Page 99 of Scorch

“Promise. You can even throw it all in the firepit and have a nice bonfire, alright?”

“Well,” she says thoughtfully. “Maybe we keep Wuthering Heights. I do love that book.”

“Deal.”

I kiss her cheek. “Now get some sleep, baby. We had a long, long day.”

She closes her eyes. “I know. You too. Put it all down for a while, alright, Viktor? Your brothers are here, just downstairs.” She kisses my chest and lies back down. “You don’t have to be Superman for a little while, okay? Just be…” She yawns widely. “Viktor. My almost-husband. Oh, and tomorrow?”

I open one eye, still thinking over the Superman comment. “Mmm?”

“Let’s plan the most epic of all epic honeymoons known to man with that inheritance I’m getting. Deal?”

I grin against her hair, still damp from the shower she took. “Deal, baby. Someplace with the best cake you’ve ever put in your mouth.”

She grins. “You do know me so damn well.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Lydia

The days leading up to our wedding are filled with memories I don’t ever, ever want to forget.

Another cake sampling Viktor made me go to just because he wanted to. A bachelorette party with Aria, Harper, Polina, and Vera. Vera’s here until her next travel date, but I get to keep her for a few more weeks.

I get to pick out stuff for our bridal shower and have a lot of fun, especially with the kitchen things.

The dress fitting with Vera and Mom. I settled on a gorgeous wrap dress made of satin and trimmed with hand-knit lace. It dips low in the front, accentuating my full breasts and flowing over my curves. I feel like I’m a Disney princess who stepped right out of a movie set in it. My eyes sparkle in the mirror, and I grin.

“I love it. Oh my God, it’s perfect.”

I make Viktor practice dancing and take an engagement photo shoot. We don’t have a lot of time, but we have literally nothing on our agenda except the next big step: tie the knot.

We have personal, quiet moments together. Walking around our property, hand in hand, talking about where we’re going to honeymoon. Roasting marshmallows by our firepit, where I run our future children’s names by him until we have a suitable list.

It’s days before our wedding when I run something by him that I’ve been thinking about for a while.

Viktor leans back in his chair, nursing a beer. I’ve got one of the craft brews next to me on a little table near the fire pit. The ashes of the memory he took down from “the shrine,” as he called it, rise with the heat of the fire.

“So, I’ve been thinking…”

“Mmm?” he says. “What’s that?”

“Well. You know I want children. I know you do, too. But I’ve been thinking about your childhood and your sister, and… this money that I’m getting, and God knows your family has more money than God.” The wedding dress, the diamond ring he gave me, and a quick glance into the accounts we now own together made that abundantly clear. “You’re so protective. So good with the kids, Viktor. And your family is amazing.”

He looks at me curiously. “And?”

I swallow. For some reason, my heart is beating really fast right now. “What if we… you know… adopt? What if we adopt some kids that are in need of a good home?”

“Lydia,” he says seriously. “We’re Bratva.”

“Viktor,” I respond. “I mean, don’t show them your weapons.”

He grins at that. I love when he grins. My heart turns in my chest.

“We’ll be good parents. Just like Mikhail and Aria are. Harper and Aleks. And Vera and Nikko will be someday.”

“We will. Because we love each other, and we know what it’s like not to have that love.” I nod. We’ll lavish love and attention on whatever children we bring into our home. “And,” I say with a serious nod. “You’ll immediately beat your brothers in that race to see who has the most kids. Like you’ll advance right to the finish line.”

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