Two months later
December 23
In a nod to the newfound—and now stable peace and even a growing friendship among our three families—Luca and Sofia, Caterina and Viktor, Liam and Ana, and Connor and I all decided to get a cabin in the Catskills mountains for Christmas. We’ve spent two weeks up here, sitting around the fire, spending time with Caterina and Viktor’s two children, Anika and Yelena, and growing closer as the holidays approach. Some of us took advantage of the perfect, glorious snow outside to hike and ski—with me keeping to the bunny slopes this time—while Caterina, Sofia, and Ana opted to stay inside, considering how pregnant they were. Sofia is on the verge of giving birth any day now, her hospital bag with us just in case, and Caterina is close to her due date as well, only two months behind Sofia. Despite her scare, Ana’s pregnancy has stayed healthy afterward, and she’s taken it easy the entire time she’s been here, letting us all dote on her.
I’ve found, with our differences set aside, that I get along better with Sofia and Ana than I would have ever thought. I’ve found myself looking forward to a future with our families, holidays together, and raising our children. As I sit next to the fire with Connor, a mug of warm cider in my hand as his rests on my knee, the Christmas tree twinkling in the corner with gifts beneath it, and Anika and Yelena playing on the rug as the other adults sit around chatting, I feel a sense of peace and fulfillment that I’ve never known before.
This is what it means to be happy,I realize, and I turn towards Connor, leaning over to kiss him.
He returns it, soft and gentle, and smiles at me as I pull away. “What was that for?” he asks teasingly.
“I was just thinking that I love you,” I whisper, leaning against him as the fire crackles and pops, and he squeezes my knee.
“I love you, too.”
“Um—” Sofia’s voice breaks through our conversation suddenly, slightly high-pitched with alarm. “Not to ruin the moment, but—I think my water just broke.”
The speed with which everyone jumps into action is incredible. Liam is instantly on his feet, finding Sofia’s bag as Luca calls for the car and driver, Ana and Caterina and myself hovering next to her while Viktor and Connor help Liam and Luca. When the car pulls in front of the cabin, Luca puts an arm around his grimacing wife, taking the bag from Liam.
“I’ll call you as soon as we’re at the hospital,” Luca says. “And once we know what’s happening.”
“I’m coming too,” Ana says firmly, and Liam looks at her.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea—” he starts to say, and she glares at him with the fiercest look I’ve ever seen on her delicate face.
“I’m going with my best friend,” she repeats, and Liam sighs.
“Alright, Luca, I think we’re both coming along. We’ll call you,” he adds, looking back at Viktor, Caterina, Connor, and me.
The atmosphere in the cabin turns hushed and tense, Caterina doing her best to distract her stepdaughters so that they don’t realize how worried we all are. Sofia is healthy, but there’s always the possibility of something going wrong. It feels as if it takes forever before Luca calls to let us know they’re at the hospital and longer—into the next morning before he calls again. Anika and Yelena are still in bed, the four of us curled up on couches in the living room with hot coffee and cocoa, anxiously waiting to hear the news.
Viktor puts Luca on speaker, and we can hear the emotion in his voice as it comes over the line.
“I have a healthy son,” he says, and we can hear the faint cry in the background. “Giovanni Marco Romano, for Sofia’s father and mine.”
“That’s wonderful news,” we start to say in unison, and then Caterina lets out a small, frightened cry.
“Shit,” she whispers, grabbing for Viktor. “That might have been a false contraction, but—”
“Maybe not,” Viktor finishes for her. “The stress—” He looks at Connor, and I know what they’re both thinking. The fact that Caterina didn’t miscarry during her brutal kidnapping and captivity in Russia was a miracle enough—it’s not surprising that her baby might come early. “We’ve got to get to the hospital,” he says urgently. “Connor, can you call the other car? I’m going to get her things.”
“We’ll stay with Anika and Yelena,” I tell him firmly. “And we’ll bring them to the hospital later.”
“Thank you,” Caterina says with relief, her face screwed up with pain as she holds her stomach. “Viktor, we need to hurry.”
Once they’re on the road, Connor makes breakfast while I wake up Anika and Yelena. “Your mom is having her baby,” I tell them gently, once they’re both fully awake. “You’re going to have a new little brother or sister.”
Anika looks calm, but Yelena starts to cry. “Is she going to die?” she whimpers, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. “Like our first mama?”
“No,” I tell her firmly, praying it’s true and that Caterina and her baby will be safe. “She’s going to be just fine. We’re going to go see her later, but first, we need to eat, okay? Uncle Connor is making you breakfast.”
I help them get dressed and situated at the table, and Connor serves up pancakes and bacon and eggs with hot cocoa. The girls dig in, their worries temporarily forgotten, and he smiles at me, pulling me close for a kiss as his hand rests on my slightly swollen stomach.
“You’re a natural at this,” he tells me. “I can’t wait to see you withourbaby.”
He kisses me again, and I hear a fake gagging sound at the table. “Gross,” Anika declares, glaring at us. “I’m trying to eat.”
Connor and I look at each other, both bursting into laughter as Anika goes back to her breakfast.