Page 66 of The Bratva's Innocent Pregnant Bride
When Paisley noticed Katie, she jumped up, apologizing profusely even though she had nothing to be sorry for. Her eyes welled up as she nearly broke down, once again blaming herselffor the bomb. More of my cousins realized we were back and gathered around to greet her and make sure she was all right.
Rurik raised his eyes in question. “You look different,” he said. Mat slapped both of us on the shoulders.
“He is different,” he said, acting like he knew everything because he was older and had found the woman of his dreams.
He was right, though, and I only nodded, unable to take my eyes off Paisley, who was clearly getting overwhelmed by all the attention.
“Come with me,” I said, pulling her away and leading her outside where a fire blazed in the firepit. “I don’t want to hear the word sorry out of your mouth again,” I told her.
She forced a smile. “Never? That’s handy.”
“Maybe not never, but how about not when you have nothing to apologize for. I already told you we’ve been fighting with those assholes for a while now.”
Lilia came out with a tray of hot cocoa and some sandwiches. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said, squeezing Paisley’s shoulder. “You too,” she told me as an after thought.
“Lilia knows I’ve been through worse,” I explained to Paisley. Lilia sucked in a breath, but I told her that Paisley knew everything there was to know about us now.
“Really?” my cousin asked, a slow smile transforming her face to one of barely concealed glee. “Everything? Even the time you lost that shipment of vodka and—”
“Enough,” I said, cutting her off before she listed every embarrassing thing I ever did and destroyed my image.
Lilia grinned, beaming at both of us before she ran back in the house. Everyone was genuinely fond of Paisley and Iswelled with pride. She still looked dazed and her hand shook as she reached for a sandwich.
“Stop being so jumpy,” I said, handing her one.
“Stop being so bossy,” she countered.
“Probably not going to happen.” Her smile was more relaxed but her shoulders were still tense. I reached for her hand, which lay cold and still in mine. Something was still bothering her. “We only kill people who mess with us,” I said, trying for a joke.
It fell flat. “I’m okay with what you do,” she said.
“You are?”
She looked at me, as surprised as I was. “Before you showed up at the warehouse, I wanted Pierce dead. I was picturing it so vividly. I guess everyone has that in them somewhere if they’re pushed far enough.”
“I won’t let you have to feel that way again,” I said.
She smiled wistfully, as if she believed me but it still didn’t matter for some reason. She jolted again when Masha stuck her head out the door. “We were all planning on going into town to ice skate,” she said. “And more last minute shopping of course. You want to join us?”
I didn’t have to look at Paisley to know the answer. “No,” I called back. “Good to know nobody was worrying about us enough to ruin your plans.”
Masha made a face. “We just made the plans this morning, dickhead. After you told us everything was fine. I can assure you we were all pacing and sobbing up until that point.” She turned and flounced back into the house.
I was glad we could act normal around each other again now that I was over my aversion to her husband. He shouldn’t have had to prove himself and Masha’s word should have been enough. I really probably owed her an apology, but there was time for that.
Paisley looked like she would burst into tears all over again, her sandwich forgotten on the plate on her lap.
“She was joking about the pacing and sobbing, but everyone really was worried,” I told her. “Nobody blames you. You’re one of us now.”
She huffed, slamming her plate back onto the table beside us. “No I’m not. I can’t be,” she said, staring into the dancing flames as if she wished she could crawl into them and disappear.
I was stunned. Here I thought I was being completely obvious about how I felt about her. But she still didn’t get it. I took her by the shoulders and turned her to face me. One look at her eyes had me pulling her closer.
“Yes, you are,” I said. “Because you’re mine. We’re together now. You and me.”
She jerked away, laughing bitterly, refusing to look at me again. “You won’t be so quick to want me when I tell you what’s really been making me sick.”
Ice filled my veins. I knew from the moment I saw her in that examination room that she was holding something back. If she hadn’t been injured during her abduction, something had to be really wrong. An incurable sickness. I was going to lose her.
