I laughed as Dimitri's fingers ghosted over my waist before coming to rest under my bump, cupping it as he kissed my cheek.
"I thought we were supposed to be posing for these pictures," I laughed while turning my head so I could look at him. Our wedding ceremony went better than I expected it. We had one moment where Sofia voiced her discontent of having to stay stationary, but Dimitri and I cracked up, which made everyone else crack up.
"We are posing for these pictures. I just wanted one like this, one where it wasn't forced. You're tense," he said before kissing just below my ear.
"I am not tense," I said quickly looking at him directly, "I'm freezing."
Dimitri chuckled and pressed his lips against mine, a small smile on his face. I could see the flash of the camera illuminate behind my closed eyes, but it didn't matter. I got to kiss my husband, that's all that mattered right now.
I shifted in his arms as I pulled back, moving so I was cradled in his embrace. I let my hands slide up his chest and rested them on his neck. The smile on his face made my heart flutter and I stretched up on my toes, rubbing my nose against mine.
"The quicker we get these done, the quicker we can go inside," Dimitri chuckled, rubbing his nose against the side of mine. There was another flash but now I was starting to tune it out. It seemed like we gave our photographer better photo opportunities when we didn't pose.
I smirked at him and flicked his ear, which resulted in him playfully licking the tip of my nose. I shrieked and pulled back but his arms were already pulling me back to him, claiming my lips again in a kiss that momentarily made me forget that the photographer was there.
"I think we're gonna make Jim uncomfortable," I giggled but Jim spoke before Dimitri could.
"Nope. All good over here. I think I got the shots I need for out here. Let's head back inside before all of our toes fall off," he joked while giving us a kind smile.
I nodded my head vigorously as I lifted my skirt so I could walk better. Dimitri was right behind me, still with a smile on his face. I smiled at him and then chuckled as I watched him hold the bottom of my train so it didn't drag through the snow.
"Look at you, my little helper," I quipped, laughing at the eye roll I received.
"I am anything but little," he said once we got inside, and he let go of the skirt. I smirked at him and floated back to him, sinking into his arms. It was currently cocktail hour for our guests, but I wanted to use this moment before we joined our guests again.
"I think this is the first moment I've had alone with my husband," I said softly, slipping my hands into his. Dimitri smiled and bought our intertwined hands up, pressing his lips to my knuckles.
"I think we can make them wait a little bit longer. How's your stomach?"
I smiled. "Better. I think it was more nerves than sickness. How are you?"
Dimitri raised his brow at me and pulled me close, lopping his arms and mine around me and resting our hands behind my back.
"I'm perfect. I just married my best friend," he replied pressing his forehead against mine. I hummed and smiled up at him. This little bubble of bliss was perfect. It was the perfect balm for the stress and anxiety that built up to the day.
But our bubble was interrupted by the best man.
"Guys. We're waiting for you two," Ivan chuckled walking towards us. I made a face at Dimitri before looking at Ivan, making the same face at Ivan. Ivan smirked at me.
"Fine! I guess we can rejoin everyone," I sighed, ending off in laughter. Ivan nodded and started to backtrack down the hall towards the room. I looked back at Dimitri and smiled at him.
"Ready?"
"I'm ready, wife," he said letting go of one hand and leading me towards our guests.
I rolled my eyes at him but smiled regardless.
I slipped deeper into my new bathtub, flipping through the catalogue Jim gave us of our wedding pictures. We got to choose the pictures we wanted, but Jim was nice enough to give us a book too. I think my favourite was one we had no idea was being taken.
I guess the moment just before Ivan interrupted us was too good to pass up. My dress was sweetheart neckline, long-sleeved with lace, sitting just off my shoulders. The skirt was fitted, flaring out at the knees. It made my bump look more predominant, but I had to say, I glowed.
The look on our faces as we stood with our hands intertwined behind my back were radiant, both of us looking carefree and lighter than air. This photo was one of the photos we allowed to be used in a magazine that wanted an interview. A few other magazines had their own pictures, but they weren't anywhere near as good as these. Dimitri didn't play around with security when it came to me and Sofia.
