Page 45 of The Bratva's Hunted Bride
“Ask me again,” I say.
“Did you want to be a father?” she says, her eyes locking with mine. A touch of fear, a touch of hope glittering in those beautiful brown pools.
“Yes. I want to be a father. I might not have planned for it. Perhaps not now, perhaps not even soon, but it doesn’t matter. It was a surprise that I would have wished for had I known howmagnificent it was going to make me feel. I can’t wait to be a father.”
Her lips curve upwards, and those cute dimples appear in her cheeks.
If only she could read my thoughts, if I could press my hand into her heart and show her my emotions, and what she does to me. She would never doubt how I feel. But I’ve only just broken down her walls, and I don’t want to overwhelm her with the intensity of my obsession with her.
I will take my time showing her how deeply I feel for her.
The waitress comes by to take the empty platter away.
“We have an incredible dessert platter. Would you like to try it? It has an incredible selection of…”
My phone rings and I growl in annoyance. “Yes, we will have the dessert platter.” I nod to the waitress, and she politely steps aside as I pull my phone from my pocket. “Sorry,” I mutter to Talia.
I slide to answer my brother’s call, pressing the phone against my ear.
“There’s been an attack at warehouse four.”
“That’s where we had the new stock,” I snap.
“Yes. We need you here now.”
“I can be there in fifteen minutes,” I say, my eyes drifting to Talia’s face. I hang up. There is no escaping this. I have to go.
“It was my brother. There’s an emergency at work. I’m sorry to have to cut this short.”
She nods. “It’s ok. I’ve had an amazing time.”
She’s trying to hide her disappointment, trying to be understanding, but I can see she’s as reluctant to end our date as I am. I smile, happy, because even though we need to leave, I feel like tonight was incredible for us.
***
After dropping Talia at home, I head to the warehouse and find it in chaos.
Oleg comes straight over when he sees me. “What happened?” I snarl angrily.
“We managed to salvage most of the product. The attack was interrupted before any serious loss could occur, and the attackers fled. But we know who was behind it.”
I know my brows, glaring at him. “Who?” I demand.
“The Popov brothers. They’re pissed off about what you did and looking for revenge.” His eyes drift over me. I try to read his expression. While he looks tired, agitated, and angry, he doesn’t seem to be blaming me for this. Not in the way he could if he wanted to.
“What can I do?” I sigh, shrugging my jacket off.
“We still have enough product for tomorrow’s shipment, but we need to get it packed tonight. We can’t risk them coming back. We need to get the containers packed and onto the ship.”
“Alright. Well, let’s get started then.”
It’s past one in the morning when I get home, exhausted to my bones, wanting nothing more than to crawl into bed and lie next to her.
I head straight for the stairs, but her voice calls out from the living room. In shock, I spin toward it and find her curled upon the sofa, tucked beneath a soft blanket, reading a book. Her eyes are tired, but her face is bright with relief. “Are you ok?” she asks, throwing the blanket off and running over to me in her sweatpants and a cropped t-shirt.
“Why aren’t you in bed?” I ask, confused.
“I was worried…” She says. “What happened?”
