I’ve had a number of sleepless nights recently, lying in the dark with her in my arms while I think about how I failed her. I love her more than my own life. But what if they’re right? What if she deserves more than what I have or can give her?
Groaning at my own thoughts, I shake my head. Fuck that. I love her, and I will give her everything she needs and wants. I’ve been trying to make it up to her, trying to show her what she means to me.
There are so many things I regret, though. And I’m not sure how she can actually forgive me for those things. For the heartless way I treated her, for the things I said…
“Hey, stop daydreaming and get ready,” Stef says, handing me a cup of coffee.
“Sorry, wow, I was lost in thought there,” I muse, smiling to cover the tension that’s crept over me again.
Stef hums while she gets ready, slipping on a pair of jeans and her sneakers. White to match her white chunky knitsweater. She pulls her hair into a high bun and puts gloss on her lips. Fuck. She’s too beautiful. Too perfect.
“Why are you with me?” I ask, watching her, lost in thought.
She turns to face me, tilting her head to the side.
“Oh, I thought you knew. It’s because you’re ridiculously rich. Oh, also, really, seriously good looking, and you have a giant cock.” Her face is straight, not a flicker of a smile.
I, on the other hand, burst out laughing.
“Can you be serious for one second?” I ask, pulling her into my arms.
“If you want me to be serious, then don’t ask stupid questions.”
“A man is allowed to wonder these things, little one,” I say, tucking a stand of hair behind her ear.
“You never have to wonder why I love you, Marlen. I see therealyou. Behind the grumpy walls and the sour expression you wear like a girl wears a bitch face,” she grins.
“Are you saying I have resting bitch face?” I say in horror.
“You could win awards for it,” she laughs.
Stef shakes her head and sighs, reaching up to trace her finger over my jaw. “I see the real you—a man with a massive heart, who cares without limits, who takes care of his family. A man who is compassionate and kind to people he doesn’t have to help, but goes out of his way to help anyway. A man who treats me like a princess and doesn’t let a day go by without making me feel like I am worth more than anything else in this entire universe.”
My heart pulls tight in my chest. “I don’t deserve you, Stefania.”
“You do. I promise you. And I deserve you. We were made for each other,” she says, standing on her tiptoes to kiss me.
***
Parked outside Jaroslav’s mansion, I pause before getting out of the car.
“Are you nervous?” she asks.
“I’m just not in the mood for a fight,” I sigh.
“I’m also nervous,” she says, reaching for my hand. “But whatever happens, you won’t forget, right?”
“I love you too, little one,” I smile, reassured by her confidence in me.
We walk into her brother’s home, tension hanging between us. She leads me through to the living room, where it looks like everyone else has already arrived.
The Shevchenko family is here, along with the whole Abashin family and my brother, Simon. No one knows where Bardil is, despite me keeping constant search for him.
“Morning, guys, do you want coffee before we start?” Diomid asks, welcoming us in.
“No, thanks, we just had,” I say. Stef is smiling nervously at her brother. Jaroslav doesn’t smile back. She takes a seat, and I sit next to her, keeping a polite distance between us. I don’t want to stir trouble before the meeting has even started.
We’re here to try and ease the fight that was never resolved in the past. Just because they helped me save her andshe’s been staying with me by choice for the past six weeks doesn’t mean her brothers are ok with it.
