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  I knew Pandora was the first person I wanted to tell. I know I’ll have to face my mom and dad soon enough. Pandora and I share everything, and I hope that she’ll be happy for me. I want her to be excited with me. I run my finger down her nose again.

  “You better have food,” she grumbles, smacking at my hand again. Her eyes fly open when her hand makes contact with my ring. She grabs my hand, looking at the gigantic rock Ivan put on me.

  “Never one to waste time are you, Penny?” I hear the laughter in her voice. The little bit of tension I wasn’t even aware I was carrying melts away. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Thank you,” I tell her, feeling a little choked up now. “I know some might say it’s fast.”

  “Fast is putting it lightly,” she laughs. “Seems to be the way this family works, though.”

  We both smile at that. Dad always talks about how he fell in love with Mom after just one look. Knew from the moment he saw her she would be his life. Then he did anything and everything to make her his.

  “I knew the day would come when we’d have to detach ourselves from each other. But I thought we still had more time.”

  I stare at her, thinking about not having her crawl into my bed every night. I don’t know why I didn’t think about it before. Things will change between us.

  “Ahh, Penny, don’t cry. All I’m saying is I’m going to miss you. But it’s time for a new Chapter in our lives. I’m just glad you have someone with you in your new chapter.”

  “What about you? Do you want someone?” I ask.

  Something flashes across her face before it’s gone. “Just because you’re lovestruck doesn’t mean you need to push it on me. I think I’ll go along with Henry and do the no-dating thing.”

  I roll my eyes at the mention of our cousin. Henry refuses to date. He said he didn’t want to end up all crazy in love like his own parents. Both of our dads seem to have stalker tendencies when it comes to their wives. Henry is terrified he’s going to catch it.

  “Will you tell Mom and Dad with me?”

  The ball of tension in my stomach has suddenly returned. She runs her hands over her face and now I can see she’s worried, too. I always get sick when I think about my parents being mad at me. Pandora had always been quick to take the brunt of whatever we got ourselves into as kids. But this time, it’s on me. And I need her support.

  “How about I tell them I’m knocked up. When they start to freak, we’ll just say that we’re kidding and Penny’s marrying the guy who looks like he murders people for breakfast.” I smack her arm, and then she sobers. “Wait, you’re not pregnant, are you?”

  I roll my eyes at her because she’s being crazy—how could I possibly be pregnant already?—but then hers narrow on me.

  “All right. Let’s go pull this Band-Aid off before you make yourself sick worrying about it. Then you can make me breakfast.” She adds the last part as we get out of bed.

  Pandora grabs my hand. “If that man is broken, no one will be able to heal him like you.”

  Her words take me by surprise, and I squeeze her hand. “Thank you.”

  When we enter the kitchen, Pandora and I both freeze. My dad is staring at Ivan, and my mom is standing in between them. Ivan doesn’t move. The look on his face is unreadable, but I know without a doubt my parents are now aware of our relationship. I can feel the tension in the room.

  Eventually, Ivan’s eyes come to mine, and I watch his whole face soften.

  Mom looks over to Pandora and me, and Dad follows her line of sight. His attention goes straight to my finger. I make no move to cover the ring.

  “Penelope,” my dad says, and I stand at attention.

  “Watch your tone,” Ivan says.

  “Oh shit,” Pandora mumbles next to me. No one corrects Dad. Well, no one except Mom.

  Dad’s attention snaps back to Ivan, who’s still staring at me like he didn’t just poke a giant bear. It’s then I notice that both of them are about the same height. It would be an almost even match, size wise.

  “Are you hungry, krasota?” Ivan asks me, as if the room isn’t about to explode with tension.

  “You’ve got food?” Pandora asks, and I smack her arm. Then I hear my mom snort.

  “You don’t tell me how to talk to my daughter,” my dad says, ignoring everyone but Ivan.

  “Krasota is precious. No one will talk to her in a way that is not polite.”

  “All right, I see why you fell for him so fast. He gets food and says shit like that.”

  I have to bite my lip to keep from smiling at Pandora’s words.

  My dad takes a deep breath as if to get himself under control. “I know she’s precious.” My dad looks at me as my mom moves next to him. I’m a little shocked at how calm and okay she seems with all of this. But she might have already known. She knows everything.

  My dad instinctively wraps an arm around her. “Is this what you want?” he asks me.

  “I love him,” I admit.

  “Of course you do.” He lets out a deep breath. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” Pandora and I say in unison.

  “Penny.” Dad says my name a lot softer this time. “It’s just hard to take all this in. You’re my little girl. You love with your whole heart, and I don’t want to see you hurt.”

  “I would never hurt Penelope.” Ivan walks over to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, and Dad’s eyes narrow for a moment.

  “That might be so, Ivan, but we’re still going to have a talk about this.”

  I smile up at Ivan. Dad just gave his approval in a roundabout way. I feel like a weight has been lifted from my chest. I don’t even know why I was so worried. I know at the end of the day my family would never stand in the way of my happiness. Maybe it’s more that I want them to like him. I want Ivan to be a part of this family. I want him to get a taste of how wonderful having a family really is.

