Chapter Eleven

The loud ringing of a cell phone startled Dimitri awake. It took him a few seconds to realize it was his phone.

“Hello?”

Dimitri talking on the phone woke up Kyle.

“Do you know who it was?”

Dimitri’s voice sounded concerned, and she hated that she was only getting part of the conversation.

“We can fly out later today. Are you sure you have everything under control?”

“I’ll let you know when our flight leaves. Bye.”

“What happened?” Kyle asked.

“The house was attacked. The back of it was set on fire.”

“Is everyone all right?”

“Yes, but we need to leave as soon as we can. Go back to sleep. I’m going to go wake Max up, and if Evie wakes up, we’ll take care of her.”

Kyle ended up falling back to sleep, only to be woken up a few hours later by Max telling her to get ready to leave and that everything had been packed.

She was going to miss Russia and wasn’t in a hurry to head home. She felt at peace here, and Max and Dimitri opened up to her, showing her a glimpse into their past.

“Where’s Evie?” she asked sleepily.

“Believe it or not, Anatoli is feeding her.”

Kyle smiled. She was happy that Anatoli was spending time with Evie. She hoped that Anatoli would be another uncle figure to her, maybe even her godfather.

***

“I thought she would be a bit fussy on the plane, but I never thought she would scream so much.” Kyle looked over at Max and Dimitri after loading up in the car. “I am so glad she is sleeping now.”

“I’m not going to lie, that was miserable,” Dimitri said, wiping his face with his hand.

“Mike sent me some pictures of the house, and there is a lot of damage to the back of it. We’ll have guys coming in first thing tomorrow to start looking at what needs to be done.”

“How is Evie’s room?”

“Unfortunately, little bee, it was damaged.”

“I’m glad we weren’t home for it; all of us asleep in that area.”

“I think it was meant to scare us more than anything else.”

***

The house was busy the next morning with people coming in and out, assessing the damage and starting on the plan to fix everything.

“How long is all this going to take?” she asked Dimitri.

“A few weeks.”

Kyle sighed; she knew it was going to be horrible for Evie’s nap time.

“I’m taking you out tonight. You’ll need to dress up.”

“Just you and me?”

“Yes, Max will be with Evie.”

“We haven’t been away from her before.”

“It’s only dinner, ~myshka~.”

***

Kyle fed Evie and then took her time getting ready.

She made sure to wear a dress that Dimitri had bought her, and while it was a bit tight due to the gained baby weight, she loved the figure it gave her.

“Are you ready?” Dimitri asked her, walking into the room.

“I just want to give Evie a kiss goodnight, and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

A few minutes later, Kyle met Dimitri downstairs.

“So, where are we going?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

Dimitri guided Kyle to the car parked outside and helped in.

“You look beautiful, ~myshka~,” he whispered in her ear as she slid in.

“So, you really won’t tell me?”

“You’ll know where we’re going if you pay attention.”

Kyle concentrated on the landscape as they were heading down the road. It didn’t take long for her to realize they were heading to the place where he first took her.

“Are you really taking me to the beach house?”

Dimitri smiled at her. “I thought it would be nice to have dinner at the place where it all started for us.”

Kyle loved how sweet Dimitri could be. They may have their fights, but she knew he loved her, and she loved him.

Dimitri had the driver park the car at their beach house and led Kyle down by the water, where a table with candles and food was waiting for them.

“Dimitri, this is beautiful.”

Kyle took a seat while Dimitri poured the wine and uncovered the food.

“You didn’t have to do all of this.”

“I know, but I wanted tonight to be special for us.”

Kyle started on the meal that was in front of her. It wasn’t anything special; it was grilled chicken, green beans, and shrimp.

“Thank you for doing this?”

“We’ve come a long way, and I’m glad you’re still with us.”

“The whole situation was a nightmare. I wanted to hate you and Max, but I was intrigued by the two of you. I should have tried to fight you guys off, but I wanted both of you.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Dimitri said with a smile. “Are you finished eating?”

“I am.”

“Let’s go for a walk.”

Dimitri took Kyle’s hand in his, and they began walking down the shoreline.

“It’s so nice here. Why can’t our family live here?”

“We never considered it. We like it as a vacation house, even though it’s not far, but if you really want to live here, I think we can convince Max.”

“Can we stop here for a minute?”

They stopped in front of the pier that Kyle and Dimitri first made out under, and Dimitri let go of Kyle’s hand and went down to one knee.

“I wanted to do this in Russia, but doing this here is better. I love you, Kyle. You make me happy; you are giving me a chance at having a family—something I wasn’t sure I wanted until I met you.

“You’re smart and kind, and you balance not only me, but Max as well. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me, ~myshka~?”

Kyle was surprised; she thought something was up, but she didn’t know either of them were ready for marriage.

“Yes!”

Dimitri jumped up and kissed her as he slid the ring on her finger.

“I love you,” she whispered against his lips as he continued to kiss her.