Page 253 of The Medvedev Bratva
“I still can’t believe the change in him,” Nina says. She’s watching her kids with a smile on her face, and when Bran looks around the room, his eyes stop on hers.
Mom, can we have a snack?
The sound she lets out is half sob, half pure joy. She signs a quickYes, and then turns to me while discreetly wiping away a tear. “Every time he calls me mom, I cry,” she says with a laugh. “I can’t thank you enough, Lily,” she starts to say, but I hold up my hand to stop her.
“I’ve loved every second of being here. You’ve all done the hard work of learning sign. I was just here to help guide you along.”
Nina reaches out to squeeze my hand. “You’ve done so much more than that, and you know it.”
I follow her into the kitchen to help her with the snacks while she says, “I’m so happy you married Ilya, because now that means we don’t ever have to let you go.”
Smiling, I rest my hand on my small baby bump. “And our kids will grow up together.”
She grins and grabs the peanut butter. “I’m so excited, and Ilya can’t stop bragging to anyone who will listen that he’s going to be a daddy soon.” The thought makes her laugh. “You truly knocked that man on his ass.”
As if he can sense he’s being talked about, Ilya walks into the kitchen with Vasya right behind him. Our eyes lock, and I feel the same rush of love that I always feel when I see him. He grins and walks towards me. Putting his hand on my stomach, he leans down to kiss me.
“Hey, baby, how are you feeling?” he asks.
“I’m good,” I tell him. “Just a bit tired.”
He looks worried, so I quickly add, “Just a little bit, nothing out of the ordinary.”
His thumb strokes my stomach. “Is our son jumping around in there?”
I grin at the mention of our baby boy. We’ve decided to name him Tyoma. I wanted something Russian. It’s important to me that our son knows his family’s roots, and Ilya had been thrilled at the idea. We both can’t wait to meet him. I’m still in my second trimester, so we still have a way to go, but we’ve already set his nursery up and are counting down the days.
Ilya wraps his arms around me while kissing the top of my head, and I lean into him, loving the way he always makes me feel so safe.
Vasya kisses his wife and then smiles as he watches the kids play. Shaking his head, he gives a soft laugh and says, “I still can’t believe Maddie’s pregnant again. Christmas is going to be a blast this year. We’re going to have kids running around everywhere.”
“It will be,” Nina agrees. “We’ll have to make one of the guys dress up like Santa again.”
Ilya grins at the thought and caresses my stomach again. Leaning closer so only I can hear, he says, “I had no idea I could be this happy.”
I turn my head and smile up at him. “Neither did I.”
He kisses me before I rest my head back against him so I can watch Bran play with his sister and brother. I can’t wait to see our little boy joining in the fun, and with all the kids already in the Medvedev family and another two on the way, I know he’ll always be surrounded by people who love him. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted, and when I tilt my head back, my husband smiles down at me before giving me another kiss.
I never expected to meet someone like Ilya, and I’m so glad he never gave up on us, because he was right. He’s the most devoted man I’ve ever met, and I’ve never once doubted his loyalty to me. I know that Tyoma and I will always come first for him, just like the two of them will always come first for me.
It’s not a perfect life. I still worry every time he leaves the property, and he’s come home bloody on more than one occasion, but in every way that matters, it’s perfect, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about it.
