Page 84 of Her Courage

"There's no such thing as overkill when it comes to family safety," Andrei said flatly.

No one argued. We'd all learned that lesson the hard way.

"Speaking of safety," I said, catching Lottie's eye. "We have a surprise for you, little one."

Her eyes widened. "A surprise? What kind of surprise?"

"The kind you have to wait for," Kaleb said, returning to his seat with Keeley still in his arms. "We'll show you after dinner."

"But—"

"After dinner," Andrei repeated firmly. "Patience, kroshka."

Lottie pouted, her bottom lip pushing out in that way that made me want to kiss her senseless. "You're all mean."

"We're not mean," I corrected. "We're teaching delayed gratification."

"Same thing," she grumbled, but her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Conversation flowed easily as we finished dinner—talk of work and family, future plans and past adventures. Mikhail eventually opened up slightly, sharing a story from his and Sergei's childhood that had even stoic Andrei laughing.

Sierra hung on Mikhail's every word, her expression soft in a way that made Ryan frown protectively.

Oh yes. Definitely something brewing there.

When plates were cleared and dessert served—Lottie's favorite chocolate cake from the bakery downtown—I caught Andrei's eye. He nodded almost imperceptibly.

Time for the surprise.

"Lottie," Kaleb said, his hand finding hers under the table. "We need to talk to you about something."

Her fork froze halfway to her mouth, cake forgotten. "That sounds ominous. Am I in trouble?"

"No, baby girl," Andrei assured her. "Nothing like that."

"Then what?" She looked between the three of us, anxiety creeping into her expression.

I reached across the table, covering her free hand with mine. "We've been thinking a lot about the future. About what we want our lives to look like."

"Okay..." She drew the word out, clearly confused.

"And we realized something," Kaleb continued. "This house—as nice as it is—it's mine. Not ours."

Understanding began dawning in Lottie's eyes. "What are you saying?"

"We want to build something together," Andrei said, his accent thick with emotion. "All four of us. A home that's truly ours."

From his jacket pocket, Kaleb pulled out a folder. He slid it across the table to Lottie, who opened it with trembling hands.

Inside were architectural plans. Beautiful, detailed drawings of a sprawling house designed specifically for our unique family.

"Five bedrooms," I explained, watching Lottie's face as she studied the plans. "One master suite for all four of us, plus individual rooms for when someone needs private space. A playroom for your Little side. A library for me. A home gym for Andrei. A game room for Kaleb."

"There's also a nursery," Kaleb added softly. "For... eventually. When we're ready."

Lottie's head snapped up, tears streaming down her cheeks. "A nursery?"

"We talked about it," Andrei said. "About wanting children someday. With you. Building a family together."