Page 91 of Fight for You
“If there isn’t, the two of you can front the bill.” My daughter. Her attitude. So much like her mother.
I snorted. “Nyet. I’m not a piggybank. I will relinquish a case of Resnov Water, though. Depends on how many guests are at this wedding.” The family vodka sold very well. Hook Scots on vodka and not that piss of a whisky they drank. Take their money?Heh. Sounded good to me.
Jamie smiled down at Jordyn. “Are you sure, JorJor? There’s nothing I want more than to marry you today.”
“Do you have a dress?” Natasha asked.
Jordyn bit her lip. “Well, no.”
“You can wear my prom dress.”
Jordyn gasped. “The dress Adrian?—”
“Not that dress,” Natasha bit off.
My eyes narrowed.Did my daughter want Jordyn to kill the conversation?
“I was smaller two years ago,” Natasha added, fidgeting with her fingers.
“Oh, baby,” I groaned. The chemo had her thinner than a rail.Wait. I wasn’t falling into that trap. “You didn’t wear that $7000 prom dress?”
“Of course.” The vulnerability on her face faded. “You took the photos, Pop!”
I glared at my daughter. “Cutie Pie …”
“Okay. I changed. Besides, what you bought was a wedding dress.” Natasha’s eyes cut to mine. “I can imagine a gushing bride—not me—gliding down the aisle in a dress just like that.”
I scratched the back of my neck. “It doesn’t …” It made her look pure, innocent. She was pure and innocent.
“Okay, thanks.” Jordyn nodded. She looked at Jamie. “Then it’s settled. Wearegetting married today, and I have a $7000 dress. Eeekk!”
“You better listen to her,” I suggested, reaching down for my gun. “She sounds like my?—”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. “Everyone quiet!” I ordered. Rubbing the side of my knuckle in my eye, I answered Zariah. “Honey, you’re snorkeling today, right?” I pinched the bridge of my nose while Simeon answered his phone too.Anastasiya. Had to be. They liked to double-team us whentheywent on vacation. Then, they’d share notes from the call. It was what happened when you marry an attorney, and your brother marries a woman that fits the role of Tsarina to a T. Our wives were beautiful. Trouble. Worth the trouble.
Simeon walked away as Zariah gushed in awe. “Yes. The coral reefs. The colorful fish. So amazing, Vassili. I wish you enjoyed going on vacations. Anastasiya and I just returned to the resort and showered. Now we’re headed to dinner. Did you all go to church and drop off the Christmas giftsnobody helped me wrap?”
Nyet. “Yeah-yes,dah. Just came from church.” I nodded like an idiot, as if those beautiful brown eyes could stare into my soul from thousands of miles away.
While I pulled the phone away from my ear, I heard her snap, “Don’t lie to me, Vassili. I can hear it in your voice!”
36
LONG BEACH
Jamie
Sunlight slanted into my parents’pool house. I adjusted the last gold button of Enzo’s Marine Corps Dress Blues with practiced hands. Every seam was crisp. The dark navy jacket hugged my broad chest. The white belt cinched at my waist. The medals—Enzo’s medals, too, since my dress blues had burned in Santa Barbara—were earned in deserts and jungles. I had removed two where I didn’t receive these exact metals. The others glistened across my chest like silent ghosts from the past.
I’d asked Enzo to bring his suit before he left North Carolina. I wanted to need it. Didn’t think I would … if Jordyn wasn’t interested in getting married. At least not so soon.
I smiled in the mirror. The cleaned gash at my cheekbone winked. More scrapes and bruises crossed my face. I didn’t care. Jordyn had seen me in worse shape. I tugged into Enzo’s white gloves and gave my reflection one last look.
Enzo stepped beside me in his tuxedo with a shot of Resnov Water.
I took the shot glass and cleared my throat. “This first one is to my brothers. I used to think all of youbawbagswho saw me as a placenta.”
Camdyn blinked. “What?”
