One month later
As long as I lived, I’d never forget Nico’s voice begging me to stay with him and to be strong for our baby as he choked on his own tears. It had kept me there on that sidewalk, anchoring me in the moment instead of allowing me to drift off like my body had so badly wanted to.
Luckily, though, I’d merely suffered from a concussion and severe smoke inhalation, which I’d recovered from after a few days in the hospital. The doctor had been ready to release me after the second night, but Nico had insisted that my vitals, as well as our baby’s, needed to be monitored for one more.
A baby that he wanted.
A baby he was happy about. Thrilled about.
A baby that—thank God—was healthy and progressing normally.
Nico had some third degree burns on his back, somewhat resembling mine, that had been healing well. As much as I hated that he’d suffered because of me, he didn’t mind his new burn scars.
“If I hadn’t known you were my match before I’d gotten those burns,” he’d said once the bandages were off, “I’d have absolutely no doubt now. Fate’s trying to tell us something, legs. We were made for each other.”
I stared across the small rowboat at my husband, sighing with more pleasure and contentment than any person had a right to feel. In his boardshorts and lightweight, linen button-up that he’d never bothered to button, he was a marvel of male perfection. Hair pulled back in his signature man bun and bronze tan on display, I’d never seen him look so carefree, so hopeful.
So happy.
It was such a stark contrast from the day I met him, I almost laughed. In his ridiculously expensive three-piece Italian suit and perpetual scowl on his rugged face, he hadn’t looked anything but miserable back then. Honestly, Nico had shaved a good ten years off his life over the past month. Now, he wore a permanent glow and affected a relaxed demeanor. His practiced laughs and tight smiles were things of the past. Everything about him was heartfelt and genuine now.
He was eager to learn how to cook, often humming some song to himself as he concentrated on a recipe. He was…playful. Which, according to his family, was Nico’s true personality coming back out. During a conversation I had with Cris one night, he’d divulged that Nico had been losing more and more of himself over the years…until he met me.
He suddenly looked up from his rowing to flash me that wide, toothy smile that was coming naturally and often these days.
I was a goner.
“How’s the nausea?” he asked.
I barely caught the question. I was too distracted by the way his forearms tightened and rippled as he worked the oars through the waters of the Adriatic Sea. The boat rocked against the gentle waves as the Mediterranean sun beat down on our heads. With the aqua waters beneath us, the rugged coastline of the island of Capri behind us, and the vast ocean spread out before us, it was an incandescent sight to behold.
“Um.”
I blinked, forcing myself to focus on something other than my raging hormones. Unsurprisingly, my husband had been more than accommodating of this particular pregnancy symptom.
“Better. I think he might like the water as much as I do.”
We didn’t know if it was a boy or girl yet. I’d just automatically started referring to the baby as a he because it felt wrong.
Nico chuckled. “Well, considering the fact that I knocked you up the first time I ever got inside you, I’d say I’ve got some strong swimmers. We might have a little Michael Phelps on our hands.”
I laughed loudly, heartily.
Because these days, I actually could.
Just when I’d thought I couldn’t possibly love him more, Nico had to go and get baby fever so high it was off the bloody thermometer.
He’d panicked in the very beginning, knowing next to nothing about babies. But he’d quickly shucked that attitude and bought up every book ever written on the subject of babies and parenting. Every day, he told me to buy up more of whatever I thought we needed for the nursery, saying there was “absolutely nothing” he’d deny me or our child. He’d even been watching YouTube videos on how to properly swaddle a newborn and practicing on a baby doll that he’d bought. I think he was secretly hoping it was a girl.
I could only imagine how good that man was going to look cradling a tiny little baby against his bare chest, swaying her in a gentle dance in the middle of the night, his deep voice lulling her back to sleep.
Talk about ovary overdrive.
Maybe I should start referring to him as a her.
“When will you start showing?”
The oars continued to slice through the water as we drifted closer to a rock face along the coastline. Wherever Nico was giddily taking us in this motorless boat was a secret. He’d been adamant about that from the moment he started rowing us away from the dock.
“It’s different for every woman. They say around the third or fourth month for your first child.”
He grinned. “Is it weird that I can’t wait to see you in maternity clothes?”
I quirked an eyebrow. “You say that now. But believe me, you’re going to miss this in seven months.” I waved down at my body.
He tsked his tongue as his arms continued to pump. “Still have so much to learn about me, wife. While I love your little teacup breasts, how could I not love them even more when they plump up with milk? How could I not still love your ass when I’m pounding into it from behind after sex gets too uncomfortable for you on your back? And how the hell could I not love seeing your belly grow as your perfect body works to literally create our child?”
