Page 112 of Born into Blood

“They’re not related by blood,” my Uncle Matvey agrees, “and it’s not like they grew up together as cousins.”

“Yeah, that’d be fucked up,” my Uncle Vitaly says with a laugh.

I chance a quick look at Val, but he’s not looking at anyone. He’s too focused on emptying his glass of vodka. When I look over at Max, he just lifts a brow and gives me a do something look.

Looking over at my dad, I ask, “Did you really marry Mom the day after you proposed?”

Just like I knew they would, my dad and uncles launch into a story about the day my parents got married, and pretty soon no one is thinking about cousins getting together. We sit around drinking and laughing until Evgeny, Niki, and Damien come in from riding and we’ve all had more alcohol than we probably should have. We’re sleeping at the farmhouse, and everyone else will be coming out tomorrow afternoon. Lara and I decided to have our wedding here, and my mom and aunts have been working tirelessly to get it all set up and ready to go. We hired a caterer, but my mom asked if she could do the flowers, and then my aunts and cousins joined in and they all decided they could handle the decorations as well. I have no doubt it’ll be beautiful, but all I care about is marrying Lara.

When we finally drag our asses inside, Dominic goes up to the room he and Natalya always use while my dad and uncles crash on the large sectional sofa in the living room, not even bothering to use the many bedrooms available.

“Don’t you dare try and spoon me,” I hear my Uncle Matvey growl right before the unmistakeable sound of my Uncle Vitaly’s laugh fills the room.

“That was one fucking time,” he says, “and I thought you were Katya.”

“I don’t give a fuck who you thought it was. Don’t grope me in my sleep.”

Vitaly laughs again. “No promises.”

“Jesus,” Max groans, “I should be filming this so I can laugh at them tomorrow about it.” He laughs and smacks my shoulder, walking past me and down the hall. “See you in the morning,” he calls out before disappearing into the closest bedroom.

I find Val in the kitchen, pouring himself another drink. When he raises the bottle and lifts a brow, I shake my head. I’ve got a good buzz going, but I have no desire to be hungover for my wedding. Lara deserves better than that.

Resting against the counter next to him, I stay quiet while he finishes his drink and then immediately pours another. Instead of downing this one, he sips it while staring out the window. After a few minutes, he says in a voice that’s so quiet I have to strain to hear him, “I envy you, man. You get to be with the woman you love.”

It’s the first time he’s ever spoken about his feelings for Yelena, but it’s obvious it’s been weighing on him for quite a while. Dragging a hand over the back of my neck, I watch him take another drink before he turns around, bracing his hands on the counter behind him, crossing one leg over the other, the movement just sluggish enough to hint at the alcohol he’s had.

“You will too, Val,” I tell him, but he just shakes his head at me.

“You heard my dad and Uncle Matvey out there. It’s fucked up. We were raised as cousins.”

“But you’re not related by blood.”

“It won’t matter to them,” he argues.

“It will.” I walk over to him and take the drink from his hand, tossing the vodka into the sink before he can finish it. He’s going to have a bad enough headache tomorrow. I grab him a bottle of water and a couple of aspirin. I shove both of them into his hand before leaning against the counter next to him.

I wait until he’s swallowing the aspirin before I say, “Whenever you decide you’re ready to say something, I’ll have your back when you do it.” I nudge his shoulder with mine. “And so will Max.”

“Fuck,” he groans, and then lets out a disbelieving laugh. “I never meant to fall for her.” He turns his head, meeting my eyes and giving a heavy sigh. “It wasn’t a choice I made. I never had a fucking choice. It’s just always been her. For as far back as I can remember, it’s always been her.”

“I’ll do everything I can to help you. Just say the word, man, you know that.”

He nods, knowing I mean every word of what I’m saying. Val is like a brother to me, and I’d do anything for him—take a bullet or run interference as he sneaks off with our cousin, whatever he needs, I’ll do it.

“I can’t believe you’re going to be a dad,” he says, giving another soft laugh, and I know he’s changing the subject, but I don’t care. He and Yelena will come out when the time is right. It’s not my decision to make, so I just smile and think about my baby, already so damn excited to meet the little guy or girl.

“I know. It’s crazy,” I agree because it is, but it’s also so fucking perfect.

“I’m happy for you. Lara’s perfect for you.” He smiles and nudges my shoulder with his. “Better be good to my cousin.”

“I will.” I laugh and scrub a hand over my face. “I still can’t believe she’s your cousin.”

“Same, and I also can’t believe my mom went through all that shit and I had no idea about it. There’s too many fucking secrets in this family.”

“Not anymore,” I say, and then add, “well, not as many,” because we both know his relationship with Yelena is a pretty big one.

“Progress,” he says, giving a soft laugh. “Old habits die hard. Maybe by the time your kids are grown, everything will be out in the open.”

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