Something in my chest cracks open.
I scoop him up, settling him on my hip with practiced ease now. "Want to know a secret,malish?" I press a kiss to his curls. "Pavel's not sad. He's excited. He's never had so many people to show off for at Christmas."
"Really?" He pulls back, studying my face with that intense focus he gets sometimes. Pure Clara.
"Really." I catch my wife's reflection in the glass, watching us. Her eyes are suspiciously bright, but before I can comment, she blinks rapidly and turns back to her baking.
"Marina!" Elijah suddenly squirms in my arms, pointing outside where my niece is leading our resident giant around the garden. "Uncle Mysh, what's on your head?"
Mysh—all six-foot-eight of lethal muscle—adjusts his reindeer antlers with dignity. "Your cousin is very persuasive," he rumbles, while Marina beams up at him.
"Papa, can I go show Marina the new swing?" Elijah asks, already wiggling to get down.
I set Elijah down, watching him race out to his cousin. Ludis steps aside to let the children pass, his hand automatically steadying Marina as she bounds past. The softness in his expression as he watches her is still jarring to see on my twin's face.
"You're going soft, boss," Maksim murmurs next to me, but there's no bite in it. He's watching the children too, something wistful in his expression.
"Says the man who spent three hours setting up the Christmas tree because 'it had to be perfect for the little prince,'" I reply drily.
Maksim snorts, his gaze still lingering on the kids. "Someone had to step in. You’d have just thrown lights on it and called it done."
Before I can retort, a loudclangechoes from the kitchen. The unmistakable crash of pans hitting the floor.
"Sounds like your queen is calling," he teases, deftly pivoting the conversation away from himself.
In the kitchen, Clara stands at the center, sleeves rolled up, with Dmitry at her side, the two of them a surprisingly synchronized team.
"No, Galina," Clara says, her tone calm but firm as she intercepts the older woman with a ladle mid-step. "I’ve got it under control. Why don’t you check on the table instead?"
Galina hesitates, clearly wanting to protest, but Clara’s faint smile softens the command. "Trust me," she adds quietly. "We’ll be fine."
Galina relents, backing away with a faint grumble, and Dmitry smirks as he balances a massive tray of ingredients on one arm.
"You run a tight ship," he remarks, glancing at Clara as he adjusts a cutting board.
"Someone has to," she replies, brushing flour off her hands. Her eyes flick briefly toward the doorway, where Maksim and I linger, before she calls out, "If you’re going to hover, make yourselves useful—or leave."
Maksim nudges me, already retreating with a mock salute. "Told you. Line of fire."
I don’t move right away.
I stand by the door frame, looking at Myzhyeh-NA.mywife.
She’s beautiful, I watch her as she blows a strand of her hair from her face, smudging her cheek with a streak of flour as she pushes a tray toward Dmitry.
The kitchen light catches on the faint pink flush at her temples, the way her lips press together in concentration as she shifts her focus to the stovetop.
She’s perfect. Even in the chaos, she looks… radiant.
She glances up suddenly, and her blue eyes lock with mine. Her expression softens, a smile tugging at her lips. It’s quick, almost shy, but enough to make me weak on my fucking knee.
I can’t help the smile tugging at my own lips as Elijah’s voice cuts through the moment. "Papa! Grandpa is here! And he’s got me abigpresent!"
Elijah barrels toward me, grabbing my hand and pulling with all the determination his little body can muster. “Come on! You have to see!”
He drags me into the dining room, where Maxwell Caldwell stands with Mitch at his side. Maxwell looks smaller now, the weight of years etched into his hunched shoulders, but there’s something steady in the way he holds himself.
I stop in front of him, meeting his wary eyes. For a moment, neither of us moves, the space between us thick with unspoken words. Then, slowly, I step forward and wrap an arm around him in a firm hug.