I flipped through the catalogue and smiled at the photo of Dad and me just before walking down the aisle, Mom standing just behind and between us, adjusting my veil. It was a perfectly tender moment, and I could even see the tears in my mom's eyes as she looked at me.
The next few were adorable; one of Dimitri and Sofia, one of me and Sofia, another of all three of us smooshed together. Sofia was stunning in her little dress, her curls styled perfectly, her front teeth poking through in her smile.
"If you stay in there much longer, you're going to overbake the baby."
I looked up and found Dimitri standing in the doorway, resting his shoulder against the frame.
"I highly doubt that," I laughed, "But I'll be out in a minute."
Dimitri chuckled and pushed off the frame and headed into our bedroom. I shook my head as I spied the wet paint that now laid on the door frame. Dimitri was starting to get the nursery ready, but getting the paint done beforehand so I could help do the rest.
Now my white door frame had pastel green on it.
I set the catalogue down on the small table beside the tub and pulled myself out of the tub, wrapping my robe around me. March came in like a lion. Dimitri and I were going to take our honeymoon but decided to push it back until after Olive was born.
I rubbed my hand over my stomach as I wandered out, coming to a stop at the nursery.
"I really like that colour. I thought it'd look like puke, but it's pretty."
"Gee, I'm glad you didn't tell me that when I bought the paint," Dimitri said dryly as he set the paintbrush down. I chuckled and walked into the room, wrapping my arms around him and rested my cheek on his back.
"How's your back feeling?"
"A bit better. Still a little stiff," I groaned, turning my face and rubbing it against his back. Dimitri rubbed his hand over my arms.
"I could give you a back rub if you like?"
I laughed. "Oh no. I know your game, mister. It starts out as a back rub and then I end up with my legs in the air," I snickered, coming around to face him.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dimitri said innocently, toying with the tie of my bathrobe. I playfully slapped his hands away from me, but I knew that he was being funny. I mean, any other time I'd be down for sex, but my back just hurt too much.
"I promise, just a back rub. Maybe I'll even crack and order that disgusting pizza you like so much," Dimitri led, resting his hands on my hips.
"One; green olives on pizza is not disgusting. And two, if you promise to rub my feet too, I'm sold. We are free birds tonight," I said with a smirk.
"Free birds?"
"Yeah. Mom called earlier and asked if she could keep Sofia. I figured it'd be okay?"
Dimitri nodded and kissed my forehead. "That's fine Roza. It's nice that Janine is getting time with Sofia. Go lay down, I'm just going to clean up this paint."
I nodded with a smile and headed back to our bedroom and pulled on a pair of shorts and an old ratty shirt of Dimitri's before climbing onto the bed. I rearranged the pillows and curled up on my side, getting comfortable.
It was only a few minutes later when Dimitri came back in, kneeling on the bed behind me. I smiled as he kissed my forehead. I lifted up enough to pull my shirt up so he could rub my back.
"I think I want to keep the gender to ourselves," I blurted out after Dimitri started.
"Oh?"
I turned my head to look at him. "Yeah. I think I want it to be a surprise to other. I want it to be just us for now. I want to surprise everyone," I said with a smile.
"Okay," Dimitri said innocently, and I raised my brows at him.
"You already told Ivan, didn't you?"
"Sorry. But I told him he wasn't allowed to say anything yet," Dimitri defended but smiled at me. I shook my head at him but relaxed, focusing on the feeling of his fingers gliding over my skin. It would have been so much better if I could have laid on my stomach, but that physically wasn't possible these days. I felt like a whale these days, not weight wise, but size wise.
I was starting to feel uncomfortable all the time, which led to me spending more time with hot water bottles and warm baths. Or back rubs that lead to hot sex with my husband.
"What are the chances I can get you to play hooky tomorrow morning?"
"I think with the right words I could make that happen," Dimitri said pressing a kiss to my shoulder.
"I was thinking we could go out for breakfast. Maybe do some shopping for decorations for the nursery?"
"I think I can make that happen," Dimitri said with a smirk, pulling my shirt back down. I smiled up at him and rolled gingerly so I could face him. I smiled up at him and stroked his cheek, rubbing the pad of my thumb over his lip.
"So I noticed something the other day," I lead, letting my fingers trail down his neck.
