Page 70 of Brooklyn Bratva

“That’s an understatement.”

“Welcome! Ivan, old man. Becca, I presume.” He took my hand, but instead of shaking it, he ducked to dust a kiss against my knuckles. Next to me, I felt Ivan inflate with possessive rage.

His handshake was sharp and to the point and I had a feeling he squeezed Roman’s hand hard enough to give him something to think about. “Less of the old, Dvornikov. I’m the same age as you.”

Roman let out a booming belly laugh and slapped Ivan on the shoulder, seemingly entirely unfazed. “Of course you are. Good to see you. Come on board. Maxim and I have some business to go over, but please, make yourselves at home.”

Ivan’s hand settled on the small of my back, guiding me further onto the boat with undisguised suspicion and Roman let out another laugh.

“Ivan there’s nothing criminal that can be demonstrated by being here. You can relax. Anyone who sees you will just think you’re very well connected.” Again, he gestured further on board and Ivan nodded shortly before leading us on.

Roman and Maxim ducked down in through a doorway that led below deck and before I realized what was happening a small crew was busy reeling in the ropes and anchor chains that kept us moored to the pier and disconnected the embarkation ramp.

I glanced at Ivan. “I take it you didn’t know this was happening.”

“No.” I could see his jaw clench, but gradually he seemed to let the tension out. “But this is okay. Roman is a good man.”

“Is he?” Looking around, I wasn’t entirely sure. It felt like the kind of boat you might drive your enemies out to the middle of the ocean under the pretext of a party, only to dump them over the side.

“Yes, Becca. He’s a flashy sonovabitch, but he’s a good man.”

As we went through to the front of the boat, I realized what Ivan meant. I glanced back to him, a question on my lips that I couldn’t fully put into words because out on deck was a table set for two, with candles flickering in lanterns all around.

“What? Did you-?”

He shrugged one shoulder rising higher than the other. “Maybe I said something to Maxim about wanting to take you out properly. I guess this is him coming through.”

I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. It was all so ridiculously fancy. There was a waiter standing there ready to greet us, for crying out loud, and he pulled out one of the chairs for me to sit down when we got close. I was a little taken aback when he pulled my napkin open for me and draped it over my lap.

Already the glasses on the table were topped off with more champagne and the bottle was in a bucket, on ice, ready for when we needed it.

Ivan fended off any attempts to seat him with a glare and snatched his napkin off the table before anyone tried anything with his napkin and I grinned at him, shaking my head.

I didn’t care that he wasn’t suave or sophisticated, he was my man and he was perfect.

The boat pulled away from the pier, turning to follow the coast along on our right, back towards Brighton Beach.

Ivan raised a toast as we were just coming in front of the boardwalk and Tatiana’s, all lit up on the shore. “To us. And all the nights together, just the two of us that there will be in our future.”

“Just the two of us?” I asked, laughing.

Ivan shrugged. “Until we have children, and then there will be many, many more than just us. But I won’t mind. They will go to bed before we do, and I can have you to myself.”

I liked the sound of that and I let out a soft sigh, deeply content with the ocean breeze washing over me, only the flickering candle light and the stars above disturbing the darkness. The water was so much quieter than it was on land and I could forget that Maxim and Roman were down in the cabin below, going over whatever business they had, except for the occasional exclamation and booming burst of laughter from Roman floating up from the cabin.

“What do you think they’re doing down there?”

“Bratva business. The pair of them are more tied up with Valentin than I am. They take care of the money and… everything else between them.”

“You take care of Brooklyn. I think that’s better. At least you get to stay in one place.”

“You wouldn’t want to travel?”

“I’d want to stay with you. Maybe go on vacation. But no, Brighton Beach is home. It always has been.”

All along the shoreline, the lights of Brooklyn were glinting, making everything look magical and I forgot all about my worries about what this boat might be used for. Right here, with Ivan, I knew there was no one else I’d rather be with, or rather be seeing. My place was right by his side.

---