My heart tripped over itself. “Well, when you put it like that…”
He made the boat rock precariously when he lurched across the space between us and stamped his mouth over mine in one of his trademark displays of ownership. These kisses were distinct in the way his tongue moved to claim every inch of my mouth, leaving no corner unexplored or unmarked.
His grin was knowing and smug after he pulled away. And had every right to be. The man knew what he did to me, and it made him devious.
“Have you spoken to your father?” he asked once he moved back to his side of the boat and resumed his rowing.
I nodded. “He sounds more rested, but the healing is still going to take some time.”
Not healing from his physical injuries.
From his emotional ones.
Batya had been devastated to learn that his beloved Claudia had not only hidden their child from him, but that Dimitri—his son—had been under his nose all that time and he never knew. More, that his only son had hated him so vehemently, enough to revolt against him and threaten his life. And now, in another cruel twist of fate, that son was gone. Batya felt both guilty and betrayed at the same time, and I couldn’t begin to imagine what he was going through.
Part of me wished he’d never learned of Dimitri’s true identity.
His heart had never fully mended after Claudia left him, so for this to happen… He had a long, painful road ahead of him.
But at least the old syndicate was back to rights. Dimitri’s death had more or less balanced the scales in the Russian organization. Effectively cutting the head off the snake, the Voiny were no more.
Batya was back to ruling as the unequivocal vor.
Not to mention, he was exuberant about being a grandfather. He hadn’t acted the least bit surprised when I’d informed him that Nico and I were staying married and that I would not be returning to Russia. The distance between us saddened me, of course, but Nico assured me that after the baby was born, we could visit Moscow as often as I wanted.
It would also give me the opportunity to check in on my kids at the Red Gate Orphanage. With Nico’s financial assistance, I’d commissioned an entirely new facility to be constructed in a nicer, safer part of Moscow. The building was now across the street from a park with a playground and had comforts and luxuries, the likes of which those kids had probably never seen. And it was large enough to take on as many kids as it needed.
As much as I wished I could see those kids every day and missed them terribly, I took solace in the fact that they were comfortable and being well taken care of. Plus, I had the children’s center in Brooklyn. Val and I had been hard at work developing new programs and expanding.
Not to mention…I’d soon have a child of my own.
Which was why this surprise trip to Capri was the last time I’d be flying for a while. At least, that’s what Nico had said when he’d announced where we were going.
“You know doctors say pregnant women can fly up until their seventh month,” I’d informed him, amused.
He’d shaken his head hard. “Something only has to happen once for them to change their minds. Why take the chance?”
I shouldn’t have been the least bit surprised that Nico was already proving to be the extreme in overprotective fathers.
“What about the distillery renovations?” I asked, steadying myself when the boat tilted on a larger wave. “Are we still on schedule to open in two weeks?”
He nodded. “The company I hired to install all the exterior signs should be finished by the end of this week. Then it’s just getting the staff ready.”
The fire from a month ago had ravaged the interior of the Brooklyn Armor House, but thankfully hadn’t caused unrepairable structural damage to the building itself. Nico certainly hadn’t wasted any time in cleaning and renovating the place. In fact, he’d gone through four different contractors when each had tried telling Nico that he couldn’t meet his narrow time frame.
Nico’s motive had been clear.
He didn’t want the reminder of what had taken place inside that building. Both of us had nearly lost our lives. My father had nearly lost his. We had nearly lost our baby. So much blood and violence, and that place was supposed to be about friends and family and making memories. The first time I went back inside, I’d worried that everything from that night would come rushing back.
But somehow, it didn’t. I couldn’t explain it, but the place just had a sense of new beginnings about it now.
Much like the rest of my life. I stared down at my hand as it slid over my still mostly flat stomach.
I was completely in awe of my good fortune.
When I lifted my head, I was shocked to see that we’d entered a…cave?
My breath caught. “Oh…my.”
It was spectacular.
I’d never seen anything like it. The water we floated on top of could not have been bluer. It reflected off the cave walls that were well above our heads—at least ten feet high.
“They call it the Blue Grotto,” Nico explained, pulling the oars inside the boat to let us drift. “You can see why. There’s an underwater cavity that allows sunlight to pass through, which creates this blue reflection.”
The whole cavern was illuminated in blue.
“Nico—” He’d rendered me speechless. “This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
I felt his eyes on me, but I couldn’t take mine off the splendor of that breathtaking blue water.
“That’s what I thought when I first saw it as a kid,” he mused. “Our parents saved for years to take a family vacation to Italy. We spent a couple of days on Capri, and they brought us here. I remember thinking I would never forget this color as long as I lived.”
