“Maisie could pop back over here,” I said.
Claire nodded. “And we all know how much of a parrot she’s becoming.”
I smiled, glad that everyone had agreed with me that we wouldn’t mention to my daughter that I was pregnant. I didn’t want to keep it from her for long, but I wanted to enjoy some peace for as long as I could.
Maisie wasn’t only in the parroting-everything-she-heard phase. She also had an ask-a-million-questions-a-mile-a-minute curiosity, too.
But that was good.
Seeing her grow and heal past the quietness she had before, in those earlier months after Fitz died, had to be a good sign. She was comfortable to express herself freely. I didn’t worry about her being traumatized and shaken by the abduction. She acted like a normal, happy-go-lucky girl.
Before I would start showing, we’d tell her that she would have a brother or sister soon. But for now, keeping the news among us adults was wise.
“Does this mean that we need to postpone our honeymoon?” I asked Mikhail, glancing at Sergei.
“No. Like I said, Andre’s handling most of it,” he replied.
“No way,” Claire said. “Enjoy that vacation.” She furrowed her brow at her husband. “You can spare Sergei for a week or so, can’t you?”
He nodded, rubbing Owen’s back as he fussed more. “I swear, he’s addicted to you.”
“My milk,” Claire replied dryly.
Mikhail stood, not giving up on the fussy baby. While we sat and enjoyed our cake, he bounced to calm the fussy baby. “No, there’s no need to cancel or postpone the honeymoon. Enjoy it.”
“I think Maisie’s more excited about it than we are,” Sergei admitted. He frowned. “Are you sure you want to babysit her with Owen being so against the concept of peace and quiet?”
“And sleep,” Claire added with a sarcastic smile. “Yes, it’s fine. I think it’s cute how excited she is to be with us.”
“Anya, too,” Mikhail added. “Hey. Speaking of…” He sought out his daughter who proved to be effective at calming Owen down.
I gave him credit. He was the big, bad Mafia boss to the rest of the world, but here, with his family, he was too sweet to always step up and volunteer to handle his son so Claire didn’t have toallthe time.
“She’s over there,” I said, pointing at where Anya and Daria were talking near the dancefloor.
When I considered who I’d want to invite to the wedding, she was the only person who came to mind. As it turned out, she was stressed about issues within the department of the major she was studying for. She admitted that she wanted to go into nursing, and I was more than happy to facilitate her meeting Claire to talk about her career with us. Now we had Daria living in the building as an on-site nurse-in-training, taking the same courses online that Anya was starting.
Mikhail glanced down at his son sleeping, though, and he sighed with a grateful smile. “Hey, look at that.”
“I mean it, Mikhail,” I said. “If our going to Paris isn’t feasible now, I understand.”
He shook his head. “It’s fine. Go and enjoy yourselves.”
I fully understood that Sergei would always have his obligations to the Family. And I wouldn’t stand in the way of that loyalty.
“Do you not want to go?” Sergei asked me, seeming to get the impression that I was having second thoughts.
“No, no. I do.”
“You’re not worried about leaving Maisie for such a long time?” he asked.
I shook my head. “How could I be worried?” I gestured at how Anya and Daria were both holding hands with Maisie as they danced in something like a circle.
I’d never have to worry about my daughter’s safety and happiness here. As if cued to remind me, George walked up close and tried to dance with them too, making them all laugh with his goofy moves. He hadn’t wanted to be promoted, sticking with the honor of being one of Maisie’s official bodyguards whenever she left the property.
“But a staycation wouldn’t be bad either,” I said.
The idea of hunkering down in the apartment with my husband for a week sounded like heaven. Just the two of us. Relaxing and settling in as a married couple before life would be that much more busy with a baby on the way.
