Page 76 of Sinful Bride

“Hey, Sofi? I was wondering…”

She sips her iced coffee and waits for me to continue.

“Would you mind if I started joining you at the gym? And maybe, I don’t know… maybe you could teach me a few things?”

A smile spreads across her face. “Like kicking ass and taking names?”

“Something like that.”

“Sure thing! Just have a talk with Pasha and let me know how that goes.”

With that, she takes her coffee and saunters out to join the others in the living room.

I’m not giving up so easily. “I don’t need to ‘have a talk’ with him just to go to the gym,” I inform her as I follow her. “I can go to the gym whenever I want.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, Daph. I’d truly love to help you train. But?—”

“What she doesn’t want,” Mak interjects from where he’s burping Taty on the couch, “is for our big brother to go mental because you didn’t ask him to train you.”

Sofi points at him. “Bingo. He’s weird about things like that.”

I try not to get distracted by the fact that Asya is snapping pictures of Mak and Taty together, all cute and adorable as he poses with her. Her tiny fingers grab his nose and he laughs, nuzzling her hand and chomping on her fingertips.

My heart melts and squeezes and melts again. This is the kind of family my daughter deserves.

This is the kind of family I always wanted.

Focus, Daph. “I’m doing this for me, though. Not… well, not necessarily for him. Yeah, a big part of it is not wanting to constantly feel so helpless that I need my own personal guard all the time. But I also just… I want to feel strong. I want to be strong. I think it will help with overcoming some of this anxiety.”

Asya smiles at me. “I’m proud of you, Daphne. This is a big step to take. You’re already showing your strength by taking it.”

“Yeah, but she needs to talk with Pasha and ask him to train her,” Sofi protests. “I don’t want to get in the middle of him and his ego.”

“That’s her decision, Sofiya. She doesn’t need his permission to do every little thing, but I’m sure she will speak with him—in her own time—when it’s something important in their marriage.”

I’m about to thank Mama for coming to my defense when she levels her gaze at me.

“You do want to speak with him, though. At some point. I love my son, but he can be pig-headed and stubborn as a bull. He’ll get over it, but you’ll need to help him get there.”

Easier said than done.

“We’re just going to go through the basics today.” Sofi adjusts the strap on her shoulder with a sigh. “I’m still not looking forward to Big Brother’s Big Blowup, but hey, girl power and all that.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle Pasha.” I glance over at the front doors to the gym and notice a keypad. “Shit, I didn’t think about getting in. Do I need to buy a membership?”

She looks at me and busts out laughing. “Girl. You’re Mrs. Chekhov. You own the place.”

“I do?”

“Well, your husband does. Anyways, yeah, most people do need a membership. Your face is your reference check, though. That and the asteroid on your ring finger.”

We climb the few low stairs leading to the main door when she stops, scowls, and grumbles something in Russian under her breath.

I start to turn around to see what she’s glaring at, but she rests a hand on my arm.

“Don’t look,” she says through gritted teeth and a fake smile. “It’s the feds. We’re being followed.”

My stomach drops. “Again?”

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