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“I didn’t think ... so soon and ...” he stumbles a little.

“I think we should hurry to lunch, father,” Hunter says while standing and pulling Valerie from my arms. He kisses the ring he gave her. “You’re looking a little unsteady.”

“I’ll call your mother,” he says before rushing out of the room.

“She’s not our ...” Hunter takes a slow breath and shakes his head. “Vanya will be happy about this.”

Valerie kisses his chest. “You’re doing well, Hunt. Maybe you should come back to the office after Christmas. I have an end of day appointment available.”

He exhales. “Counseling sounds good.”

I shake my head. He missed the ‘end of day’ comment, but he’ll catch on. Right now, there’s one lunch standing between us and Christmas. This year will be a big one, especially considering the guest list.

FOUR

Valerie

Vanya gapes at my rings.She counts them three times, but only smiles slightly. Mr. Volkov, on the other hand, isn’t fond of this. He keeps shifting, his mouth turns down at the corners, even when he smiles, which must be some kind of superpower.

It’s so distracting that all I can do is push my salad around my plate. If Mr. Volkov ‘respects’ me, like Hunter has said, and doesn’t like this, then what will my family think? No, it doesn’t matter what they think.

I freed myself from my parents and their expectations when I was sixteen and ran away. They can orbit each other, getting worse, never able to leave the toxic world they’ve built together, but I won’t be them.

My mother doesn’t get to influence me, my choice, or my future. I won’t become her and I won’t let a fear of what my parents think keep me from being with my men. No way, no how. Then I’d be fucking up the life I’ve been building on my own.

“Dorogaya?” Hunter asks. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

I sit up taller. “I’m not in the mood for salad. I’m excited about the main course.”

He glances at Chase, but Lief meets my eyes. I see a smile threatening his lips. I rub Hunter’s foot under the table and take Chase’s hand under the table. He adjusts our fingers so they’re laced together.

Hunter rubs his shoe against mine, and I take a deep breath. If I show weakness, my guys will think I’m ashamed of them, just like the conversation I had with Chase.

Vanya reaches out to me. “Show me the rings! I have to see them!”

I show her my left hand and she coos over them, then Chase surrenders my right hand so I can show her Hunter’s ring too. She points at that one. “Who gave you which?”

“Can’t you tell?” Hunter asks with a snort. I shoot him a look, hoping he’ll know it means to calm down. He sighs. “Mine is on her right hand.”

“The one on her middle finger is mine!” Chase says.

Lief says nothing. He trusts Vanya to figure it out. She squeezes my hand. “Are you happy? Did they surprise you?”

I blink. I’m not used to her being so excited. She’s reserved, even in the counseling sessions we’ve had. She’s always had a tight grasp on her emotions, but Mr. Volkov looks at her like he can’t imagine not loving her.

Huh, maybe being in the right relationship can help some people.

“I felt surprised. We went to Denver and Lief came to get me while I was trying to figure out how to propose. I gave him his coat and forgot the rings I got for the guys in there. He found it, and it all just came out. I’d had the rings for a while, wanting to do it, but the timing was important to me,” I say as calm as I can.

“She ruined the surprise,” Hunter mumbles. “We were so patient, and made sure to be secretive. She messed up our plan.”

“We did. To get her favorite food delivered, to sit by the fire, then to propose to her when she was comfortable and at peak happiness,” Chase agrees.

Lief nods. “Then I found the box.”

“Well, your proposal was better than mine, and it made Hunter angry that I did it first,” I say.

“So your plan was better.”

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