Stepping off the plane in Las Vegas, Dani was so excited she could barely contain it. She gathered her carry-on and Niko’s backpack as Sergei carried his laptop bag and Niko. The stroller was waiting right as they got off the plane and he strapped Niko in as they headed through the jetway and into the building.

“This is the best present ever,” she whispered, squeezing Sergei’s arm. “I hadn’t realized how much I’ve missed everyone.”

“I know.” He leaned over to lightly kiss her lips. “You sure you’re ready for all the crazy between the two families?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m an adult. You’re an adult. We’re having fun until I leave for Colorado. Zakk, especially, needs to chill.”

“Dani.” Sergei stopped walking and slid his fingers through hers. “I didn’t tell him.”

“You didn’t…” Her voice trailed off and she frowned. “But you promised.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I just—there was no way to say it. If I had a sister and Zakk called to tell me he was sleeping with her—”

“You were going to tell him we were dating, not screwing.”

“We’re guys. All he’s going to hear is that we’re screwing.”

“So no sex or touching or anything for a whole week?” Her eyes rounded with dismay.

He laughed. “Relax, Maryanne. Wayne isn’t down with that plan, either. We’re just going to let them see. We’re going to hold hands as we come out of the terminal and everyone will know and there won’t be any weird one-on-one conversations.”

She snorted. “Until my brother corners you somewhere and demands to know what your intentions are.”

“I can handle that but calling him out of the blue just didn’t sit right with me. I needed to talk to him about it in person, but there isn’t time now, so are you okay with the new plan?”

“It’s all good for me.” She grinned. “I’m so happy and excited to see everyone, I’m not letting anything bother me.”

He patted her behind and gave it a little squeeze. “Get ready. You know this is going to go south quickly.”

“Oh, it’ll be fine. We’re consenting adults having fun.” She leaned over to peer into the stroller. “And you’re going to show everyone your boo-boo, aren’t you, Niko?”

“Boo-boo!” He held up his bandaged arm proudly.

---

Toli was the only one waiting when they got past the security area. There was no mistaking the way his eyes immediately narrowed in on where their hands were linked, but he didn’t say anything and instead threw his arms around his brother. He hugged Dani next and then reached down to scoop Niko out of the stroller, rubbing his head against the boy’s tummy until they were both squealing with laughter.

They walked towards baggage claim and Sergei got their suitcases while Toli and Dani watched Niko.

“We figured there was no reason for Zakk and me to both come,” Toli was saying. “You said you’d have a ton of luggage and the stroller and car seat, so I brought my SUV since that’s where his seat will be while you’re here.”

“Is my brother going to have a heart attack?” Dani’s eyes met Toli’s warily.

He chuckled. “Not a heart attack, per se, but perhaps a mild coronary episode that will end with shots of tequila out by the pool.”

“Ugh.”

“It’ll be fine,” Toli said softly. “He knows Sergei’s a good guy and would never do anything to hurt you.”

“He is a good guy,” she murmured.

“Mommy, I’m hungry,” Niko tugged at her hand impatiently.

She caught the look of surprise on Toli’s face but it was exhausting trying to explain everything to everyone. She adored Niko and if he wanted to call her Mommy, what could she do? Even Sergei had stopped trying to redirect him. Once she left, he would undoubtedly forget about her. He was three, for heaven’s sake. At least that’s what she told herself every time she thought about not being with them anymore. She had wonderful, exciting plans in her future, but in her heart, all of her plans included Sergei and Niko, which made no sense whatsoever.

“As soon as we get the suitcases,” Toli was saying to him. “Aunt Tessa has dinner waiting for us.”

“Sketti?” he asked hopefully.

“As a matter of fact—” Toli laughed, “—spaghetti is on the menu. And meatballs and garlic bread and Caesar salad.”

Dani groaned. “I’m starting to cut back on carbs.”

“After your birthday tomorrow,” Toli said firmly. “There will be way too many carbs between now and tomorrow night.”

She smiled. “You’re right. Carb-palooza until day after tomorrow.”

“Carb-palooza?” Sergei frowned as he joined them.

“Approximately twenty-four hours of carbs, carbs, and more carbs. Then we get serious.”

He nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

“We need to talk about sleeping arrangements,” Sergei said as they walked towards Toli’s SUV.

“That’s between you and Dani,” he said amiably. “But you’re welcome to share the guest room. Niko will be on the daybed in Alex’s room since we’ve got both a crib and a daybed in there now. What Zakk’s going to say, well, that’s a different story.”

“It’ll be fine,” Dani said quietly. “I’ll talk to him when we get home.”

“Everyone’s at our house,” Toli said, opening the trunk and loading the luggage while Sergei installed the car seat in the second row. “So you’ll find out soon enough.”

