Page 72 of His Reluctant Wife
Rosa brings in breakfast and the conversation shifts to lighter topics. I watch Danica talk with Inessa and see how easily they're bonding. She's going to fit in perfectly around here. And when Dimitri announces he's planning to run the casino with Yuri's permission, it feels like the whole family is back together again.
After everyone finishes eating, the men start filtering out one by one. Fyodor claps me on the shoulder on his way past andmutters something about checking in with his security teams. Lev follows him out, already on his phone making calls. Dimitri lingers for a moment to speak with Yuri in low tones before he leaves too. Then Inessa excuses herself to go rest upstairs, giving Danica a warm hug before she disappears.
That leaves just the two of us sitting at the table with our coffee. Danica's fingers trace the rim of her cup and she's got that look on her face that tells me she's working up to saying something important.
I stand and start clearing plates, stacking them on the tray Rosa left. Danica gets up to help me, and we work in comfortable silence for a minute, moving around each other in the dining room like we've done this a hundred times before.
"So you're really staying here," she says, carrying dishes to the sideboard.
"Yes, I gave you my word of no more risks and I mean it." I take the plates from her hands and set them down.
"Good." She leans against the sideboard and looks at me. "Because I've been thinking about something."
I turn to face her. "About what?"
"Inessa is pregnant." She crosses her arms. "And watching her this morning, seeing how Yuri looks at her, how excited he is…"
I wait for her to finish but she doesn't, so I step closer. "You want that."
"I do." She meets my eyes. "I want kids. With you. I know we just got here and everything's still crazy, but I don't want to wait forever."
I reach for her and pull her into my arms. "Okay."
"Okay?" She pulls back to look at my face. "That's it? Just okay?"
"What do you want me to say? That I need time to think about it?" I brush her hair back from her face. "I want kids with you. I just didn't know if you were serious about building a life here or if you were just saying what you thought I wanted to hear."
"Of course I'm serious." She puts her hands on my chest. "I wouldn't bring it up if I weren't."
"Then yeah. Let's do it. Let's have a family."
She's smiling now, but her eyes fill with tears. I wipe them away with my thumb before they can fall.
"You really mean that?" she asks.
"I really mean that."
"Even with all the conspiracy stuff and the war Ruslan mentioned?"
"Especially because of that. This family needs kids. They need people who'll keep things going." I kiss her forehead. "And I want ours to be part of that."
She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me properly. When she pulls back, she's grinning.
"I don't know if I'll be any good at this," she says quietly. "Being a mother."
"You'll figure it out. We both will."
"When do you want to start trying?"
"Whenever you want." I pull her closer. "Today, tomorrow, next week. I'm here."
"I think I need some time first. To learn Russian and figure out how things work here. Maybe a few months?"
I can't even begin to tell her how happy she makes me. The idea of being a father never crossed my mind until I met her, and she's right, seeing Inessa pregnant makes me want children of my own too.
"I love you," I tell her, and she smiles.
"I love you too, Vadim."
She rests her head on my chest where I know she feels safe, and my world is complete. Who'd have thought someone like me could settle down and start a family?
Turns out I was wrong about a lot of things, but mostly about what kind of man I could be.
