"You can't tell me he isn't the cutest boy you've ever seen," I stated as I stared doe-eyed at the baby in my arms. Adrian laughed as he watched me cradle eight-month-old Andre.
"Who would have thought that Rose Hathaway would ever melt at the sight of anything, babies included?"
I raised my head to glare halfheartedly at Christian as he approached Adrian and I in his living room. Even I knew that my glare had softened as I stared at the tall, dark haired man that had entered my life over eight years ago.
Initially our relationship was filled with competitive rivalry for Lissa's attention before it mellowed to mutual respect and eventually, sibling admiration as they moved in together after college, got married and this past year had their first child, Andre Lucas Dragomir-Ozera.
I had always known a strong sense of loyalty and innate protection towards Lissa, and that behavior was kindled towards her child as well, possibly even more so as a maternal instinct was sparked within me upon his birth.
"I'm not going to complain about my best friend adoring our child," Lissa announced as she also entered the room, "Sometimes more than I think either of us do."
Christian laughed, "That's because she's usually only around for the cute and sweet moments. Not when his diaper is filled with diarrhea strong enough to make a grown man puke."
"Well when the "man" in question is you, can we really trust that judgement?" I smirked at a glowering Christian as I handed Andre to Lissa.
"Okay, okay. You'd think after nearly a decade they'd give up the bantering," Lissa muttered to Adrian.
Christian and I exchanged smirks as Adrian snickered.
"I don't think so cousin," Adrian folded his arms, "Anyways are we about ready to go?"
We all gathered our coats and jackets, getting ready for the dinner that we had been invited to by Tasha, Christian's older sister. Apparently she had some big news that she wanted to announce in person, and Lissa had begged both Adrian and I to join her so she wouldn't have to be alone with the two siblings.
Christian hung up his phone and rolled his eyes, "So apparently Tasha is also bringing her new boyfriend with her to this dinner."
Lissa frowned, "They both flew out here?"
He shrugged, "I guess so. Maybe she's finally settling down."
Lissa waited until Christian turned to grab the keys before she shot me an expression that clearly read: "Yeah right."
It wasn't that Lissa disliked Tasha. On the contrary the two women got along well, and Tasha was an extremely sweet girl. But she had her tendency to settle down somewhere and uproot her life at a moment's notice. Christian had learned to stop depending on his sister a long time ago, even after their parents died in a house fire when Christian was in college. I think that was the only reason that Lissa knew to be wary of the woman because she had watched her husband suffer the loss of support from Tasha on multiple occasions.
We all exited out of the house, Lissa and Christian settling Andre into their SUV and I followed Adrian to his car.
"Is Sydney joining us tonight?" I asked as we headed off to the restaurant.
"No she's in Dallas on a business trip," he replied.
About two years ago Adrian had met Sydney Sage. After knowing him through college and into adulthood with his womanizing ways, I honestly didn't expect any girl to be able to tame him. But Sydney was an honest game changer for just three months of dating her, he completely stopped smoking and cut back a significant amount on drinking. Everyone was shocked by the lifestyle changes he made, but it was so clear that this girl made him happy. We were all relieved because by then Adrian was reaching his mid-twenties and a concern for addiction was bubbling amongst his loved ones.
"I'm asking her to marry me when she gets home."
My jaw dropped and my head snapped to the side. Adrian was grinning as he glanced at me and then pulled into a parking space at the restaurant.
"Oh my God!" I screamed a little too loudly but I was so shocked and happy for him, "Adrian that is amazing! How long have you known?"
We got out of the car, waiting for the rest of our dinner party to show up.
"Honestly," he looked sheepish, "I've known since she came into my life Rose, I just needed to make sure she was ready for it. She's started looking at children longingly whenever we're out in public. I'm ready to take this next step with her. I want her in my life forever. I love her so much Rose."
I laughed giddly and swung my arms around him. He twirled us in circles laughing happily, "Do you want to see the ring?"
I nodded, eyes greedily watching as he pulled the small black box out of his coat pocket. My eyes landed on the ring at the same time someone called my name.
My speeding heart slowed to a near stop as my back tensed and my eyes slowly raised. Adrian's blank expression confirmed what I already knew. I slowly turned my body until my eyes met those of the only man I had ever loved.
Dimitri fucking Belikov.
Six Years Ago...
"Can you believe this is our last year?" Lissa breathed, her eyes bright and star struck as she stared off at the landscape of University of Montana.
"Yep I really can, and I can't wait for this year to be over," I quipped, smirking at her exasperated sigh, "I'm gonna get the fuck outta dodge as soon as I have that diploma."
"It hasn't been that bad having to stay in Missoula Rose."
"Well of course you think that. You met the love of your life here." We had reached the steps to our morning self-defense course, a physical education graduation requirement. It was either this or badminton. No thanks.
"You may meet yours this year, you never know," she shrugged.
I rolled my eyes, "Yeah I won't bother to hold my breath. Besides I'm definitely not looking for any reason to be tied down in this city any longer. I'm ready to move on."
Lissa gave me an understanding frown, but sighed, "I'm going to miss you so much."
My heart clenched because as ready as I was to escape all the bad memories of this town, it meant leaving my best friend behind and that thought broke my heart.
"Trust me it'll be like I never left I'll call you so much." I tried to keep a strong façade for her, but in reality, it terrified me to pursue a future without Lissa by my side. We'd known each other since elementary school, and she was my rock. She had been accepted into a wonderful internship program that she couldn't refuse to turn down that would keep her in Montana for another year. As sad as I was to move to Portland without her, I knew that as soon as her internship was up she would move there too.
We dressed for the class in the locker rooms, and then made our way to the gym that had a large blue padding square in the center of the room. A row of punching bags and dummies lined the far wall. Another wall was a gigantic mirror and then a small weight lifting area finished up the gym. There were girls and guys alike already in the room, stretching their muscles and warming up.
Lissa and I quickly joined our friend Meredith. It didn't appear as if the professor teaching the class was here yet so we continued to talk to Meredith.
As Meredith was wrapping up her summary about her summer abroad trip to Europe, the gym doors creaked open and conversation fell to a low buzz before complete silence. I glanced up at Lissa, bemused because her jaw was lowered and her eyes were wide. Meredith and several girls around us bore similar expressions.
I stood and turned to see what the fuss was about. It took all my self-control to not resemble the rest of the female population in the room. The man that had entered the room couldn't have been described more accurately than as a god.
His shoulder length brown hair was pulled into a low ponytail that met the nape of his neck, some wavy strands framed his angular face highlighting his chiseled cheekbones and prominent jawline. His nose was sharp and his dark brown eyes were deadly intense. Intensely staring at me.
I swallowed, snapping out of my admiration of his lean, muscular build and his towering height that was well above six feet tall.
"Greetings class." Despite his name on the syllabus, I didn't expect the smooth accent that curled around his words.
"I'm Professor Dimitri Belikov, and I will be leading this self-defense course for the remainder of the semester."
"What the heck," Lissa whispered into my ear. What the heck was right. This man was our professor? He couldn't have been older than his late twenties.
"Let's jump into it, shall we?" His eyes locked on mine, dark and mysterious before he turned to drop his gym bag to the floor.