Page 106 of Emerald Vices

“They’re still asleep.” Andrey’s voice is a warm whisper against the back of my ear. His arms are banded around me, and my head is pillowed on his chest.

I follow his finger to the bassinet rocking next to our bed. Sure enough, two little swaddles are tucked inside, safe and peaceful.

“Then I should be asleep, too.” I let my eyes fall closed.

“But I want to talk to you.”

I angle my head back, and the second I see his full lips pulled into a smile and his icy gray eyes on me, I can’t find it in me to be annoyed that my nap was interrupted. “I can’t believe you woke a new mother up. That has to be a felony.”

“It’s not. Trust me. I’m familiar with most of the felonies.”

I laugh, but he’s not exactly kidding. I had children with a dangerous man. Though it’s been easy to forget the last week—being a father has softened Andrey’s edges in ways I never expected. If someone had told me a month ago that I’d get a front row seat to Andrey Kuznetsov learning nursery rhymes on YouTube, I would’ve told them they were crazy. But he’s working so hard to be a good father to our babies.

“What was so important you had to wake me up?”

He holds a finger to his lips and tips his head towards the corner of the room. Before my eyes can focus in the shadowy corner, I hear the soft snoring.

“Again?” Slowly, I make out the shape of Misha curled into the cushy nursing chair.

“Mr. Nanny is always reporting for duty.”

I swat Andrey’s arm. “He’s great with the kids. He got Sarra down for her nap today.”

“Yeah, but we have an actual nanny. An expensive one.”

“That was your choice. Everyone reasonably priced wasn’t good enough for our babies,” I remind him. Misha shifts in the chair, and I can’t help but smile. “He wants to be involved. And I love the company.”

“At this rate, we’ll have to add another bed in here. A whole mansion, and we’re all going to sleep in the same room.”

“Did you just wake me up to grouch about sleeping arrangements?”

He slides a palm down my arm, twirling our fingers together. Slowly, he lifts my hand into the air. “I guess I didn’t need to wake you up. I’ve just been carrying this ring around for a while now, and I wanted to make sure it would fit.”

I stare at my raised hand for several long seconds before I can even begin to process the massive solitaire diamond glimmering on my ring finger.

“Andrey!” I screech.

He quiets me with his lips, pressing a kiss to my mouth while I continue to gape at my hand.

“Do you like it?” he whispers.

“Do I like— How did you even lift my hand?” I test my hand in the air, feeling the weight of the ring. “This thing is enormous. It’s— Is it mine?”

“If you’re asking if I put someone else’s ring on your finger, the answer is no.”

“But it must have cost a fortune.”

“Far less than what you’re worth.” He brings my hand to his lips for a kiss. “I would have had it on your hand sooner, but I wanted the band engraved.”

I turn my hand over to read the inscription etched into the fine platinum. Forever started with you.

The words blur behind a veil of tears that I can’t control. “This is perfect. The ring. You. It all means so much to me.”

“You mean so much to me.”

My heart flutters. “I like this new Andrey. The Andrey who wears his heart on his sleeve and gets all sappy.”

He smirks. “Now, I’m sappy?”

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