Time Stood Still (Volkov Bratva #3.5)(17)

She shook her head, tears pricking her eyes. “I still remember the first time I met you. You were so sure of yourself, even at that young of an age. I thought you were adorable. I never thought the day would come where you would become such a big part of our family, but I’m glad you’re with us.”

“Thank you for having me. So does this mean you’ll accept my offer?”

“From what Lauren tells me, I don’t think I have much of a choice, but I think you’ll have a harder time trying to convince Ross of this.”

“That’s why,” Mishca said with a smile, “I’ll leave that part up to you.”

As she went in for one last hug, from the doorway, Ross said, “Keep your hands to yourself, boy.”

***

The next day, they were back at the airport after dropping off the rental car, and while Mishca knew where they were going next, he had been trying to think of the best way to surprise her. It wasn’t until they got there that he had had the bright idea of asking her to look up their departure time on the giant display, waiting for the moment when she realized what he had done. She glanced over at him after reading the board at the top, noticing the discrepancy between where they were supposed to be going and their flight number. “I think our flight is wrong.”

His answer was just to smile, a slow curling of his lips at one corner. “Maybe not.”

Lauren looked back up at the door, wordlessly mouthing the name of their destination as though she was trying to place the name in her head.

“Where is Sardinia? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.”

“Italy,” he answered.

“Do you have business there?”

Since they had a bit of time before they had to board, Mishca pulled out his phone, doing a quick search for the place they would be going. Without a word, he handed it over to her, letting her come to her own conclusion.

One picture after another flashed across his screen as she slid her finger over it, and with each one she saw, the more he could see her excitement growing.

“Why?”

“Because you deserve it. It’s my gift to you since our last honeymoon had to be postponed.”

“You didn’t have to do that, Mish.”

“I wanted to.”

“But I’m not packed for a honeymoon!”

Smiling, he patter the bag that he’d had Amber put together for him the day she and Lauren had went out shopping, knowing that she would be more than happy to do it.

“You have great friends.”

“I don’t know if I’ve told you, but I love you, Mish. More than you’ll ever know.

***

It took ages to get from Michigan to Sardinia, and multiple flights. Though she was tired, Lauren was far too excited to get there to do much sleeping. Mishca was asleep beside her, and earlier, he had reached over, curling his hand around her thigh, and even in his sleep, his hold was possessive. She often wondered if he would ever get over doing that.

It also didn’t help that she had to go to the restroom while he was still holding her. She tried to carefully lift his hand without waking him, but as she tried to free her leg, he spoke with surprising clarity as though he hadn’t been asleep, but his eyes were still closed.

“Where are you going?”

“Restroom. Go back to sleep.”

“Don’t be long.”

Always demanding. She slid out into the aisle, heading towards the facilities that were only a short distance away. The restroom was clean—cleaner than she was expecting, though it shouldn’t have been surprising since they were in first class—and when she finished, washing her hands in the basin, she took a moment to appreciate where she was going and who she was with.

When she thought of their honeymoon, this hadn’t been what she originally planned, but all thoughts of it had been forced from her mind when he’d been shot. Some nights she still woke up in a panic, her hand drifting over his chest, feeling the strong and steady beat of his heart beneath her touch. He was understanding, and aways made it a point to pull her into his side until she fell back asleep.

Now that he was fully healed—and she would only accept that assertion from his doctor—it made her feel a little better. Things were relatively back to normal and she was happy about it.

Returning to her seat, Lauren stretched her legs out, nearly laughing when Mishca reached over, resting his head on her shoulder, his hand returning to her leg.

“We’ve been on this damn place for hours,” he complained, relaxing beneath her when she began playing with the silky strands of his hair.

“You’re the one who chose Sardinia, Mish.”

“Remind me never to do that again.”

***

This time, getting their luggage wasn’t that easy. Standing there, Mishca’s bags had come around, even the special bag he’d brought for her, but for whatever reason, Lauren’s hadn’t shown.

“Could be worse,” Lauren said trying to lighten Mishca’s darkening mood.

Truthfully, she was just excited about being out of the country more than she was worried about what was now lost in her luggage. There wasn’t anything particularly irreplaceable within it, so that was a good thing.

“How might that be?”

“I could have gotten taken by a cute guy outside this airport.”