Page 32 of Paved in Venom

“You all seem pretty excited about the baby.”

The smile comes easily when I say, “We are. The poor little thing is going to have the most overbearing uncles on the planet.”

Simona laughs. “He or she is very lucky to have you all.”

I think about the little baby who will be here before we all know it, and for the first time, I feel a stab of jealousy. I’m thrilled for Roman, but this is the first time I’ve envied him. Pushing the thought aside because I have no idea what to do with it, I ask, “So what did you order?”

“I got some pants and shirts.”

Something about the way she says it has me raising a brow. “What exactly did you get?”

She stalls by taking her last bite and then finishes her coffee. Grabbing my plate, she gets up and walks across the island to the sink.

“I told you what I got.”

I walk over to help her load the dishwasher. “How much did you spend?”

“Not much,” she quickly says. “And I can pay you back.”

“Fuck, that’s not what I mean. I’m guessing you didn’t spend near enough.” I grab my phone and pull up my bank’s app. When I see the newest transaction of $85, I let out a laugh and shut the dishwasher. Grabbing her arm, I lead her back to the stairs.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to help you get what you need.”

“I got what I needed,” she protests.

“Not even close, sladkaya.”

I bring her back into my room and sit her ass back down in my lap. With my arms around her, I pull up the site and look at my past orders. I let out a harsh laugh when I see what she got.

“Are you kidding me, Simona? One pair of jeans, two shirts, and some panties and a bra?”

“It’s enough for now,” she says. “It didn’t feel right to spend more of your money. You’ve already spent so much on me.” She turns to look at me. “Remember? You’re out 3.5 million because of me.”

“Like I give a fuck about money.” I give her a wink. “I’m a hacker, baby. I’ll just steal more.”

She smiles at the endearment before turning back to the screen.

“You’re not allowed out of my lap until you spend at least five thousand dollars.”

“What? I’ve never spent that much at one time in my life, Danil.”

“Well, get used to it. Start shopping.” I kiss her shoulder. “Or not. I like you in my lap, so I have no problem if you want to take your time and stay here all day.”

“You say that now. Just wait till I put your leg to sleep.”

I laugh and move my leg, giving her a soft bounce. “Never going to happen,” I tell her.

She smiles but doesn’t say anything. I watch as she slowly starts to pick things out. When she starts to aimlessly search from one thing to the next, I say, “Don’t forget shoes.”

When she immediate searches for Converse All Stars, I smile even bigger. I like learning about her, her likes and dislikes. She spends an insane amount of time flipping through the colors before I laugh and say, “Why not get all the colors you want?”

She chews her bottom lip and picks out three different colors, but I get the distinct impression that she wants more, so when she tries to leave the page, I reach around and use the trackpad to throw five other colors into the cart.

“You’re crazy,” she says.

I kiss her cheek. “You wanted them, so I’m going to make damn sure you get them. Don’t forget everything else, too, like bathroom stuff, lotions, perfumes, all that good stuff, a watch if you want one, anything you want.” I look at the subtotal. “You’ve got a long way to go.”

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