  “Da, after krasota eats.”

  “I’ll make breakfast,” I announce.

  “Thank God,” Pandora says, walking over to the breakfast bar and sitting down.

  Ivan leans down and kisses me on the top of my head before letting me go. I walk over to my mom and dad. “You want something, too?”

  My dad ignores my question, pulling me into them as they both wrap their arms around me in a tight hug.

  “I love you,” my dad says.

  “Let me see the ring,” Mom demands. “Looks like someone wants to make sure everyone within a mile knows you’re taken.”

  I feel myself blush a little as she smiles at me.

  “I’m going to starve to death,” Pandora whines, and I roll my eyes.

  Ivan takes a seat at the breakfast bar as I start to cook. He watches me the whole time.

  I take a coffee over to him and set it down in front of him. He holds my hand and runs his thumb across my knuckle. “I love you, krasota,” he says, bringing my hand to his mouth and kissing it.

  “I love you, too,” I reply, watching a smile pull at his lips. His whole face changes so much when he smiles.

  “Let’s talk about this wedding,” I hear my mom say. I look over at her and she’s smiling. My dad is glaring at Ivan’s hand holding mine.

  Pandora lets out a sound like she’s dying, and her head drops to the countertop. “Oh my God, she’s going to make me wear a dress!”

  “Oh my God, I get to plan a wedding!” I squeal with excitement.

  “This is going to be hell,” Pandora grumbles, but when she lifts her head to look at me she’s smiling.

  Then I look around the room and I notice everyone is smiling.

  I feel myself start to tear up from the amount of happiness flowing through me. It’s overwhelming to have this much love in one room, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. I know that from this day forward, my family is growing. Not only by
adding Ivan, but in our hearts.

  And now the next Chapter begins.

  Epilogue

  Penelope

  A few months later...

  “Krasota,” Ivan moans into my neck as we both come. His warm release fills me, and I hold on to him tighter, wanting to stay lost in the moment. Lost in him.

  “I’m sorry, krasota. My control is not strong after last night.”

  My eyes open lazily at his words. His dark ones meet mine. He leans in, taking my mouth in a soft kiss. When he pulls back I smile because I got lipstick on him. I should probably tell him, but I like the idea that I left a mark on him.

  “I missed you, too, and never be sorry,” I tell him.

  Pandora and Mom made me have a sleepover last night, saying the bride isn’t supposed to be with the groom the night before the wedding. Ivan and I reluctantly agreed, but I was glad I did. Spending my last unmarried night with my sister and mom was a memory I will always cherish.

  I don’t think Ivan did, though, and I have a feeling he’d been waiting for a moment to pounce on me. This has been the only moment I’ve been alone in the last twenty-four hours. He popped out of nowhere to push up my dress and pin me to the nearest wall. I knew he’d been watching and waiting. It made me smile even more.

  “What the hell?” I hear Pandora yelp as she tries to open my bedroom door. “Ivan better not be in there!” she yells. I have to fight a giggle, and even Ivan smiles.

  He’s grown closer and closer to my family each day. He’s been giving me more of himself and telling me pieces about his life in Russia. I love that he’s just as much a part of this family as the rest of us, and I know he likes it, too. Pandora is always poking at him and making jokes. At first I used to get all pissy about it, thinking she was being a little mean to him. But then I realized she does the same thing with Henry, and I know that’s her way of accepting him as one of us. I even caught Ivan laughing with her when she does it. He can give pretty good, too.

  “My krasota is here, so of course I am here,” he yells through the door. He’s poking at her, and I roll my eyes.

  “Put me down,” I whisper to him. He lets out a deep sigh, clearly not liking the idea. “The sooner I’m ready, the sooner I belong to you forever,” I remind him.

  “You already belong to me. And me to you,” he adds, making me smile at him.

  “And the sooner we can be off on our honeymoon, where it’s just you and me for three whole weeks.”

  “Open this door,” Pandora growls, jerking the handle.

  Ivan pulls back, his cock slipping free and making me moan. His eyes darken, and I know he wants to take me again. I feel his release start to run down my thighs as he places me on my feet. The sight catches his eye, and he reaches for me. I have to jump away from him before I’m pinned to the wall again. My dress falls down and covers me up again.

  Ivan rights his clothes as I unlock the door. Pandora comes barreling in, her red hair a wild mess. She glares at Ivan for a moment before she looks at me. “You messed up your makeup.”

  “She looks perfect,” Ivan tries to correct her.

  “Since when do you care about makeup?” I ask. It’s funny how much Pandora has been into this wedding. She’s been running around barking orders at people, making sure everything is getting done. In her defense, I’m not as good at snapping at people as she is.

  I already got upset about the invitations being printed wrong. I tried to say something to the company that made them, but they blew me off. I told Pandora about it because I knew if I told Ivan he’d probably burn their building down. She seemed the safer bet, but after that she kind of took over. She clearly did not like the idea of someone trying to push me around.

