Page 54 of Echoes of Sin

I smiled. “I am the man. My name is Ilya.”

“Hi, Ill-ya! I’m Karina and I like dancing, puzzles, and video games. I like your hair.” When she smiled, her nose tipped up just like my mother’s. And mine.

I realized in that moment I was clueless when it came to children. “I like pizza, books, and your mom.”

She gasped and turned a smile up to Brooke. “Is Ill-ya your boyfriend, Mommy?” She turned back to me with a mischievous grin. “Mommy never has a boyfriend.”

An amused chuckle escaped. “Is that right?”

Karina nodded in that exaggerated way that children tended to do. “It is.”

“Okay,” Brooke groaned, and took the seat beside me, pulling Karina close. “I have something I want to tell you.”

It was fascinating watching them together. Karina placed her hands on Brooke’s cheeks, a small frown marring her face. “What’s wrong, Mommy?”

“Nothing, baby. Everything is good. All things considered,” she murmured. “It’s about Ilya. He is…” She sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes. When they opened, it seemed as though a calm had settled over her. “Ilya is your daddy.”

Her blue eyes went wide as she studied Brooke’s face before those identical eyes swung to me. “My…my d-d-daddy?”

“That’s right. Your daddy. How do you feel about that?”

Our daughter continued to stare, wide-eyed.

“I told you I would see if I could find him,” Brooke said.

Karina nibbled on her bottom lip the same way Brooke did when she was nervous or unsure. “I thought you were lost,” she said, then nibbled her lip again. “Do you want to be my daddy?”

My heart hammered against my chest. “More than anything in this whole world.”

Her smile came slowly, but it was bright and innocent. “Okay.”

I sat a little taller. “Okay, then.”

“Where have you been?” Her brows furrowed, but she wasn’t frowning. It appeared to be curiosity, and I knew my answer mattered to my daughter. A lot.

Chapter Thirty

Brooke

I sat there in my living room with tears in my eyes as I watched Ilya and Karina chat, so enamored with each other. She asked hard questions because she was a tough and curious little girl, and though he squirmed, Ilya answered her questions with an open honesty that only made me care for him more.

He sighed heavily at her first question regarding his whereabouts. “Russia. Do you know where that is?”

Karina nodded. “It’s the biggest country in the whole wide world.”

“Very good.”

“And it takes up space on two continents,” she added proudly.

“You’re so smart,” he whispered in awe. “That’s where I was born and lived except for the year I knew your mother.”

Karina stared at his face as if she was studying his features. “Is that why we have the same hair and eyes?”

“It is,” he agreed, and I swore I saw tears shining in his blue eyes.

“How come I don’t talk funny like you do?”

He laughed again. “Because you have Russian in your DNA, but you do not speak the language yet.”

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