“I don’t want to jinx anything,” I say, “but I can’t think of anything better than joining this family and sharing a last name with you.”
Cindy nods, trying her best to not cry, and I’m not at all surprised when I straighten back up and see Sasha’s large hand rubbing circles along his wife’s back. He’s as in tune to her as Niki is with me, and I have the insane urge to get up and walk around this table just so I can hug all their parents, because they did a truly amazing job at raising their kids.
When I feel a hand rest on my thigh, I immediately bring mine on top of his, sliding my fingers along his skin and wrapping them around one of his long fingers. He’s smiling when I look over at him, and I really hope Cindy and I were talking too low for him to hear. I’m not about to ask, so I just smile back and resist the urge to grip his finger even tighter.
The meal lasts a long time. No one seems in a hurry to leave. They laugh and joke around and simply enjoy having this time together. I watch as Isabella climbs into Lev’s lap, happily chatting to her grandpa about something that makes him smile down at her and kiss her head. All the other grandparents are taking the opportunity to love on their grandkids. Veya is asleep in Matvey’s arms, Roman is holding Mira while his wife holds Roma, and when Simona reaches over and grabs Jake from Vitaly’s arms, he starts to argue, but she just grins and shakes her head at him.
“You can’t hog the babies, Vitaly. It’s not fair that you have three grandkids here. Ours is on the other side of the country, so you have to share.” She gives Jake a big smile and kisses his chubby cheeks while he gives another one of his happy squeals.
“Fine,” he grumbles, but it’s obvious he’s not mad. “I need to bring out the cake anyway.”
I didn’t think I was capable of eating more, but when a huge slice of cake makes its way down to me, there’s no way I can say no. It’s chocolate, filled with a gooey caramel center that’s making my mouth water just looking at it, and topped with sprinkles. It’s diabetes on a plate, and all my pleasure centers light up when I put the huge forkful in my mouth.
I make a soft noise of appreciation right before Niki leans in and whispers, “I’d be jealous if I didn’t already know the noises you make when you’rereallyhappy.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks while I curse myself for taking such a massive bite. My mouth is too stuffed to speak, and I feel like every person in the room knows what he just said to me.
Confirming my fears might be accurate, Vitaly raises his glass and says, “To Niki and Sav.” Then he winks and adds, “It’s about damn time.”
Everyone else at the table grabs their drinks and lifts them in a toast to us. I finally manage to swallow down the cake, but my face is still on fire when I look over at Niki. He gives me a wink and raises his own glass to me.
“To Van,” he says just loud enough for me and me alone. “The woman I’m never letting go of.”
When I give him what has to be a big, sappy grin, Vitaly says even louder, “You see that Simona? Soon enough you’re going to have all kinds of grandbabies at the table, and you won’t need to keep stealing mine.”
“Just ignore my dad,” Val says to me. “That’s what we all do.”
Vitaly laughs. “You all know I’m right. I recognize that look on Niki’s face. I’ve seen just about everyone else here wearing it right before they got married and started making babies.” He grins even bigger and gives a very pointed look to his daughter-in-law. “Or the other way around.”
Yel groans, but she’s smiling when she does it. Val pulls his wife closer and kisses her head.
“We were a special circumstance,” he insists.
“Because you’re cousins?” his dad asks.
Val rolls his eyes and tells me, “Not by blood.”
I laugh and say, “Don’t worry. I already know, and I think it’s really sweet how you two fell in love.”
The smile I see him quickly share with his wife makes it clear that their love story was a done deal from the start. No way in hell those two weren’t going to end up together.
The topic quickly changes to something else, and I finish my cake while Niki keeps his hand on my thigh, occasionally running his thumb along my skin. It feels like sensory overload. The sweetness of the cake mixed with his caresses is slowly driving me crazy, and when I scoot my empty plate away, he lets his fingers graze a few inches further up my inner thigh.
He gives me a very innocent look when I stare at him. But before I can call him out on it, Cindy leans in and asks, “How’s your early education paper coming along?”
“It’s slowly coming together. I have a meeting with Dr. Ellison on Monday. I need to ask him for clarification on something, and I’m curious what his thoughts are on this early draft. I need to really start thinking about next year, too. It’s going to be brutal.”
“You’ll do great,” she tells me. Her eyes glance to Niki when she asks, “So when’s he meeting your parents?”
Niki answers for me. “This week.”
When I give him a surprised look, he grins. “I’m inviting myself to your family supper.”
“It was supposed to be this Sunday, but I need to push it off to Wednesday so I can work on this paper. I really want to get it done before the four-day weekend,” I say.
The corner of his mouth lifts with his very amused grin. “Big plans for your break?”
“Very big plans,” I say, making him laugh.
