Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“You heard me. I love you, and if you think for a second I was going to let anything happen to you, then you’re mistaken. I love you, and I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Galina was speechless.
When he kissed her, she had to kiss him back, even though her lip was split and she was starting to feel a headache. But, Mikhail loved her.
He broke the kiss and she looked into his blue eyes. Mikhail slowly pushed some of the hair off her face. “I’d always come for you. Peter knows that. I couldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“Nothing can happen to you either,” she said, sniffling. “I love you and I hate you for making me love you. I think it’s so insensitive.”
He began to chuckle.
Mikhail stroked her cheek and then pulled her in close and held her tightly.
“I’m going to let you two have this moment while I call some cleaners and deal with the mess. You know, there are a few dead bodies in here.”
Mikhail took her hand and then led her out of the room. They didn’t stop until they were out of the building and in the back of his car.
“You love me?” she asked.
“I’ve loved you all my life.” He stroked her cheek. “Not a moment has gone by that I’ve not loved you.”
“Then why?”
“Why was I a dick?” he asked.
“Yeah. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I don’t know. I wish I had an answer for you, but I don’t. All my life I’ve wanted you to myself and I guess knowing you weren’t meant to be mine, that someone else was going to marry you, made me angry. I didn’t want you to belong to anyone else.”
“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“They were going to let you marry him, Galina. I couldn’t allow it. It’s the first time I argued with my father. I told him that if he wanted a son to rule the Bratva and to take over for him and not run it into the ground, then I got you. That was all I wanted.”
“You wanted me?”
“Yes. I love you, Galina. Marrying you was the happiest day of my life.” He reached out and placed a hand on her stomach. “And building a family with you is what I want. One day, I hope you want it as well.”
She placed her hand on top of his and smiled. “I do want that. I want us to be a family. Seeing you up there, I never felt so scared. I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I guess that shocked you.”
Galina laughed. “It did … a little.” She held two of her fingers closely together. “I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with you.” She placed a hand on his, which was still on her stomach. “How could I not? You’re an amazing guy, Mikhail, especially when you’re not being a dick.”
“We’re totally telling our kids this part of the story.”
“Which part, the one where I nearly get killed, or where I called you a dick?”
“All of it.”
He pulled her in close and she relished his kiss, even as they heard the approaching cars.
“It seems our folks have arrived,” Mikhail said. He looked out of the car window. “And the doctor.”
“The doctor?”
“You’re getting checked. I want to make sure you don’t have a concussion or anything.” He opened the door and Galina couldn’t help but smile as she knew this was the start of something magical.
Epilogue
Ten Years Later
“And then he passed out,” Galina said.
“I passed out at the first birth,” Mikhail said, looking up from the barbecue he’d been expertly managing.
“Dad passed out?” Mikhail Jr. asked. “Nah, he didn’t.”
Galina laughed and Mikhail still loved that sound. Ten years married, three kids, one son and two little girls, with a fourth child on the way. They didn’t know the sex of their fourth, and Mikhail was happy to keep it that way.
Yes, when Mikhail Jr. was born, he was there in the room with her, and because he felt like he could handle anything, he’d asked to witness his son, and in doing so, he had passed out. It wasn’t a good moment for him.
He stressed Galina out, not to mention the full staff in attendance, at his request for their first birth. It wasn’t a good story, however, it was a funny story.
Mikhail Belsky was on the verge of being handed the throne by his father. He was considered a deadly son of a bitch, and yet, at the sight of his wife giving birth, he’d passed out. He had a feeling Galina had fallen even more in love with him that day, so he didn’t care.
He loved his wife, loved his family, and nothing could take that away from him.
Not even these blasted burgers that were a little on the thick side and weren’t cooking all the way through. He loved his meat thoroughly cooked, and he just had this barbeque pit installed, so while they sat out on the patio with the kids, it was pouring rain around them, but he insisted on cooking.