Chapter Thirty-One

“This has to be a prank, one.”

“No, it’s a real one.”

“Are you sure it shows two pink lines?”

“I’m not lying to you, Kyle,” Violet said with a giggle. “Are you going to tell Dimitri?”

“Not right now—what if something goes wrong?”

“Then you’ll go through it together.”

“I want this to be special for him; he’s been hoping for this.”

“Plan a special date night for him. I also think you need to hold off on telling Max until after Dimitri knows.”

“Until Dimitri knows what?” Dimitri asked while walking into the room with Evie.

“Nothing!” Kyle blurted out.

Dimitri raised his eyebrow at her and sat Evie in her crib.

“Well, I’ll leave you guys alone.”

“Anatoli is in the kitchen.” Violet waved goodbye and quickly left the room.

“What are you up to, ~myshka~?”

“Nothing.”

“Hmm, it seems like something. What do you have behind your back?”

“I don’t want to show you—at least not yet.”

Dimitri walked up to her and kissed her, and when her body relaxed into the kiss, he grabbed her arm quickly, yanking the pregnancy test out of her hand.

“Dimitri!”

“Is this yours or Violet’s?”

“It’s mine. I wanted to surprise you.” She let out a sigh. “And now I can’t.”

“You just found out?”

“Yes, right before you walked in.”

“Why didn’t you tell me your period was late?”

“I wasn’t sure if it was late or I was just being stupid. You know my cycles are irregular, so it’s hard to tell.”

Kyle waited for Dimitri to say something, but he stared at the test.

“I thought you would be happy.”

“I am! I’m just shocked that it finally happened.”

Dimitri started laughing. “Anatoli was downstairs panicking because of this. He knew Violet bought it, and he thought she was pregnant.

“You should have seen him once he knew Violet was out of earshot.”

“You really like seeing him stress out, don’t you?”

“Gotta have fun somehow . . . Come here.”

“I’m so happy. Thank you for this. I know I ruined the way you wanted to tell me, but this is perfect. It’s perfect because it’s you and me; it’s ideal because we created it. I love you.”

“I love you too. Are you going to tell Anatoli that Violet’s not pregnant?”

“I like seeing him stress; he’ll figure it out soon. How about we leave Evie in here to nap, and we go celebrate?”

“What did you have in mind?” Kyle asked seductively.

“Follow me and find out, ~myshka~.”

***

“Do you think he knows?”

“He probably knows something's up, but to be honest, he probably forgot about his birthday; he never wanted to celebrate.”

“Do you think he’ll mind?” Kyle asked Dimitri.

“It’s from you, ~myshka~—he’ll be happy.”

“So you and Evie will go stay with Anatoli and Violet, and you’re sure you don’t mind?”

“Stop worrying. It’s not good for you or the baby. Don’t worry about me. Enjoy your time with Max.” Dimitri leaned over and kissed Kyle.

Kyle waited patiently for Max to get home that night. He was out on a job, and Max had told her that he would be back by dinnertime.

When thirty minutes had passed, Kyle started to get worried and upset. Her plan was failing. Just as she was getting ready to put dinner up, she heard the front door open.

Max walked past the dining room to head up the stairs but quickly stopped when he noticed Kyle out of the corner of his eye.

“What is this, little bee?”

“Happy Birthday, Max!”

Max looked at the table set for two; it was one of his favorite meals from his childhood, Kotleti.

“You made this?”

“Yes, but it’s cold now, so it may not taste as good.”

“I’m so sorry. We can reheat it.”

Max felt horrible. She had asked him if he would be home for dinner and he said yes, not thinking anything about her asking for a special reason.

He realized she hadn’t just planned dinner; there was a small gift sitting by his plate, and Kyle was dressed in a low-cut red dress.

Max took both plates into the kitchen, warmed them up, and went back to the dining room.

They quietly started eating, and Kyle was getting nervous at the lack of conversation; she was afraid that he wouldn’t like the gift. She always found Max hard to read.

“You can open your gift if you want to.”

Max smiled at her and grabbed the small box and carefully opened it. When Max saw what it was, he was speechless. It was a pocket watch with a picture of his parents.

“I found the photo when I was going through some things.”

“I love it. I actually haven’t seen this picture before.”

“I found another one that I’m keeping for Dimitri’s present.”

“This is the best birthday gift ever, Kyle.”

“I have one more . . . I’m pregnant.”

Max couldn’t contain the grin on his face.

“I’m assuming Dimitri knows.”

“Unfortunately, he ruined my surprise, but yes, he knows.”

Max left his seat and walked around the table, kneeling in front of Kyle.

“You’re amazing,” he said as he kissed her.

“You know what being pregnant means, right?”

Kyle giggled at the confusion on Max’s face. She leaned toward him and whispered in his ear, “No more condoms.”

Max grunted and pulled her to him, assaulting her lips.

“I’ll put the food away, and you’d better be waiting for me upstairs in five minutes.”

Kyle stood up and tried to move, but Max kept her in place. Max looked at her and kissed her again.

“Five minutes. If you’re not ready, you’ll be punished.”

Kyle grinned. She knew Max liked to give punishments, so she thought to herself that maybe she wouldn’t be ready; perhaps she wanted to be punished and let Max have his way.

As she made her way upstairs, she realized that she had never been happier in her life. Max and Dimitri were a blessing.

A blessing she didn’t know she needed or wanted, and she wouldn’t change her life for anything.