Page 105 of The Brutal Arrangement

Maxim nodded. “I’m glad you have each other too. That’s just one more reason we’re getting married tomorrow.” He gave her a stern look. “Then you’ll really be sisters.”

Sloane shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “Maxim, that’s ridiculous.”

“No, it’s not.”

Damon and I glanced at each other, surprised by this turn of events. When I asked Sloane about when she and Maxim would marry, she only replied that they hadn’t set a date yet because she wouldn’t marry him until Nik was home. It only seemed right, and I thought that was sweet of her to want Maxim to have his whole family there for the event.

“It is,” Sloane argued.

“And I’m saying it’s not.” Maxim ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t handle that fucking heart-attack-like panic of another pregnancy scare?—”

“But it wasn’t a scare! Nothing happened. Lucy and you all just assumed and?—”

“No, Sloane.” He gripped her chin and kissed her hard to silence her. “We’re getting married tomorrow. I don’t want to live with the fear of losing you or our baby and not have you bemine.”

“I understand that, I do. But?—”

“We’re getting married tomorrow,” he repeated. “I want to make sure that you are mine, legally, so you are protected no matter what scares pop up. I have to make sure this baby will be safe with my name too.”

I frowned, wondering if more of Maxim’s protectiveness was because of what happened to me earlier than Sloane’s non-scare. I had been whisked downstairs, accused of being a spy, solely because I’d come from somewhere else, from an enemy’s turf. Sloane wasn’t an insider to these Mafia people, either. Shecame from somewhere else, an outsider, and maybe Maxim was reacting with a slight fear or worry that someone could target her like that and oust her. That seemed far-fetched, but there was no reasoning with a protective man. I’d learned that lesson.

And usually, they were right.

“We are marrying tomorrow,” Maxim said. “Just in case.”

Once they confirmed that they’d be home soon, we disconnected the call and Damon put his phone on the nightstand to cuddle me again.

But cuddling didn’t soothe me. I was still tooonand awake as I thought back to that call and the news that we’d be having a wedding tomorrow.

“Can’t sleep?” Damon asked after a long while of silence.

I jolted a bit, convinced he was sleeping all this time with how still he was and how even his breaths were. “No.”

“Me neither.”

I rubbed his arm that he kept over my side. “I keep thinking about what happened today.”

“Me too.” He leaned up to peer down at me. “And I’m glad that you’re mine.”

I smiled and kissed him as I rolled toward him instead of being spooned. “And I’m glad you’re mine.”

“No, I mean it in the sense that we’re already married. That our baby is secure with the Ivanov protection.” He glowered off to the side and shook his head. “Not that you’ll be thinking much of the Ivanov protection after today…”

“Stop.” I kissed him and snuggled close. “What happened with your father is a unique thing. And I’m not horrified by it. Remember that I have experience with this, Damon. With my mom and seeing other patients suffering from things that seem similar to how your father is.”

He nodded, sighing and holding me close. “But I’ll never forgive myself?—”

I kissed him harder. “There is nothing to forgive you for. What happened wasn’t your fault. Or mine. That’s the end of it.”

“Oh, is it?”

I smiled since he was starting to grin. “I want it to be the end of it.”

“Fine. I’ll try to move past it. If you insist.” He kissed my temple.

“You’ll have to. Because it sounds like we’re going to be too busy with planning a wedding tomorrow.”

“It feels weird to be celebrating something when Nik isn’t here.” He rubbed my arm, comforting me with that steady touch. His hands were capable of so much harm, but with me, always love and tenderness like this.

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