged to us.” I was once again impressed by her ability to sign as she spoke. I wondered if she’d started learning the moment she’d been informed of Skye’s needs.

Unease danced beneath my skin to nervous tunes and I shifted in my seat. “Did you…” I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Did you meet her mother?”

Branka shook her head. “No.”

“Aren’t you scared her birth parents might show up and want her back?” I must have been a glutton for punishment.

Sasha appeared out of nowhere, placing a beer on the table for his wife and handing me a water.