“Maybe I should tell Misha and Yuri that he’s ready for his first surfing lesson,” Max suggests with a grin playing at his lips.
“That would be hilarious,” I tell him, “if my ass wasn’t also involved in this.”
“Might be worth it,” Max taunts.
“You don’t need to say anything. I have a feeling they’ll come for us when we least expect it.”
“That is their style,” Max says. “Those two are crazy.”
“I’m well aware.”
Max just laughs at my tone and throws the ball again. When he starts speaking again, the easy mirth is gone. I recognize the more serious, older cousin tone when he says, “You know I’ll have your back if this is the road you want to go down, Damien. No matter what. You’re family, and I will never turn my back on that, even if it does make me an enemy of all my in-laws.”
“I would never ask you to choose,” I tell him.
“It’s not a choice. It just is. Talia and Lyra are my life, and turning my back on them will never be an option, but I know my wife well enough to know she’d stand by my side on this one. The rest of the Medvedevs are up for debate. All I ask is that you’re sure before you make a move. Because once you lay a hand on his only daughter, the only way it ends is with Volodya as your father-in-law and her crazy brothers as your in-laws. Just remember that.”
“I’ll remember it,” I tell him. “I would never fuck around with her and then toss her aside.”
He grins over at me. “I know you wouldn’t, but Luka isn’t here, so I feel compelled to step in and give the warning that he would.”
He’s not wrong. Luka would make damn sure I knew the consequences, and then he’d back off and trust me to make the right choice.
“Thanks, Max,” I say. “You don’t need to worry about this. I’m not jumping blindly into anything.”
“I know you won’t.” He tosses the ball again and asks, “So what’d you think of Sitka’s riding skills?”
A smile splits my face before I can stop it because goddamn, watching her ride that dirt bike had been the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. She may be tiny, but she’s just as fearless as her brothers and cousins. She’s not reckless, though. Sitka knows how to handle her bike, and she’d never be a liability because she’s too busy showing off. Even with her helmet and goggles covering her face, I could tell she loved every minute of racing on those trails.
Sitka is an adrenaline junkie, and there’s no denying how sexy I find that.
“She’s good,” I finally say.
“She is,” he agrees. “She always beats my ass when I ride the trails.”
He’s not pissed about it. Max is not the kind of guy who’s going to feel like his manhood’s been taken from him because a woman can race faster than him.
“Last time,” he tells Wallace before throwing the ball again. Standing up, he stretches and looks back at the house that’s lit up behind us. “I’m gonna go help Talia with Lyra’s bath. Don’t let Wallace guilt you into throwing the ball. He’ll keep you out here all night. I wish I had half his energy.”
I laugh and hold out my hand for the tennis ball when the exuberant dog comes running back to us. “You’re not an old man yet, Max.”
“I’ll be good as new after I get some sleep. Nina and Vasya are watching Lyra tomorrow night, and it’s sad how much I’m looking forward to an uninterrupted night of sleep.”
“It’s only sad if that’s all you do,” I say.
He grins and smacks my arm on his way past. “Yeah, that’s never going to happen.”
I throw the ball for several more minutes while it grows darker around us. The wind picks up, and I’m about to devastate Wallace by calling it quits when I get a text.
DIMA:
We’re hitting the clubs. Get Ev and meet us over here in 20. We’re taking the bikes.
In classic Medvedev style, it’s not a question. I debate telling him I don’t want to, but if there’s even a sliver of hope that Sitka might be tagging along, I have to take it. Even if she doesn’t go with us, maybe I’ll end up seeing her afterwards.
I tell him we’ll be there and then go back inside to find Ev. Wallace runs in after me, racing up the stairs in search of Talia while I knock on Ev’s door before walking in.
He looks up from the book he’s reading. “That could’ve been really awkward,” he says.