"Oh?"
"Adrian's screensaver was a picture of Vinnie," I said with a slight smirk, "Do you know anything about that?"
Dimitri's brows furrowed the slightest bit, but he shook his head. I had noticed it a week ago and couldn't stop thinking about it. If he didn't want custody of Vinnie, why would he have put him as his screensaver?
"Do you think he's changed his mind?"
"About giving up parental rights?"
I nodded and Dimitri shifted on the bed beside me, propping his head upon his hand.
"I mean, it's possible," he said, but I raised my brows at him.
"You know something, you are avoiding a real answer."
Dimitri shrugged. "He may have said something a few weeks ago."
"Okay and?"
"He asked me if I'd be uncomfortable if he did have a part in Vinnie's life," Dimitri finally said. It felt like my eyes were going to bug out of my head.
"What did you say!?"
"I asked him why he thought I would be uncomfortable with it."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Well, you two did almost get into a fistfight when he told you."
Dimitri canted his head to the side in a gesture that said he was well aware of that.
"I think that you should tell him that you will be thrilled if you have another nephew in your life. That is the answer he is wanting to hear. He is wanting to hear that his brother, who is really the only stable family relationship he has right now, to tell him that you're okay with it. Because you and I both know that you are okay with it. That you are more than okay with it because you know exactly how much having a child can change your life."
Dimitri nodded and kissed my forehead. "You're too good for this world, Roza. If only everyone had their heart in the right place like you."
"Mmm. You're sucking up," I chuckled but leaned in and kissed him.
"Maybe a little, but I mean it," he said running his hand up my bump and over my waist.
"I just don't want Adrian to feel obligated to Tasha. That he needs to be with her because he would do that. And while he says that she's changed, I was married to her. I know what she can be like," Dimitri said with a sigh.
I pursed my lips but shook my head. "I don't think he will. I think that he has feelings for someone, or at least caught someone's eye."
"Oh?"
I smirked. "Jim's co-photographer, Sydney. I saw him talking to her during her break at the wedding, and when I saw him last, I saw her name come up on his phone," I said happily. I also saw the smile on his face when he saw Sydney's name on his phone.
Dimitri chuckled and shook his head. "Leave it to Adrian to find a new flame at our wedding."
We had anticipated an increase in paparazzi activity after our wedding, but it was still high. It was high enough that I asked for an increase in security. It was just too much for Eddie to handle alone. Plus being only ten weeks until Olive was due, I was nervous. I fell with Sofia, and she came early, I don't want to risk anything again.
So my security detail went from one to five.
Eddie was with me everywhere I went unless I was at home, and even then, he was still in the house if Dimitri was out. Two women joined the team too, which made me feel good too. Miranda and Alice were amazing and I felt safe with them. I had only met Jackson and Alex a few times over the last few weeks, but I felt safe with them too.
It was still blistering cold for the end of March, and we had been slammed with an ice storm yesterday. I'm sure the people behind me on the sidewalk may have been irritated with my slow walk, but I was trying to take it carefully. But it was comforting to have Eddie's arm around my waist and Miranda's hand on my upper back.
"Watch that spot, it looks slippery," Eddie said as he guided me around it and into the café. I gave him a smile and gripped the railing as I climbed the stairs.
It was warm inside and unwound my scarf from my neck as I spotted Dad sitting in the back.
"Hey," I said happily as I carefully weaved between the tables. My big belly and big coat made it hard to do that these days. Dad got up with a smile and enveloped me in a hug, kissing my hair.
"Hi darling," he said as he pulled away and helped me out of my coat and into my chair.
"What do you want? Tea? Coffee?"
"I would kill for a tea and one of those massive chocolate croissants," I said sweetly. Dad nodded and headed towards the counter.
"Eddie, you can sit down. You are not going to stand the whole time; we're going to be here for a while," I said to him before pointedly looking at the others. "All of you, sit. Please, and order whatever you want. It's on me."
Eddie hesitated for a moment before sinking down at the table next to me, the others joining him. I smiled to myself and rubbed my hands over my stomach, trying to soothe Olive as they kicked in their small confines. There wasn't a whole lot of room in there now, so a kick felt much harder than usual. Plus getting kicked in the rubs hurts like hell.