They drove home chatting amiably, but Dani was more nervous than she let on. No, Zakk wouldn’t be a big jerk about it, but he’d definitely have something to say to Sergei, which was why she’d wanted him to let Zakk know ahead of time. She didn’t want her birthday trip to be tarnished by this, especially when Sergei made her so happy. Tiff would calm Zakk down, and he wouldn’t make a scene in front of everyone, but behind the scenes he could be way overprotective.

“Don’t worry,” Sergei whispered in her ear as they pulled into Toli’s garage. “I’ll talk to him. I’ll make sure he’s good with it.”

She nodded absently because Sara had already come out and had wrapped her in a big hug as soon as Dani got out of the SUV. “I missed you so much!” she gushed.

“Me, too!” Dani hugged her tightly, the excitement of being back with her friends and family rushing back.

“You girls take Niko inside,” Toli called out. “Sergei and I will bring in the suitcases.”

Dani picked up Niko and Sara grabbed Dani’s purse as they walked inside.

Zakk was the first one to greet Dani as she walked in, lifting her in a big bear hug, Niko squished between them.

“Hey, kiddo.” He kissed the top of her head. “You look great. Alaska’s been good for you.”

“Thanks.” She grinned up at him. “You’re looking very tan.”

“Just spent a week in Hawaii,” he said, “so yeah.”

“Let’s eat,” Tessa was calling.

A buffet of sorts had been set out on the island so everyone filled plates and headed out to the covered portion of the patio to eat. It was a veritable feast, with three types of pasta, red sauce with meatballs and alfredo sauce with vegetables, garlic bread with cheese and without, and three types of salads with every available dressing.

Dani got a plate for Niko and settled him outside next to Sergei before going back inside to fill her own plate.

“So what did Zakk say?” Sara whispered once the men were all outside.

“About what?” Tiff asked, her hazel eyes twinkling.

Dani dragged her lower lip between her teeth before blurting out, “Sergei and I are dating.”

Tessa let out a little whoop of glee while Tiff made a fist and pumped it in the air, saying, “I knew it!”

“Holy shit,” Vlad’s wife, Rachel, said. “He’s so hot.”

“And hung.” Sara giggled.

“Well he’s a Petrov,” Tessa reasoned. “If he’s anything at all like Toli, it’s probably huge.”

“Is he the biggest you’ve been with?” Tiff was teasing her.

Dani blushed. “I, uh…” She hung her head. “Sergei’s the…only.”

“He was your first?” Tessa’s eyes widened.

“Can you imagine having Sergei as your first?” Sara sighed dreamily. “Mine was Norman Richter, when I was fifteen, and he was covered in zits. His dick was so small he had to do it like ten times before he broke through. It was miserable.”

“I was sixteen,” Tessa said. “It wasn’t terrible, but it was my high school sweetheart and it was pretty awkward. Neither of us had any idea what we were doing.”

“I was seventeen,” Tiff said. “My first time was…interesting. A much older man my mom set me up with so—”

“Your mom set up your first time?” Dani gaped at her.

Tiff chuckled. “My mom wasn’t like other moms, but yeah, so my first time was with someone really experienced and it was honestly pretty good. It hurt but he made up for it with other stuff.”

“It hurt,” Dani said, still blushing furiously, “but it was still good. Really good.”

“And now you’re dating.” Tessa clapped her hands. “A new sister-in-law. Yay!”

“It’s not serious.” Dani back-pedaled as lightly as she could. “I mean, I’m leaving for Colorado in four weeks and then I have a job here.”

The room fell silent and Tiff cocked her head. “You gave up your virginity to him and you’re just going to leave?”

“That was always the plan,” Dani protested. “I mean, I like him, but he has to be in Alaska and I have all kinds of things going on. We’re close friends and I really like him, but it’s still pretty new. We’re figuring stuff out as we go.”

“Sergei’s a great guy,” Tessa said, “but losing Tatiana broke him. Be careful with your heart, honey. I don’t know that he’ll chase you if you go follow your dreams.”

“I know,” Dani sighed. “But it’s okay. I couldn’t have asked for a better guy to be my first everything. He’s handsome, gentle, funny and oh my god, the sex.”

“We’re going to need a girls’ night out to talk about all that, but we better get out there or the guys are going to know we’re talking about them.” Rachel laughed.

“And Zakk suspects but doesn’t know,” Tiff mused. “Are you planning to tell him?”

“We’re staying here together,” Dani said. “So he’s going to figure it out pretty quickly.”

Tiff grimaced. “You should talk to him, Dani. He loves you and wants you to be happy, but when he finds out it’s not serious and you two are just having fun until you leave, he’s going to go into big-brother overdrive.”

“I’ll talk to him.” Dani stared out at the patio where the guys were all laughing and having a good time. “Can we keep it under wraps until after we eat, guys? Please? Let me enjoy dinner and then I’ll pull Zakk aside.”

“Absolutely.” Tessa picked up her plate. “Let’s go.”