Page 161 of Bratva Knight

I shook my head. My best friend, ladies and gentleman, was fucking crazy.

She placed her hands on my stomach, warmth and love shining in her eyes. “How are my niece and nephew doing?”

“Absolutely perfect,” I grinned from ear to ear. We found out a few months ago that we were having a girl and a boy.

“Good. In case you’re stumped for names, Illayana is afantasticone.”

“I’ll remember that,” I chuckled.

She glanced behind me. “Uh-oh, looks like Aleksandr is trying to get out of doing this again.”

I turned around to see Nikolai and Aleksandr arguing amongst themselves quietly. “I should go over there.”

“Good luck.”

I waddled towards them, just catching the end of what Nikolai was saying. “—doing this. I don’t care if you don’t want to. Tati needs this. Man up.”

Aleksandr growled. If he was the stomping his foot kind of man, I had a feeling he’d be doing it right then and there.

Maybe it was the guilt. Maybe it was hormones. Maybe it was just because I didn’t want to put a strain on their relationship. I’m not sure, but I wanted him to know how much I appreciated his involvement, how much both Nikolai and I appreciatedhim.

“Have you told him yet, my love?”

Nikolai looked at me with confused eyes.

“Told me what?” Aleksandr grunted. “That there’s something else you’re going to make me do against my will?”

I slowly ran a hand across my stomach, staring intently at Nikolai. His gaze flicked down and back up again, realisation flashing across his face.

“Now?” he questioned.

“Why not?” I shrugged.

“What are you two talking about? If you’re going to ask me to model underwear for you, the answer is hell-fucking-no.”

The idea was an intriguing one. I had a feeling that, if I did, all the women in the crowd would faint.

Nikolai all of a sudden looked a little nervous, like he was afraid how Aleksandr would react. I touched his face gently, giving him an encouraging smile.

He cleared his throat. “Your nephew, we finally decided on a name for him.” He glanced away, avoiding Aleksandr’s eyes. “Aleksei. After you.”

Nikolai still wasn’t looking at his brother, so he didn’t see the myriad of emotions that took over his face. Warmth. Tenderness. Love. Honor.

“Me?” Aleksandr’s voice croaked slightly.

Oh, shit. Not now.

I started crying. Panic took over Nikolai’s face and he moved towards me instantly, but I waved him away. “No, no, I’m okay. It’s the hormones. Just pretend I’m not here.”

“Tati—”

“It’s such a special moment,” I sniffled. “Don’t let me ruin it. Look at your brother. He’s so”—hiccup—“so”—hiccup—“happy,” I sobbed hysterically.

This happened a lot. More than I cared to admit. If I saw something sad or sweet, I just burst into tears.

Strong arms wrapped around me and, for a second I thought it was Nikolai, but I quickly realised the body shape was off. It was Aleksandr.Hewas hugging me. Something he’d never done in the twenty or so years that I’d known him.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you for this privilege.”

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