She smiles at my compliment and hands Dima a stack of plates. I get out of their way and walk over to where Sergei is smiling in Jamie’s lap. His face lights up even more when he sees me, and he kicks his feet and gums his fist when I sit down next to them.
“Hey, Jamie,” I say, reaching out to grab onto one of Sergei’s feet. “How have you been doing?”
She laughs when Sergei lets out an excited squeal. “Okay, okay, it’s obvious who the favorite is.” She gives his head a kiss and holds him out to me. “I think he wants his Uncle Kolya.”
I happily take him, settling him in my lap so he’s looking out at everyone. I rest one hand firmly on his belly so he can’t wiggle away and look over at Jamie and Aleksei.
“I’m doing good,” she answers now that I’m settled. She leans back into Aleksei who immediately wraps his arms around her. “I’m over halfway done with school, so that’s nice.”
“Do you know where you’re going to open your salon at?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“There’s a really awesome spot that just came up for sale,” Aleksei says, kissing the top of her head. “Great location and big enough for everything she wants to do.”
“Have you put in an offer yet?”
“Not yet,” Jamie says, eyeing Aleksei over her shoulder as if they’ve had this discussion a million times.
“We’re going to put something in very soon,” Aleksei says.
Jamie looks at me and rolls her eyes, giving me a big smile. The two have been inseparable ever since they started dating, and I know I’m not the only one shocked by it. Aleksei was always someone I thought would never settle down, but I haven’t even seen him glance at another woman since setting eyes on Jamie.
Sergei starts to gnaw on my hand, making me laugh and kiss the top of his head, marveling at how silky soft his dark hair is. I turn him around and give him a big smile, laughing when he giggles again. God, he’s got me wrapped around his little finger. I never thought I’d be holding Dima’s baby. His brother would’ve loved this. They named Sergei after him, and no matter how many times I try to forget the night that Dima and I found his bloodied and battered body, I never seem to be able to, or what happened next, but those are memories that I’ve kept buried for decades, and I’m not about to bring them to the light of day now.
“Okay, supper’s ready,” Gina calls, before coming over to take Sergei from me. She covers his face in kisses and then sets him in his mechanical swing and positions it by the table so he won’t feel left out.
We all sit down and start filling our plates. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until now, and I don’t say anything else for several minutes because I’m too busy stuffing my face. It isn’t until I hear Moira’s name that I perk up.
“I introduced myself to Moira the other day, and she’s really nice. I like her a lot,” Gina says before pointing her fork at me. “I don’t know what in the hell you did to her, Nikolai, but the second I mentioned your name, she looked pissed as hell and said you were an ass. She wouldn’t give me any details, and believe me, I tried to get some.”
I shrug my shoulders and try to look innocent, stuffing another bite into my mouth as an excuse to not speak.
“Uh-huh,” Gina says, clearly not buying my bullshit. “Anyway, I invited her to get drinks with me and Jamie on Friday night at the club.” She gives me and Dima and Aleksei a pointed look. “You three are not invited.”
Dima does not look pleased. “You want me to leave you alone while you are drinking in club?”
I smile because Dima’s accent always gets thicker when he’s upset.
“We’ll be in your club, babe, but if you’re that worried you can come check in on us, but Nikolai needs to keep his butt away from Moira.”
Dima shoots me a smug grin, and I discreetly give him the finger when Gina isn’t looking. He laughs and tells me to go fuck myself in Russian.
“You know, sweetie, you did teach me that one,” Gina says with a laugh that we all join in on.
“We’re teaching them too much Russian,” Aleksei says with a laugh. “They’re catching on too damn quick.”
Jamie laughs and says, “You three are going to be on babysitting duty anyway. That should keep you out of trouble while we have some girl time. I’m curious about this Moira woman.”
“You’ll like her, Jamie,” Gina says. “She’s tough and smart, and she knows how to box.”
“She does?” I can’t help but ask.
Gina lifts an eyebrow at me and gives me an amused smile. “She does. She grew up hanging out at the boxing club near where she grew up. She didn’t say much about her family, but I think it was just her and her dad, and I get the feeling he didn’t treat her all that well.”
I try to hide how much it pisses me off to hear that, but judging by the sparkle in Gina’s eyes, I’ve failed miserably.
“I believe she’s gotten under your skin, Nikolai,” she says, looking way too damn pleased with herself.