Page 33 of Secret Bratva Baby
But Lily comes running across his path, practically making him trip over her as she squeals and giggles in delight.
“Who is this?” Ark says tightly, staring down at the tiny person glaring back up at him with her hands on her hips.
“It’s Lily.” She stomps her foot.
“Okay,” Ark says, still confused. “Does a Lily eat pizza?” he asks, scrunching his nose at her.
“Yes,” she nods vigorously.
Ark glances over his shoulder to look at me and a very confused Yilian.
“Did you know about this tiny human being here?” he asks Yil.
“No.”
They both look at me as Rose walks into the room.
“Oh,” she stammers.
“Rose, these are two of my brothers. Arkady and Yilian.”
“Hello.” She smiles tensely. They greet her, and for a moment, we all stand there saying nothing.
Lily is the one who breaks the ice by shouting, “Pizza!”
“Pizza!” Ark shouts back, throwing me another frown before he walks into the dining room.
“I’ll get plates,” Rose says, darting out of there, eager for an excuse to get away.
In the dining room, my brothers are watching Lily as she stands on a chair, scouting over each open pizza box, trying to decide which one she wants. Ark has his hand on her back to steady her. They look like they’re making a very intense decision.
Yilian whispers, “Did you know she had a child?”
I sigh; there’s no point in messing around with this whole situation. I may as well get straight to the point.
“She’s my daughter,” I say, causing them both to snap their heads towards me and glare at me with wide-eyed disbelief.
“No way,” Arkady says, laughing.
“Did you know?” Yilian hisses.
“No. Not until last night.”
“You have a freaking kid?” Arkady is finding this very amusing for some reason.
Rose walks in carrying plates.
Everyone looks at her at the same time, and Lily shouts, “That one,” pointing to the pizza with chili on it.
I walk around to where she and Ark and standing. “That one is spicy in your mouth.”
“That one,” she insists.
“I think you should taste a tiny bit before you choose it.”
Rose hasn’t said anything. She sits watching this all unfold, her eyes brushing over each of my brothers.
I break off a tiny piece of pizza, tasting it first to gauge the spice level before handing a small piece to Lily.
