Til Death Do Us Part (Kornilov Bratva Duet #2) - Nicole Fox Page 0,92
them in the closet by the front door. It used to be where my full-time security team set up shop, but now it hardly gets any use, so we use it more as a coat closet.
“I know, I’m so sorry. I got to talking with Hannah and Niamh about Niamh’s upstairs bathroom remodel, and we lost track of time.”
“Bathroom?” Viktor asks. “I thought you were doing the library.”
“We are, but we’re almost finished with that. Now, Niamh wants the bathroom done, too.”
“Seamus loves that, I’m sure,” Viktor says, sarcasm thick in his voice.
I pad barefoot into the kitchen, expecting to see Viktor, but he isn’t in there. I grab a glass from the cabinet and fill it with water, leaning back against the counter to drink it.
“Seamus doesn’t have much of a say.”
Viktor laughs and then hesitates. Even from a room away, I can feel his tension. “And things with Hannah are okay?”
Viktor still hates Hannah. He doesn’t trust her or forgive her, and I understand his anger, but I don’t feel the same way. She made a mistake under serious duress and then did her best to fix it. She kept her distance for weeks after everything happened, but just last week she called me to talk. We spent two hours on the phone that night and again the next night. Eventually, we went for coffee and then lunch. Now, she has been helping me with Niamh’s remodel projects. Niamh hasn’t come out and said it directly, but I know she has a soft spot for Hannah. Niamh has a soft spot for anything that needs a little work, interior design related or otherwise. She likes to fix things up, and Hannah is the perfect project.
“They are great,” I say. “She has been a big help with the library, and she and Niamh are really hitting it off.”
“Great.” Again, his sarcasm is obvious, but I ignore him. Either he’ll come to stand Hannah or he won’t. But either way, he’ll have to deal with her presence in my life.
I set my glass in the sink and walk into the living room. “What did you and Theo do for dinner?”
I expect him to be lounging on the couch, but he isn’t there.
“Where are you?” I ask, spinning in a circle. Just as I’m finishing the full three-sixty, I see him standing in the doorway to the balcony wearing a pair of dress pants and the blue cashmere sweater I tell him brings out the color of his eyes. He has a red rose in his hands.
I blink at him, stunned by how handsome he is, and shake my head. “What are you doing?”
He smiles, effectively stopping my heart, and nods for me to come closer. “I think you already have a good idea.”
My heart is hammering against my ribs as I cross the room to stand in front of him. He bends down and brushes a soft kiss against my lips before stepping to the side and revealing the candlelit dinner on the balcony. There is sparkling grape juice—since my pregnancy doesn’t allow for champagne—and two covered plates of food. But the thing that catches my eye is the little velvet box on the edge of the table. Viktor reaches for it and turns back to me, his throat bobbing as he swallows down his nerves.
“Viktor,” I say, tears already welling in my eyes.
He holds up a hand and shakes his head. “Hold yourself together or else I’ll lose it, too.” He pulls a folded-up piece of paper from his pocket and waves it in front of me. “I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget.”
Silent tears are rolling down my cheeks as he unfolds the paper and begins to read.
“Molly,” he starts, looking at me with soft blue eyes. “I’ve given a version of this speech twice before. I laid out the practical reasons why you should marry me for the safety of yourself and our children. I made good arguments that I stand behind, but the thing I failed to mention in both proposals is the depth of my love for you. So, here’s hoping the third time is the charm.”
I choke back a sob, and Viktor reaches out and grabs my hand, smoothing his thumb over my knuckles.
“From the first moment I saw you and Theo, I wanted nothing more than to take care of you. For a long time, I thought it was because I wanted to make right the crimes of the past, but now,