Page 75 of The Bratva’s Stalked Pregnant Bride

“As if I’d be that picky,” I said. It didn’t bother me much anymore, but why was it so difficult to do things right?

A lot of everything getting done was down to Laurel. She got the waitstaff hired, trained them never to offer a Beaujolais with steak, or whatever it wasn’t supposed to go with. I couldn’t keep track and didn’t need to when I had my expert.

Now, just hours after finally getting everyone together for a final pep talk, the place was packed with celebrities, food critics, and most importantly, my family. As I strode past the long table they were crowded around, I gave them a jaunty wave, ignoring their rowdy cheer as I made it to the host’s station to welcome the next table of VIP guests.

“It’s so beautiful,” the actress, whose movie Laurel and I had recently watched, said while I led her and her entourage to their table. “It’s like being in a space station in the sixties. You have to share your designer with me.”

I was certain Todd would be thrilled to have a client like her, and thanked her for the compliment, then hurried to the next table to receive more accolades. By the time I found Laurel in her wine cave, I was hot and sweaty and needed a moment to cool off. She pressed an ice-cold champagne bottle against my forehead, laughing at me.

“You love it,” she said.

“Today I do,” I told her. “But I already want a day off.”

“Just another three weeks,” she said.

It had taken a lot to convince her to leave the restaurant so soon after the grand opening, but she also wanted to meet the Russian Fokins before she was too far along in the pregnancy to safely travel. We were going to spend a few weeks there, and hopefully arrive back in time for the surprise that should be ready for us by then.

A surprise I wanted to set in motion as soon as possible.

“Come with me,” I said, looking her up and down. I had come in to cool off, but seeing her in the form-fitting black dress was having the opposite effect. No one who didn’t already know could tell she was expecting, but her curves were more enticing than ever. I couldn’t help but reach around and give her a little squeeze.

“Where?” she asked suspiciously. “You might not have noticed how busy we are?”

“This won’t take long,” I promised.

Expecting me to tell the truth as always, she followed me out to my family’s table and had Aleks clink his glass to shut everyone up. Laurel stood by my side expectantly, waiting for me to thank everyone for their support, but instead, I turned to her and dropped to one knee.

The low hum at the rest of the tables ceased, and everyone in the place shifted.

“Mik,” Laurel whispered, her cheeks bright red. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like he’s doing?” Luk asked, getting a swat from Mila, who leaned forward with a big smile on her face.

“I’m finally asking you to marry me,” I told Laurel. “Because even though we’re already married, you deserve a wedding—”

“We’re so ready,” Nat piped up.

“And you deserve to be surrounded by your family who loves you,” I continued.

“Yes, we do,” my father called from his end of the table.

Those two had been having some very lively conversations lately, now that he’d assured her he was delighted to have her as a daughter-in-law. I hoped that he and the rest of my siblings and cousins would make up for the fact that her parents barely acknowledged her when she told them about us and their grandchild who was on the way. I couldn’t erase her troubled past, but I could give her the future she dreamed about.

I gave everyone a stern look to shut the fuck up and turned back to Laurel, taking her hand and kissing it. “I love you so damn much, and maybe one day I’ll be able to find the words to make you understand. Until then, will you marry me? Again?”

Her joyous yes was drowned out by everyone in the place bursting into applause, and I finally slid the diamond ring she should have had long ago on her finger. Nat and Mila were scrambling to change places so they could put their heads together and start planning, and my father promised he’d hunt down my wayward twin brothers so they’d be at the ceremony.

Laurel buried her face in my chest when I hugged her tight, and after nodding at everyone, I hustled her back to her cellar, where she felt the most comfortable.

“I can’t believe you did that,” she said, but her smile was wide, and those tears glistening in her eyes were happy ones. “Oh my gosh, no one was expecting a show.”

“I want everyone to know you’re mine,” I said, pulling her to me. “Now it will be real.”

“It already is,” she told me.

I kissed her instead of answering. She still loved starting little arguments with me because they almost always ended up with us tearing each other’s clothes off. “Oh, why didn’t you propose at home,” she said, faking a pout as she tore herself away. With a disappointed look at the wine cellar door, she shook her head and tried to pull away. “I love you, but there have to be a hundred people out there wanting wine.”

My arm snaked out to yank her back to me. “Your assistant can handle it for a few more minutes. She was trained by the best, after all.”