  “Since you had to have three dresses for your wedding day?” she throws back at me, not really even answering my question.

  “I needed them!” I snap back. My wedding dress, my after-party dress, then the dress I’ll leave in. This seems completely reasonable to me. “You have an outfit change, too,” I say accusingly.

  “Because I’m not wearing a dress all day.” She glances over at Ivan. She’s probably wondering what he’s still doing here. “Don’t you need to be getting ready?”

  He merely shrugs. He won’t leave until I say something.

  “Okay, okay. We’ll get ready,” I tell her, going back over to Ivan. He leans down, giving me a kiss. “I’ll see you soon, my muzh,” I tell him, calling him “husband” in Russian. Over the last few months I’ve picked up a lot of it.

  He cups my face, kissing the tip of my nose before turning to leave.

  Afterwards I look at Pandora, who has a wistful look on her face. The look catches me off guard, and I wonder if all her talk about not wanting a man is bullshit.

  We both start college soon. It will be the first time we are really apart. She’s moving into the city to go to school, and I’m staying out here and taking some classes online. My aunt Mallory has been pushing me towards accounting, and I’m starting to think that’s what I want to do.

  I think Ivan is making a business out of his tracking devices. He’s always coming up with cool ideas of what to put them into. Maybe I could help on the business side of that. Mom and Dad already have him making stuff for them for work.

  “That man loves you. I feel like an ass that I ever tried to stand in the way of that,” Pandora finally says.

  I walk up to her and grab her hand. “Then promise me something.”

  “Anything,” she responds instantly.

  “That when the day comes and you fall in love, you don’t stand in your own way.”

  She stares at me for a moment like she’s thinking it over.

  “Okay, I promise,” she says after a beat. “Not that I think that day will ever come,” she adds, and I shake my head.

  “Okay, enough about me. We need to get the show on the road so Dad can walk you down the aisle. Mom and I have bets on how long it will take him to let you go when you get to the end.” She leans in close. “I bet ten seconds, so do your sister a solid.”

  I laugh.

  “For real, though, let’s do this thing. I don’t know how much longer Dad can hold Ivan back. The man already gave him the slip once.”

  That makes me smile even more because I love the idea of Dad and Ivan hanging out. They have become close, my dad treating him at times like his own son. God, my family couldn’t be more perfect. They always say I’m the heart of this family, but in truth, it takes us all to make it beat.

  Epilogue

  Ivan

  Ten years later...

  Penelope comes running into the room and jumps into my arms. I laugh as I kiss her lips and carry her to our bedroom.

  “Are you happy, krasota?”

  “Happier than I ever dreamed possible.”

  “Are you happy because our children are next door spending the night?” I smile at her and rub the stubble on my chin against her neck.

  She giggles and then snorts as I drop her on the bed.

  I hover above her, looking down at my beauty. The years have been a gift to her, because she is more beautiful with each passing day. The way she’s grown soft in her belly and the way her hips have widened... There is nothing more stunning than seeing my wife round with our little babies. We’ve had two, and she says no more. She says that we are blessed with one boy and one girl and that we are lucky.

  I am the lucky one. To have Penelope choose me as her mate, as her lover, for all of our days is the dream come true.

  We have made a family together, a life more precious than I could have imagined. After we were married she asked to live near her family, so naturally I built her a home next door to them. I will always give my krasota what she wishes.

  Now Pandora and her family live on the other side of us. We are one big compound of babies and babysitters.
Penelope loves nothing more than mothering us all and was quick to become a stay-at-home mom. People joke and say we have a village, but I don’t see this as a bad thing. We are a family, and that’s something I never dared to hope for. But as years have passed, Penelope has made me understand that it is good to hope.

  “I’m happy to have you alone for the night. Even if it’s only for a few hours before the kids try to sneak back over here.”

  I pull off her sundress and sandals, kissing her feet. My mouth moves higher as her legs fall open for me.

  “Do you wish for my kisses?” I ask, looking into the green eyes that hold my heart.

  “You know I do.” She winks at me, raising her hips in invitation.

  “Then you shall have all of them.”

  I move my mouth between her legs and kiss her sweet nectar until she climaxes. We’ve been together ten years, and as I sink into her I think about how it’s always special. Every time we connect there is love—love of our bodies, love of our spirits, love of our souls.

  She wraps her arms around my neck, and I pull her body flush with mine.

  “Stay close,” she whispers, and I obey.

  I hold her tight as I thrust in and out, leaving no space between us.

  It’s hours later when she’s sated, and I wrap my body around hers. There are no more words, only kisses and light touches as she drifts off to sleep. I hum softly to her, the same tune I sang to our babies. She closes her eyes, and her dark half-moon lashes make her look like a doll, so perfect and sweet as she sleeps on my chest.

  Although my life began dark and lonely, I am thankful for it. I would charge down any path that led to the love next to me, that brought me home to the happily ever after we have built. My beauty has taught me many things, but believing in fairy tales was the most important one. She shows me every day that dreams do come true.