“Yes, Emil.” She kissed me. “Yes, I did capture you. And I’m never letting you go. I can’t wait to marry you.”
I kissed her again. At the sound of Carina waking up, I smiled and slid the ring onto my little agent’s finger.
“As soon as I can,” she added.
“In a hurry?” I teased as I got up to get our daughter.
“Yeah.” She nodded with a sexy smile. “As soon as possible. I want the rest of my life to start now, not later.”
I handed her our hungry baby. Carina fussed as I gave her to Sadie, but I lingered long enough to kiss my fiancée’s lips, savoring the promise of forever with her.
38
SADIE
The next five weeks passed in a blur of activity. I thought I held a packed schedule as an agent, committed to my career. Now, I had no schedule as a new mother, committed to caring for Carina.
My schedule was to do whatever Carina wanted. Between her cluster feeding and making me insane to stick with the demands of breastfeeding, I felt like I had no chance to feel caught up. I couldn’t imagine holding down a job as a parent like this.
Fortunately, I wasn’t alone.
Emil promised I would never be alone again, and I wasn’t. Living in the huge mansion that Luka and Gabriella called home showed me how it took a village to raise a child. And it did. No nannies or official babysitters were hired, but we had everything covered with two newborn baby girls. Emil, Luka, Ivan, and Alexsei were surprisingly hands-on with helping. Lev and Misha made it a game to see who could be the most helpful, even taking it upon themselves to try to do the laundry on their own. Allan didn’t appreciate the mess of the broken washer and thecopious amount of suds and soap that overflowed. But we all laughed about it. They weren’t punished since their intentions were good.
It wasn’t easy, adjusting to this life with a newborn, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything else. I was happy, so content to belong and to bond with my baby. Emil’s proposal was sweeter yet, and the thrill of looking for a new home of our own was addicting.
Things slowly died down about the Obsidian Eye mission, too. We all watched the chatter and picked up on what was being said or done about the proposed group’s failure to launch. Some bosses were mad. Others mentioned relief that it wouldn’t become a reality. In the news, many politicians weighed in on it all and discussed the horrible side of the criminal minds out there.
Since my last case was closed and I could breathe easier with that closure, I had more time to devote myself to Carina and Emil. Then with all the help from the family with my daughter, I was freed up to pay more attention to my wedding.
“I can’t believe it’s next week,” Raisa said, joining me on a trip to the store for me to pick a dress. “Your wedding isnext week.”
I smiled and shrugged. “It’s just a ceremony.”
She huffed, shaking her head and smiling. While I bonded with Gabriella and befriended her quicker because we experienced the same things with the pregnancies, childbirth, and having a newborn, I got along well with Raisa, too. Gabriella wasn’t with us today because Helene insisted on clinging to her and Gabriella didn’t want to be away from her. Plus, Andre was fussyand she worried it was because she wasn’t giving him as much attention.
I would’ve rather stayed home, too. But Allan and Alexsei were watching Carina while Emil was at a meeting with Ivan. Plus, I really couldn’t put off finding a dress for much longer. I was running out of time.
“I told you. I was never one of those girls or women who had big, grand dreams of a fairytale wedding. I just care that it’s Emil who wants to marry me.”
She nodded. “I was like that too. But then Gabriella decided she had to live vicariously through me.”
I heard about that, about how Gabriella had been in danger when her father was still alive and wanting to use her as leverage. She and Luka married at a simple wedding with minimal guests for security purposes. When Raisa and Ivan married, Gabriella handled all the planning and threw a huge party for them. Her motto was to go big or go home.
“Well, I think she’s pretty busy this time around.” I smiled at Raisa. “And I’m glad you’re here to help me figure out what needs to be done.”
“Oh, for sure. I remember all the little details that went into being a bride.”
At the dress shop, I followed her lead and gave my feedback about the gowns. Some were ridiculous. Others were stylish. I didn’t think that it would be this hard to decide, but I lost track of how long we were in there.
“The guards have to be bored,” I said as Raisa and I moved to the other side of the shop. Two Dubinins were posted outside, andjust one glance out the windows showed that they were there, as they should be. Bodyguards would be mandatory from here out, and I liked that I didn’t have to worry about myself as much. Backup was… nice.
“Eh, they’re fine.” Raisa shrugged. “With how quiet everything has gotten since the last big attack, they’re probably glad to have something to do.”
I nodded. It wasn’t like we went out much either, everyone being homebodies to take care of the newborns.
“But hey, it’s a good thing you and Gabriella just had the girls.” Raisa smiled. “That way, when I’m due, Luka won’t freak out about more than one of us going into labor—especially on the same day!”
I gasped, turning to face her. A wide smile lifted my lips. “You’re pregnant? Oh, I’m so excited for you!”
