Yulian buries his face in my hair and takes a deep breath.
“I’m just so happy you’re okay. I love you, kitten. More than anything in any universe.”
I grin as I snuggle against him. “I love you, too. Now will you take me home so we can take a shower together? My body is hurting, and I need some of your love,” I giggle, pulling away so I can look up at him.
“You can have anything you want,” he smirks, leaning down to kiss me.
Epilogue - Yulian
“Dude, grab me a beer while you’re inside,” Arkady shouts from the garden.
“On it,” I call back, almost bumping into Sera as she comes through carrying a plate of snacks.
“Sorry,” I mutter, grinning. “Have you seen the love of my life?”
“She’s in the kitchen making cocktails with Ali and Marie. Those two are in trouble,” Sera laughs, stepping out into the garden and heading towards where my brothers are holding our first summer barbecue of the season.
It smells incredible.
And the summer sunshine is bringing out the best in everyone.
The girls are all wearing bikinis and sarongs. The guys are walking around in board shorts. It’s hot, and my skin smells of sunblock and perspiration. I could be on a tropical island right now. It certainly has that vibe to it.
I’m smiling when I walk into the kitchen and find Kat sitting on the counter, and Marie and Ali peering into a blender. “We need more strawberries,” Ali complains.
“No, I think we need more cream. Then a dash more vodka,” Marie disagrees.
“Add extra of everything,” Kat suggests. As soon as she sees me, she holds out her arm and legs to capture me in a spider hug. I walk straight into her embrace, and she locks herself around me, clinging tightly.
“Add all of it,” Ali agrees.
“Done,” Marie laughs.
Marie has become part of our family. She is here for every family dinner or lunch, birthdays, and everything we celebrate together. She no longer has to lie to her brothers or sneak out to attend, but they’ve made it clear they are not happy about it.
Still, she comes, and Katerina is so much happier having at least a part of her family here with her on days like this.
The rest of the Kroliks are still hell-bent on staying our enemy, but I’m working on it.
I have a few plans up my sleeve for business deals I want to put together that would obviously benefit both families. I don’t want it to look like charity, but I do want to give them a deal that’s too good to refuse.
I have to win them over somehow, for Kat’s sake.
My brothers are on board with me. They’re working with me to try and patch things up.
Katerina has our full support.
She’ll never have anything less.
Even if her brothers never come around, she has a whole new family here. One who loves her deeply.
“Do you two need my wife, or can I steal her away?” I ask, lifting Kat into my arms, which is easy, because she’s already fully wrapped around me.
“You can take her, but only for a bit. We need her back. She’s got to drink cocktails with us,” Marie warns me.
Ali scowls at me, “You promised you wouldn’t hog her to yourself for the whole barbecue, remember.”
Kat chuckles, her voice muffled against my shoulder.
