“We got some good hits in,” Yuri says.
“And he deserved every one of them,” Misha adds. “He shouldn’t have snuck around with you.”
“Oh, so you would’ve calmly listened to us if we’d told you from the very beginning?” I ask.
They don’t even bother trying to lie. Misha ignores me and looks over at our parents. “Can you pass that bottle of vodka over?”
I eat a handful of marshmallows while we all get our drinks, and with everyone’s tempers back to normal, my dad leans in close and says, “Follow me,derevtse moyo.” He’s close enough for me to hear the soft laugh he gives before he adds, “Maybe I should stop calling you that after tonight.”
I groan and feel my face heat up before following him out onto the veranda. Nyx stays by my side until we get outside and she sees her brothers. Giving me a look, I pet her head and tell her to go have fun. She licks my hand and takes off while I take the seat across from my dad.
He interlaces his fingers behind his head and leans back to look at the sky. “You’re going to miss this when you’re in the city.”
“I will,” I say. Closing my eyes, I listen to the waves crashing below us and take in the salty air that I’ve been breathing since birth. “I’m going to miss so many things.”
He’s quiet for a few minutes, both of us enjoying the calm after the last few tense hours. Finally, he says, “Damien promised you’d be back to visit every month.”
“We already talked about it. He knows how much I love this place and how badly I’d miss my family. We’ll be back all the time, Dad. I promise.”
He stops looking at the sky and drops his chin to look at me. “I’m not ready to lose you,” he admits, and the sadness in his voice has me quickly getting up so I can scoot my chair next to his and rest my head against his shoulder.
“You’re not losing me, Dad. That’s never going to happen.”
“It better not,” he says, “or I will fly to New York myself and force you back for a visit.”
I grin, even though I know he’s not joking. The smile freezes on my face when he says, “Your brothers will have to find someone else to bet on while you’re gone.”
“What do you mean?”
He laughs and kisses the top of my head. “I always know where my kids are.”
“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
I feel his shoulder shrug under my head. “You needed an outlet, and despite what you might think, I never wanted you to feel like a prisoner. I knew your brothers would keep you safe, and I also knew you were good enough to win.”
“It was a lot of fun,” I admit. “And I didn’t feel like a prisoner.”
He laughs at that and gives my hair a gentle tug. “You’re not supposed to lie to me anymore.”
“I’m not lying,” I tell him. “Okay, maybe I felt a little bit like a prisoner, but I always understood the reasons for it. I was never once mad at you for it.”
“I just wanted to keep you safe. At least I know Damien can do the same. He may not be my most favorite person right now, but I know he’d give his life to protect you.”
“You’ll like him once you stop hating him.”
He laughs at that. “Does Nyx like him at least? She’s the real judge of character here.”
“She loves him,” I say, making him give an exaggerated groan.
“Fine, I’ll put forth the effort if Nyx is okay with him. She’s too good of a dog to be wrong about something like this. I’m guessing you’ll be taking her with you.”
“I want to, yeah. Plus, it’ll give me even more reasons to come back and visit. She’ll miss her brothers and want to see them as much as possible.”
“Good thinking,” my dad says.
“I’m glad you’re not mad at Mom.”
“I told you I could never be mad at her.” He pats my leg and grins. “Besides, there’s no way she would’ve lasted the night. She would’ve told me before the sun came up. You know how bad she is at keeping secrets. Every Christmas I already know exactly what I’m getting.”
