But I was surprised when Luca answered Dmitry back with a “da,” followed by a shake of his head and a, “nyet.”
Dmitry chuckled and gave Luca a small smile. Whatever Dmitry had said to Luca had clearly broken the ice.
Dmitry ruffled his short black hair and grinned, and a second later Luca was in my arms.
“Mi sei mancato.”
“I missed you, too, Zia.”
And then he was gone and running back to his parents. Nikolai scooped up Luca just as Amara came over and gave me a hug.
“Are you okay?” she asked in Italian, so low against my ear the words were only heard by me.
I nodded, and when she pulled back, she gave me a motherly scowl. Whatever she saw on my face had her expression softening.
“Come on,” she said suddenly and turned to grab a bag sitting on the floor by Nikolai, one I hadn’t even noticed. She started leading me out of the room.
Dmitry blocked the exit. “It’s too late to get out of it now, detka.” I would have thought he was being an overbearing caveman, but I saw the tightening around his mouth and eyes.
He was… scared. He was afraid I wasn't going to go through with this. I knew he’d keep his promise about tethering me to his side and going through the nuptials, but Dmitry wanted me to want this, to want him. He didn’t want to force me.
“Move it, Dmitry,” Amara said. “If my sister is getting married today, I’m gonna make sure she looks the part.”
I cocked an eyebrow at my sister, not just because she wanted to pretty me up, but because she clearly didn’t care that a muscular six-foot-five Russian mobster was blocking the door.
Nicolai chuckled in the corner, and Dmitry gave his brother a glare. “If Claudia gets a mouth on her after marriage like your wife, I’ll have my balls in a jar in no time.”
“What’s balls in a jar mean, Papa?” Luca’s words had the room becoming a little lighter.
Nikolai chuckled again. “It means dyadya loves Mama’s sister but is too much of a little bitch to admit it out loud, at least right now.”
“Nikolai,” Amara scolded. “Watch your language, Nikolai.”
“What’s ‘little bitch,’ Papa.”
Amara closed her eyes and exhaled in obvious frustration. “Something you don’t say, baby.” Amara looked back at Dmitry and lifted an eyebrow, waiting for him to comply.
His nostrils flared and his jaw clenched. I was pretty sure he was about to cause a scene, so I intervened. I stepped in front of him and cupped his scruff-covered cheeks. I rose on my toes and kissed him. I could tell I’d taken him off guard by the way his eyes widened slightly.
“I’m coming back,” I said as I looked into his eyes, my expression showing that what I said was the truth.
“Don’t make me wait long, krasavitsa.” The thickness in his words and the heat in his eyes had a flush spreading through me.
I shook my head, softening against him. After a tense second Dmitry smoothed a thumb over my bottom lip, kissed me softly, and stepped aside. Amara was smart enough not to waste time before he changed his mind.
I couldn’t hide my smile as Amara led me across the hall to the bathroom. I noticed Dmitry stayed in the doorway, watching us, before giving me a wicked smile and a little wink.
The bathroom was single occupancy, and when she shut the door and locked it, leaning against it, that fierceness came back into her expression.
“First, are you really okay? Like really okay?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah. I really am.” I was shocked to feel how true those words were.
She let out an exhale, as if she had been holding it in, expecting me to say that I wasn’t.
I saw some of her tension fade a second before she said, “Second, if you want out of this, you tell me. I’ll figure out a way to call it off.”
At my cocked eyebrow, she ran a hand down her long, dark hair.
“Okay, maybe not call it off, because we both know men like Dmitry—hell, men like Nikolai and Gio—are nothing more than adult children who throw tantrums when they don’t get their way.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. Amara smiled.
“But I’ll definitely get you out of it. Even if that means sneaking you off to another country, so be it.”
I’d never heard this type of fierceness come from Amara before. I knew without a doubt she'd do everything in her power to help me escape… if that’s what I wanted. But it wasn’t. Not in the least.
“He’d just find me,” I finally said, and she made a frustrated sound.
“Yeah, but that still wouldn’t stop me from helping you.” She pushed away from the door and came to stand in front of me. “I love Nikolai. But I don’t care if it is his brother who wants your hand in marriage. I don’t care if it would cause problems between the two of us or the Bratva and Cosa Nostra. I’d help you no matter what.”