I give them each a hug, willing the tears to go away because I know how hard they worked on my makeup. Maddie grabs Misha, gushing over his little tux, while Nina reaches for Dmitri’s hand.
“You ready to carry the rings for Uncle Valeri and Aunt Evie?” she asks him.
He smiles up at me and says, “Da.”
I laugh at how cute he is and then follow them around the side of the house. Our backyard has been completely transformed. The caterers have set up tables and chairs all over the back deck and into the yard, and down by the beach are lines of chairs, all of them filled with black tuxes and more neck tattoos than I’ve ever seen in one place. The entire Bratva isn’t here, but a lot of them are. I’d thought about inviting Jerry and Gale, but didn’t want it to lead to any awkward questions about who all these men are. I did tell them that I came into an inheritance from an uncle that I never knew I had and that I wanted to give them some of the money. After a ton of begging, they both finally accepted. Last I heard, Jerry and his wife are working their way through the Canadian Rockies, and Gale is recently retired and loving it. I smile at the thought and scan the crowd. I spot Maddie’s mom and Boris, Andrei and Svetlana, and her mom Katya. None of them have noticed me yet, and when I take a step closer, Nina grabs my arm and gives me a smile.
“You’re supposed to wait here.”
“I am?”
She squeezes my hand before letting me go and then hands me my bouquet of roses and lilies.
“I’ll see you down there.” She gives me another big smile before walking off with Dmitri.
I look around, wondering what in the hell I’m supposed to do. After a few seconds, I start shifting my weight from foot to foot and worrying my bottom lip. A noise to my right has me turning my head, and when I see Valeri step out of the house, my heart stops in my chest. His black tux fits him like a glove, and when his green eyes meet mine, mine immediately start to water no matter how hard I try to fight it.
He gives me the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen and slowly walks towards me. He takes in every inch of me, his dimple never once disappearing, and when he’s close enough, he whispers my name with such reverence that he makes it sound almost like a prayer.
“Am I in the wrong spot? Aren’t you supposed to be down there?” I ask, worried that I’ve already embarrassed myself and got it all wrong.
He grabs my hand and kisses the back of it. “You’re absolutely stunning,lapochka, so beautiful it makes it hard to breathe when I look at you.”
“I’m trying really hard not to cry,” I tell him, and he smiles at how shaky my voice sounds. “You look gorgeous, Valeri, so perfect it doesn’t seem real. Why are you up here?”
“Did you think I’d make you walk down there all on your own?”
My throat tightens when I realize what he’s done. He knows how nervous I’ve been about this and how uncomfortable it made me to think about not having anyone to walk me down the aisle and give me away, so he decided we’d walk it together.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“I will never leave you to face anything alone, baby. I will always be here for you, no matter what.”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak and run my hand over his freshly shaved cheek. His green eyes are filled with love, and I can’t look away. He slips his hand under my veil and runs a finger along my cheek.
“Ready to become my wife,lapochka?”
“Yes,” I answer, and there’s not a shred of doubt inside me. All I feel is love and excitement and a gratefulness that makes me appreciate every second of this all the more. I will never take him or our life together for granted.
When he takes my hand, I squeeze it and smile before he leads me down the path to the waiting guests. As soon as everyone sees us, the music starts and Volodya holds his arm out for his wife. His other arm is busy holding their son, and their matching tuxedos look so damn cute. Vasily and Nina are the next to go down and right behind them is Dmitri, carrying our rings, his face fixed in concentration because he’s convinced that everything hangs on his ability to keep our wedding bands safe and secure.
“Showtime, beautiful,” Valeri murmurs, giving my hand another squeeze before placing it on his arm. He keeps his hand on top of mine as we start down the path. Everyone turns around to watch us, and even though I don’t have any of my own family here, I still feel surrounded by love. I went from having no one, to having everything. This is my family now, and this is where I belong.
We stand at the front and face one another, and everything else fades away. All I can see is the man I love, the man who’s about to become my husband and partner in life. I keep my eyes on his as we say our vows and exchange rings, and when it’s time for him to lift the veil, he pulls it back slowly and cups my face.
“There’s my girl,” he whispers right before he kisses me and makes it official. I wrap my arms around him and kiss my husband. We pull away reluctantly, and he rests his forehead against mine as everyone cheers around us.
“I love you, baby.”
“I love you too,” I tell him.
We’re soon surrounded by a crowd of people wanting to hug and congratulate us, and I can’t stop smiling. Soon the liquor is flowing, plates are being filled, and the tux jackets are discarded as white dress shirts are rolled up to the elbows, revealing tatted-up forearms. After we’ve made the rounds, Valeri leads me over to a table by the house where Nikolai is already waiting with a grin. Valeri had told me that Maddie and Nina had both had their tattoos done right after they were married. I’d immediately asked him if I could do the same. I don’t want to break tradition, and I’m also crazy excited to get the tattoo.
“Ready to join the club, Evie?” Nikolai asks, giving me a big grin as he reaches his hand out for my arm.
“Absolutely.” I sit down and stretch my left arm out.
Valeri stands behind me, laying a hand on my shoulder and kissing the top of my head.
