Page 113 of Born into Blood

I nudge his shoulder again. “By the time our kids are grown,” I tell him. “My kids are going to need cousins to play with.”

He nods but doesn’t say anything, and when Sasha and Damien come walking in, asking if anyone is up for a game of pool. Val and I take them up on it. It may not be the bachelor party that most men envision, but strippers were never my thing. I’d much rather hang out with my brother and cousins on my last night as an unmarried man. I’m more than ready to step into the role as Lara’s husband, and I’m already wishing we’d done away with this stupid tradition of spending the night apart, because the truth is I fucking miss her like crazy. She’d wanted to spend the night with her mom, though, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that I can’t deny Lara a damn thing. That woman owns me, body and soul, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The next afternoon, I’m buttoning up my dress shirt when my mom knocks on the door. She takes one look at me before her eyes start to water and she lets out a shaky breath, crossing the distance so she can give me a hug.

Lifting her head, she cups my face and says, “I can’t believe you’re getting married.” When she sees me struggle with the buttons at my wrist, she smiles and takes over.

“Have you seen Lara? Everyone’s been making damn sure I don’t get a peek of her before the wedding.”

My mom laughs and starts on my other wrist. “I have, and she looks so beautiful, Luka. She’s beaming, honey, just like you.”

I smile even bigger as she grabs my tux jacket and helps me into it, smoothing it out as she walks around me, making sure everything looks perfect.

“Thanks, Mom,” I tell her, and when she looks like she’s going to start crying again, I laugh and give her another hug. “Don’t start crying yet. We haven’t even started the wedding.”

“I know. I’ve been crying all morning,” she admits. “I’m just so happy for you.” She takes a deep breath to try and get herself under control and then pins a red rose to my jacket. “Perfect,” she whispers right before Damien and my dad walk in. Seeing all three of us in tuxes has her reaching for her phone as more tears start to fall. “I need a picture, lots of them.”

My dad stands in the middle, an arm around each son as we smile at my mom and she takes photos until my dad finally laughs and says, “Get your sweet ass over here, solnishka. It’s not a family photo without you.”

My mom laughs and steps into his arms. We squeeze in, taking selfies until we’re all laughing. We hired a professional photographer, but these are the kinds of photos we all prefer, the silly, candid ones, the same exact type of picture that I can’t wait to fill our apartment with.

“Okay, Son,” my dad says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders again, “let’s go get you married.”

My mom wraps my brother and me in a big hug before taking a few more quick photos of us. “Okay, I’m done,” she says, giving a soft laugh as she wipes away a few tears.

“No, you’re not,” my dad teases while wrapping his arms around her. “We haven’t even started the wedding ceremony, solnishka. No way are you done with photos or tears.”

“Yeah, who am I kidding,” my mom says, smiling up at my dad. “I’m going to be a mess all day.”

“A beautiful, perfect mess,” my dad corrects before kissing her. He cups her face and brushes away her tears. “Let’s go watch our son get married.”

She smiles even bigger and nods her head before my dad turns back to me and Damien. “I’ll see you out there.” He cups the back of my neck and pulls me in for a hug.

“Thanks for agreeing to walk Lara down the aisle, Dad. It means a lot to her, to both of us.”

“I’m happy to do it.” He pats my cheek, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear he’s getting teary-eyed like my mom. Before he gives into it, he shakes his head and smiles. “I used to be a pretty tough bastard,” he says with a laugh, “but then I met your mom and the next thing I know there’s a tiny baby in my arms and then your brother comes along and now I’m the kind of guy who cries at weddings. Jesus,” he groans while my mom laughs and wraps her arms around him.

“You’re still a tough bastard,” she tells him, and she’s not wrong. My dad is one brutal fucker when he needs to be, but like the rest of us, he turns soft when he’s with his family. I’m grateful that I haven’t been raised to see that as a weakness. It’s a strength. It’s what helps us do the things we need to do to keep our families safe, and it ensures that we always will. Family comes first. Always. Because without them, we’re nothing.

“We’re going to be late,” my brother warns us. He holds up his phone to show the string of clock emojis Val just sent him.

“Okay, best man,” I tell him, smacking him on the back. “Let’s do this.”

I walk out with them, and when my dad veers off to find Lara, I head out with my mom and brother. The yard has been completely transformed. I’d been worried about Lara getting too hot, so an enormous white tent is set up to shield us from the sun. Everywhere I look are flowers and fairy lights. My aunts and uncles take up the first few rows, along with Dominic and his two cousins, and the rest of the seats are filled with Bratva members. Evgeny escorts my mom to her seat in the very front right before Niki leads Chloe down the aisle. We didn’t divide the seating up, so Chloe takes the seat next to my Aunt Katya, giving her a big smile as she does so. Lara’s mom still has a long way to go, but she’s going to therapy and is determined to get better. Lara briefly thought about asking her mom to walk her down the aisle, but she was afraid that might trigger something and set her progress back, which is the last thing any of us wants, so she’d asked my dad instead, and he’d been more than happy to step into that role.

I go to take my place next to the officiant while my brother hangs back so he can walk down with Sveta. She’d been more than happy to say yes when Lara asked her to be her maid of honor. Yelena, Natalya, and Mia are her bridesmaids. I’d asked Val, Max, and Sasha to be my groomsmen, and when I see Damien and Sveta standing near the entrance to the tent, soft music starts to play as my heart races in my chest.

Damien takes his place right beside me while Val and Yelena walk down the aisle together. She grips the arm he holds out for her, and the smile on her face could light this whole tent up. I’d put them together on purpose. It’s my way of telling him that it’s going to happen, and that when it does, I’ll have his back throughout all of it.

I watch as Max and Natalya make their way down, smiling when Isabella sees her mom and gives a loud squeal in Dominic’s lap, and then Sasha and Mia are finishing out the line until there’s only one person missing.

My breath hitches and my heart skips a beat when I see my dad step out with Lara. She’s so beautiful. Her dress is strapless, showing off just enough skin to make my damn mouth water. After getting her tattoos, she’s become a lot more confident, no longer feeling the need to always cover up, and I’m so goddamn proud of her. She keeps her arm linked through my dad’s as he leads her down the aisle while keeping her eyes locked on mine.

Stopping before me, he turns to give her a hug and then kisses her cheek before taking her hand and putting it in mine. Our eyes meet, and I can see how proud my dad is and how much it means to him to be sharing this moment with us, and if I’m not careful, I’m going to end up crying like a damn baby.

Before I can break down, he takes his seat, and I put my focus on the woman in front of me. My love, my best friend, the woman carrying my baby—my whole fucking world is standing right in from of me, and I’ll be damned if I can remember a single word the officiant says.

My brother has to nudge me to give me the rings, and when I’m finally allowed to kiss my wife, I swear time fucking stands still as soon as my lips touch hers. Nothing else exists in this moment except us. The warmth of her body pressed against mine, the soft lips that drive me fucking crazy, and the soft little whimper she gives when I cup her face and deepen the kiss are all I care about. This woman is my entire world, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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