Something in his voice drew my attention. There was a spark in his amber eyes I couldn’t read.
He tilted his head. “Are you happy, legs?”
I choked back laughter. I was near sobbing from happiness. “You mean you can’t tell?” I tsked my tongue, just as he had. “Still so much to learn about me, husband.”
His mouth twitched, though his eyes narrowed. “Do you still consider me your husband?”
What an odd question. At this point, he should have known better. “Aren’t you?”
He slowly nodded his head. “And I plan to stay that way. But I’m sure you’ve thought about the kind of wedding you always wanted. And what you got was nowhere in the realm of what you dreamed about, nor what you deserved. You didn’t get to wear a dress or be walked down the aisle by your father or—”
I placed my finger over his mouth, silencing him. “I don’t need any of that, Nico. Weddings, aside from being a giant party for both families, are all about joining two people for the rest of their lives. How could I regret our ceremony when that’s exactly what it did? In the end, it still gave me you. Even without a dress or a cake or—”
“A ring?”
Words escaped me when he held up a black ring box with the most exquisitely stunning sapphire shining up at me. On a single, diamond-studded band, the sapphire stone was pear-shaped and surrounded by another row of sparkling diamonds.
“You wouldn’t believe how long it took me to find the right one,” he said. “It had to match the color of your eyes perfectly. After days and days of looking, I realized what the problem was.”
I met his eyes. “What?”
His amber ones softened. “No blue gem on earth could outshine the ones in your eyes, legs.” He shrugged. “This was the closest match I could get. When I first came to this cave, I thought I’d never seen a more beautiful color. Then I met you and saw your blue…” He shook his head. “There is no comparison.”
I swallowed against the rise of tears. “It’s gorgeous, Nico. I love it.”
“I bought it over a month ago.”
My lips parted in shock. “You mean…?”
“Before the night you walked out of our home. Before I drove you to leave,” he amended self-deprecatingly. “I was ready to give it to you when I got home, before everything happened. It was in my pocket.” He chuckled. “I’d been nervous as hell all day.”
“Are you nervous now?”
He shook his head, grinning. “Just eager.” He scooted closer and frowned. “I hadn’t thought about this part.” He huffed in frustration. “Pretend I’m down on one knee.
Stifling a laugh, I nodded.
“I’m ready to start my life with you, Alexia Kozlov. Everything I’ve felt ever since we met has seemed like one giant cliché after another. But then I realized that clichés exist because they’re true. My life was empty before I met you. It didn’t even begin until you said ‘I do.’ It was black and white before you brought color into it. You’ve made me a better man than I ever thought I was capable of. You shined a beam of light in my sea of darkness. It all sounds corny and clichéd, but that’s because it’s all true. You did all of those things, legs.”
He removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto my finger.
Damn, he’d chosen well.
“And the biggest cliché of all?” He interlaced our fingers, his thumb caressing the sapphire. “You taught me what it was like to fall in love. You taught me how to love better. I never knew how much life I was missing out on before you. I thought I’d had it all at one point. Thought I was living my best possible life. But I was an ignorant mudak.” Asshole.
Laughter bubbled out of me as the first tear fell.
“The last thing I ever thought would happen to me did. I fell in love with my wife. I didn’t realize how long I’d been going through the motions of life instead of really living it. I was watching countless opportunities to find happiness pass me by every single day, and I didn’t even know it. Not until I met you. And my eyes weren’t just opened that day. When you blew into my world, you pried my eyes open with goddamn pliers.”
More laughter.
“But I needed that. And I think on some level, you knew it, even if you didn’t realize it in the moment. My dad once told me that the right person shouldn’t expect you to change for them. But you should want to improve for them.”
We both smiled because we both knew how much he had improved as a person over the last few months. How much I had, too.
“You deserve only the best in life, legs. And even though I’m far from that, I hope that you’ll agree to stay my wife. Because I need to stay your husband. I don’t even know where my life would go anymore without you in it. Hell, it wouldn’t go anywhere. I’d be lost in my black and white existence, searching for my blue light.”
I sniffed. Damn hormones.
“You’ve become everything I not only want in life, but everything I need. Let me keep improving for you, and I promise I’ll make you and our child the happiest you could ever be. Will you, Alexia “Lexi” “Legs” Kozlov, stay married to me?”
“God, yes,” I blurted out. “But it’s Alexia Rossetti.”
I lunged for his mouth, nearly tipping us right into the water.
His instant chuckle soon turned into a guttural groan, which soon turned into the most carefully balanced sex we’d ever had.
Afterwards, he placed his mouth against my temple as we fought to catch our breaths. “I now pronounce us true husband and wife.”