Page 52 of Pregnant By the Mafia Boss

“And the princess lost her shoe, asking everyone she met along the way if they could find it,” he read, making my heart swell. Suddenly, Ruslan’s arm reaches out behind him, sensing movement around the door. I scoot left so he can’t grab at my shirt, giggling. What a beautiful moment.

“I know you’re back there, Red October,” he teases as I hear Arina coo, clapping her little hands together.

“Yes, it’s me. I’ve got the bottle so you can feed. That’s sweet you’re reading to her already.”

I enter to see Arina laying on her father’s chest, Ruslan looking like the sexiest father alive with his dark hair hanging around his face. He hasn’t cut it in a while. I asked him to keep it longer. I like him with it this way.

“I sure am, because our baby is smart, smart, like her mother and father. Aren’t you, Arina.” He showers her rosy chubby cheeks with kisses as Arina giggles.

“You sure are smart, and you are getting big! So healthy and strong; look at you,” I coo, letting Arina curl her tiny fingers around my finger, always amazed at the contrast. I slide onto the bed next to Ruslan, handing him the bottle, but it appears Arina has other plans to play.

“Thank you.” Ruslan leans over, kissing my cheek. “Do you want to take a nap for a while?”

“Umm, no. I’m going to hang out with you two.”

“We want you to hang out with us too, don’t we, Arina?” Arina climbs up Ruslan’s chest, letting go of my fingers and clawing them at Ruslan’s mouth. He pretends to gobble them up.

“Umm, yum, yum, we love fingers here.” Giggling, I watch, enjoying him being a father. Sometimes you never know what’s going to come out of people until it’s the right time.

“You’re good with her, you know,” I tell him, laying on his shoulder, his hand easily cupping my leg.

“I’m good with her because I’ve learned to be. Arina’s living up to her name it seems. She really is a peaceful baby for the most part, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is,” I say, looking at the features shared between us. Since both of us have thick dark hair, it’s a tie, but she has Ruslan’s sharp aquiline nose, and my full lips and facial structure. From the sturdiness of her legs, and how quickly she’s started crawling, she’s going to have Ruslan’s powerful physique. She will have to be tall as well. There’s no way she won’t be.

“Do you need some milk, Arina? Are you hungry?” Ruslan asks as Arina finds her equilibrium. Ruslan sets the milk to the side, his eyes wide. “Shit, Fiona, I think she’s trying to stand up. Am I right?”

Watching Arina jiggle around her legs, she giggles some more wiggling her nappied butt as Ruslan holds out his hands and she steadies herself against his arm. She probably sees it like a huge tree trunk she can hold on to, and he lets her.

“Wow. I think you’re right. Maybe we can try to put her feet to the floor and see if she wants to give it a try,” I tell him, feeling excited about Arina’s rapid progress. But it’s too fast, and bittersweet for me as a mom.

“Okay, let’s see what she does here first.” We wait as Arina makes a few wonky attempts to lift herself up, holding on to Ruslan.

“That’s it. Do you want to try again? Come on, get up again!” She drops down, having a rest and looking at both of us as if we’ve gone mad, but we want to see her stand up again. I start clapping to get her attention, but she stays put as Ruslan feeds her the bottle, resuming his book reading before we eventually fall asleep together.

***

Stretching, with my neck a little crooked, I yawn as I witness the proud Mommy moment. Arina is standing, crawling up her father’s chest. “You wanna walk? Let’s see if you can walk!” Gently, I take Arina off Ruslan’s broad chest, placing her feet on the carpet. Her little feet hit the ground, but even as she wobbles, she can hold herself up okay, hanging on to my hand, and taking a wobbly step. Clapping a hand over my mouth, I shake Ruslan awake, one of his eyes opening.

“What did I miss?”

“Ruslan, she walked! Arina just took a step,” I squeal, Arina delighted about how pleased we are. “Do it again for Dada. Go on, do it again.” And without warning Arina puts on a stellar performance, taking two steps, not one.

Ruslan and I hug, sharing the gorgeous family moment, and it’s in this moment, I realize we are like the couple in the doctor’s office, just our brand of love is a little different.

Calling everyone I know on FaceTime, I show Arina standing up, and taking steps, and even start planning her first birthday party.

“What do you think, a princess party? Will you come?” I say to Rachael, who looks at me as if I’m an alien.

“Will I come? I better be invited. I need to oversee the cake and party decorations as the event planner, oh and we can share parenting tips.”

I almost spit out my morning coffee when she sneaks the news in there. “What? Did you say we can share parenting tips? What am I missing?”

Rachael beams with a wide grin as I look at her FaceTime with scrutiny to see if she’s pranking me. “Yep, it’s official, I’m having a baby. Three months in the clear.”

“Oh wow! Congratulations. I’m so happy for you. You and Raymond are great together.”

“We actually are, but we’ve decided to postpone marrying until the following year.”

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