I thanked Dad when he sent our drinks down, and smiled when he pushed a plate with two croissants towards me.
"Ou! Two!"
"I knew better than to get just one. You'll want another one," Dad chuckled and leaned back with his latte.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You crave sweets, all the time. I know that when you want a pastry, you're going to want another. Plus with the tea, it's a perfect combination."
I snored a laugh but didn't disagree with him. "So, we need to get planning. How are we going to surprise Mom?"
"You're calling her 'Mom' again?"
"Is there something wrong with that?" I asked around a mouthful of food.
"No, no," he said quickly with a wave of his hand, "just observing."
I rolled my eyes at him but started planning. Mom's forty-eight birthday was approaching quickly and I wanted to do something for her. I was also stuck on what to get her for a gift. I thought I could probe Dad for ideas, but it was futile.
"You know what you could get your mother?"
"What?"
"You could tell her if she is getting another granddaughter or if she is getting a grandson," Dad said with a smirk.
"Funny, very funny. I'm not falling for it," I chuckled.
"Oh c'mon! Give your old man a hint!"
I laughed and shook my head at him. Dad had been trying to get the gender out of me for weeks, each time was blunter. In the beginning, the way he and Mom were trying to get it out of me was sneaky. Trying to trip Dimitri and me up. It was annoying in the beginning, and I ended up snapping at Dad one day to the point that Dimitri had to step in. But now, I just rolled my eyes at them.
"Nope. Nothing for you," I said, "but that is not why we are here. We are about Mom's birthday."
Dad shrugged but let me change the subject to Mom. It was decided that dinner would be best. I wanted to have a small party, but with my impending delivery, the old man wanted to do something calmer. I tried to fight it, but he used the old 'your mother would be more than happy to sit down and eat dinner than have a party' line.
"I know it's a drive, but maybe we could go to Giovanni's? It is your mother's favourite, and I think that was the last good family dinner we had before you started college," Dad said as he toyed with his empty mug.
"I think that would be a good idea," I said but my focus was pulled when there was a commotion at the door. I looked over and groaned quietly. I had hoped that I would have gotten more than an hour of Dad's time before the vultures descended. It was mean to call them vultures because they were just doing their jobs, but they were getting to be aggressive. One of them pushed me two weeks ago when Dimitri and I were out with Sofia. The tailspin that turned into a mess when Dimitri grabbed the guy.
"Great," I groaned as I turned my body so my back was to them. I could hear the chairs of the table beside me shift. Eddie coming to sit directly next to me with Alex, Miranda, Jackson, and Alice sitting behind me now.
"It's okay," Dad said patting my hand as his eyes stayed behind me. I shook my head and tried to drown out the noise.
"Why is it that they are more interested in me now that I'm married than when Dimitri and I were dating?"
Dad shook his head with an exasperated sigh. "I don't know. But I would like it if they left you alone long enough to have coffee with your old man."
"Yes," I grumbled out. There was a loud bang and I jumped when Eddie's hand fisted into the back of my sweater and started to pull me up.
"We gotta go," Eddie said urgently in my ear as he guided me away from the table, Miranda trailing behind me with Dad and my coat.
"What's going on?" I asked as a staff member led us through the kitchen out the back door. Eddie stopped for a moment to help me into my coat but didn't answer until we got to the car, Jackson coming up the street. Eddie shuffled us into the car and climbed into the passenger seat, nodding at Jackson.
"Eddie?"
"Everything is fine."
"Bullshit. You just smuggled us out of the back of a restaurant. What happened?"
Dad's hand rested on my wrist as he caught Eddie's eye in the mirror. "Castile?"
"There was a gun. That's what happened. I don't want you to panic," Eddie said. I sat forward in my seat, but Dad pressed his hand against my shoulder to push my back into the seat.
"Pardon me? Don't panic?"
"These things happen. You are growing in popularity because of who Dimitri is. There are some weird people in the world, but even if there was no intent to use it, you needed to be removed from the situation," Eddie explained as he turned in his seat, but I shook my head and looked out the window.
