It took time for me to heal, both physically and mentally. It took time for Andrei to heal his life, too. He did change his mob around, slowly but surely, and he also needed to see a therapist. His anger, his desire for vengeance, all of those issues needed to be sorted. I suffered from PTSD, and dealing with that hadn’t been pleasant.
But we worked together. We sorted through our differences. We made it all work out.
Here I was, standing in front of a mirror, smiling at my reflection. Seven months along and I looked ready to pop. They said that if you were pregnant with a boy, you looked radiant, so maybe that was why I looked so good today. Or maybe I was glowing because today was my wedding day.
“Have you settled on a name yet?” Stacy asked. She fiddled with a curl, trying to tuck it behind my ear again. It wouldn’t stay put.
“Nope. I was thinking Drew, but Andrei wants something harder. I don’t even know what that means.” I giggled.
“A hard name?” Stacy laughed, too. “Maybe he means a stronger name. Like Brock.”
“Brock?” I wrinkled my nose. “No.”
“You only have two more months to decide.”
“Two months is plenty of time.” I smiled dreamily.
My mom popped her head into the room. Andrei offered to pay for a professional to do my hair and makeup and for Stacy, too, as my maid of honor, but I didn’t need to be fancy. Stacy was doing my hair, and I was doing my own makeup. My mom was bustling around, looking better than she had in years. The doctors thought her current treatment plan was going so well, and they were cautiously optimistic.
“You don’t want to be late now.” My mom smiled wide. “Is there anything else you need? Anything I can get?”
“No, Mom. I think I’m just about ready.” I fluffed the skirt of my full wedding gown. It didn’t really hide my seven-month belly, but it still made me feel beautiful. In two months, we would be a family: Andrei, myself, and our baby boy.
“Are you ready for all of this?” Stacy whispered into my ear after Mom left the room to talk to Lucas. I didn’t need a bodyguard anymore.
It was still an ongoing process, but true to his word, Andrei was slowly legitimizing his mob. It made us financially secure, and it made us stable, and it made us safe: safe from law enforcement, safe from other mobs since they had no reason to tangle with us, just plain safe period.
“Of course I’m ready! I couldn’t be happier.”
Stacy shook her head. “When I used to think about how much grief you gave me for dating Aleksey…”
“Aleksey and Andrei are nothing like.”
“Were,” Stacy corrected quietly. “I still can’t believe what happened to him — what happened to you!”
“Aleksey went undercover against the man who had me kidnapped. He got in too deep. He might not have treated women with respect, but he sure had been loyal to Andrei; even I can give him credit for that.”
“Yeah, well…” Stacy glanced toward the doorway. “You know who I have my eye on.”
“Lucas? He’s a good guy. I can put in a good word for you, if you’d like.”
Stacy brushed her curled hair back. “I can snag a guy without help, you know.”
I laughed. “Of course you can.”
“You sure you’re all right? I know your therapist cleared you, but still, that must’ve been hell to go through. You never did give me all of the details.”
“It’s not something I want to talk about,” I said slowly.
“And of course not today. I’m sorry. I’m not sure where my head is. I think I’m more nervous for you than you are!”
“I don’t have a reason to be nervous. Andrei is a great guy. Fantastic in bed. Willing to change. A natural leader. He can change the world; I know he can.”
“You too. That shelter you organized for women is absolutely amazing. So much better than your old job, huh?”
“Which old job? The one where I was paid to sleep with the man I’m going to marry in two hours? Or the one before that? Because the sex job thing turned out to be pretty amazing, all things considering.”
We laughed.
My mom reentered the room carrying a bowl filled with fruit. “Eat something,” she begged. “For the baby. To settle your stomach. How are your feet?”
“My feet? They’re perfectly warm, Mom. No cold feet here.” I popped a strawberry into my mouth.
“You had me so worried.” Mom shook her head as she put down the bowl. “I’m so glad everything worked out for you. With the baby, with Andrei, with everything.”
“You too, Mom.” I hugged her tight.
She sniffled. “I’m glad to know you won’t be alone if my health takes a turn for the worse and—”
I playfully slapped her. “Mom! Stop it. Don’t talk like that. Not today. Not ever.”
She rubbed her nose and took a deep breath. “I wasn’t sure about Andrei at all. When you told me about the situation and then you went missing…you should’ve seen how furious Andrei was when he came here and realized you were taken. I had the phone in my hand, ready to call the police when he knocked on the door. I still don’t know why I trusted him not to call. You’re my baby girl! But there was something about him. I knew he would do anything to get you back. I knew then he loved you. And that kind of love is the kind that lasts forever.”
“I trusted him from the start, too. It’s why I accepted his deal in the first place. There aren’t many men I would’ve agreed to that kind of arrangement, but Andrei…” I shrugged. It started out as a desperate need for money. It grew into lust. It transformed into love. It definitely hadn’t been conventional, but it had worked for us. Would make a hell of a story to tell our kids one day. When they were thirty. And maybe I’d omit a few details. They really wouldn’t want to hear about everything.
Somehow, the two hours until the ceremony flew on by, and before I knew it, my mom was walking me down the center aisle of seats for the outdoor wedding in the park. While I had wanted a low-key wedding, Andrei wanted to spare no expense since he planned on only ever marrying just this one time. He had hired a wedding planner, and she had outdone herself. Beautiful, colorful flowers decorated the aisle, and Andrei, looking mouthwatering in a pinstripe suit, waited for me beneath an arch of cherry blossoms.
Light flashed, and people whispered to each other as the organ played, and I floated down the aisle. Well, floated as well as a seven-month pregnant woman could. Mom hugged me and then hugged Andrei before handing me over to him and claiming her spot in the first row.
The officiant smiled at us and began to speak, but honestly, I hardly heard him. I was too busy smiling at Andrei, who was minutes away from becoming my husband.
When it was time for the vows, Andrei turned toward me. “Kelly, when you came into my life, I was in a bad place.” He shook his head. “My life was heading down a dark path, one I might not have been able to return from. You saved me. You helped me to realize that life could be so much more. You opened my eyes to love again. Even though I built up walls after my parents, you shattered them. You made me see the good in life again. I promise you I will always do right by you, that I will create more goodness in the world. I love you, Kelly.”
It was no surprise I cried during his speech, and I had to take a moment to compose myself to be able to tell him my vows. “Andrei, you said I saved you, but you also saved me in more ways than one way. You’ve always been there for me. I will do anything for you. There’s no one else I want to enjoy life with than you. Love me, and I’ll love you, and nothing can ever bring us down.”
To the cries and cheers of our friends and loved ones, we kissed before the officiant said for us to, so we had to kiss again. That didn’t bother me any. Andrei would be the last man I would ever kiss. He would be my main man until our son came along. A family — Andrei Petrov, Kelly Petrov, and baby Petrov. A mob of our own.
THE END
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