Dad sighed and pulled the pouch from his jacket, tapping it against his knee. He won't smoke around me or in a car if I'm there, but I could tell he needed a cigar. He would smoke them when he was agitated.
I huffed and leaned back in my seat, fingers drumming over my stomach as he drove. I could feel myself getting agitated and worked up, but did everything I could not to. Getting worked up would do nothing except hurt Olive. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the headrest, trying to go to my happy place.
The car finally stopped, and I opened my eyes, noticing that we were in a parking garage. But I also noticed Celeste approaching the car.
"You brought me to Belikov Enterprises?" I asked as Celeste opened the door.
"It's what Dimitri instructed. He said that if this was the closest 'safe' location, we were to bring you here," Celeste said as she helped me out of the car, taking a moment to fix my hair and collar. She straightened my necklace and made sure I didn't look ruffled.
"Let's keep him calm too. If you go in there looking like they had to drag you out of there, he'll freak, which is the last thing youneed," Celeste said gently, squeezing my shoulders as she led my towards the elevator.
"How much does he know?" Eddie asked as he road to the floor.
"I just told him there was an incident. I didn't tell him about the gun. He thinks that someone just got too close," she explained as she checked her phone.
"Thank you," I whispered to Celeste. She looked at me and gave me a small smile. She understood.
I looked up at Dad as he stood beside me and I could see that he was starting to feel less agitated, the tightness around his mouth loosening. I tilted my head down to rest on his shoulder, sighing when the door opened.
And it opened to show a very agitated Dimitri.
He stopped his slight pacing when the doors opened and sighed a breath of relief when he saw me. I was barely out of the elevator before I was wrapped up in his arms, not that I objected to it. It made me feel a bit better.
"You're okay?"
I nodded against his shoulder. "I'm okay," I said, squeezing him as much as I could with a large belly between us.
"What happened?"
I pulled back and looked between him and then our security. I didn't want to be the one to drop the preverbal bomb, but I think it would be taken better by me.
"Someone had a gun," I said slowly. I watched his eyes harden and then his whole face harden.
"I'm calling Olive. You can't freak out, because I'm already stressed about it, and I'm trying to stay calm because the last thing I need is something to go wrong," I added quickly, running my fingers over the back of his neck, letting them trail over his skin and onto his shoulders. It was something that helped him sleep at night, and I hoped that it would help relax him now.
Dimitri looked at me firmly before looking at Eddie and Dad. "Thank you for getting her out," he said pulling me back against him. I tucked my face into his shoulder as he spoke to Eddie and Dad, but I tuned them out. I didn't want to think about it anymore.
"Come on, let's go sit down," Dimitri said gently as he guided me towards his office. I nodded and sighed gratefully when I saw the couch that I had spent many hours lounging on when we were early in our relationship.
I pulled him down with me and snuggle into him, wrapping myself around him in a way that he had to hold me, but that it was comfort for him as well.
"How's Olive?"
"Okay. Kicking like usual," I said, giving him a smile.
"And you? I know I asked already, but we're alone now."
I nodded against him. "I'm okay. A little freaked out, but okay. I mean, why are they so interested in me?"
"They're interested in you because I've openly shown how much I care about you. There are a lot of messed-up people in the world Rose. Some think that they could something out of me, through you, or Sofia, or Olive. It's why I hired security in the first place," Dimitri explained and kissed my head.
"Do you think it'll go away? The interest?"
"I think after Olive is born. I think the wedding and another baby just overexcited people. I mean, look at the number of reporters at our wedding that weren't vetted. But I can't expect you to stay home, and the only other option is to increase security, which may be a little overkill."
"So what now?"
"I think a change in security protocol would work, change the way the group are guarding," Dimitri said rubbing his hand over my back. I nodded and kissed his cheek. At least right now I didn't need to worry about was Sofia. I knew for a fact that she was very safe with Mom right now.
Hello, lovelies!
I hope you're all well!
This chapter was really tough for me because I just couldn't get the last bit right, but it is what it is.
And for the few of you that reached out to me about my surgery, I want to say thank you for checking in or wishing me luck! It was successful and I can breathe through my nose properly for the first time in my life! I am 80% healed and healing quicker than expected.
Only two or three chapters left!
