A Very Merry Hockey Holiday (Assassins #6.5)(11)

Katarina’s little lip quivered, and then she wailed at the top of her lungs. Trying to soothe her, he looked back at the salesgirl and said, “Mom ring, August birthday and a July birthday.”

“Platinum, white gold, or gold?”

“Platinum, big stones, diamonds, and the prettiest you got.”

“Prettiest you got,” Dimitri said.

“Price limit?”

“There isn’t one,” he said, and when she smiled, he shot her one back.

Then Dimitri added, “There isn’t one.”

The girl gave Dimitri a sweet smile before walking away and Erik shook his head.

“You need to cut that out.”

“Cut it out.”

“No, you cut it out.”

“No, you cut it out.”

“You’re copying me.”

“You’re copying me!” he cheered before grinning extra big. Erik shook his head in disbelief just as Katarina dumped her drink down the front of his jacket.

“Lovely, my love.”

“My love!” was Dimitri’s comment, while Erik’s sweet baby shot him a little grin.

Chuckling, he decided it was lovely. She was his princess and Dimitri was his little dude. They both drove him insane, but they were his. Just as Piper was his too. Erik kissed Katarina’s cheek, and she cuddled into his neck as the girl brought back a few rings.

“Here you go, we can have it all ordered and ready before Christmas.”

Erik nodded, satisfied since he was worried he might be too late. “Awesome. Okay, guys, which one?”

Dimitri stood in his stroller and peered over the counter. He then exclaimed, “That one, Daddy!”

Erik was almost tempted to copy him since that’s what Piper did to make him stop, but they weren’t at home. Looking at the ring, he decided that was the one. The two stones would make a heart with three diamonds around it that would represent Erik and the kids. It was perfect and he knew she would love it.

“That’s it.”



Piper Titov’s head fell to the side as she took in the elaborate Dr. Seuss mural she was doing for her nephew Journey’s room. The little bugger loved Dr. Seuss, and while she had done his hockey mural only a couple years ago, she was happy to change it to make her little guy happy. She was sure her niece Ally was next, but for the time being, she was going to make the best Dr. Seuss mural in the world.

Not only was the famous cat causing havoc on the wall but he was joined by Thing One and Thing Two, along with Sam, the Lorax, and many other timeless characters from the wonderful books. This was probably her favorite mural yet. Smiling, she moved her brush along the wall, the color vibrant as she let out a contented sigh. She loved her life. She had the hottest husband imaginable, two superawesome kids, and family and friends people begged for.

But.

And she hated that there was a but.

But.

She was getting bored painting murals.

She knew it was crazy, and she knew that she was making a killing doing them, but she was getting bored! She had been doing this for almost four years and she was kinda done. She needed more of a challenge and found that in book cover design. She hadn’t told anyone yet, but for the last three months, she had been designing covers for her author friends. It was so exhilarating! Bringing a book to life was becoming something she had to do. Something she was born to do. She loved reading, and being able to sum up the book with a simple image gave her a crazy rush. The only problem was she had made a huge deal saying that painting murals was her life.

She knew people expected her to change her mind, but she wanted to stick with something. Unfortunately, she just wasn’t happy doing it anymore, and she wasn’t sure what she should do. It was Christmastime, not really the ideal time to tell her husband she wanted to change careers. Erik didn’t care about the money since he made enough for their family and then some, but she wanted to contribute. She didn’t make as much money doing covers as she did doing the murals. Would she feel like a contributing part of the family? And plus, what would everyone think?

They’d probably roll their eyes and think of her as flighty again. It was a depressing thought because she didn’t want to be flighty. She wanted to be strong, know what she wanted, but she just got bored with the same thing all the time.

Being a mother and wife was the only thing she didn’t get bored with. It was everything she had ever thought it would be, and sometimes she couldn’t believe she had been so scared to have Dimitri. He honestly brought out the best in her. He also helped his daddy get his head out of his ass and love her, so really, he was the biggest blessing in her life. As well as Katarina. She was so full of life and so perfect. She drove them all crazy since she was sort of a crybaby, but Piper loved her so damn much. They had the perfect little family, and she couldn’t wait for the future.

“Wow, looks amazing.”

Piper looked over her shoulder and smiled as her older sister Harper entered the room.

“Thanks,” she said with a grin as she dipped her brush in the paint. “Where did you go? I got here expecting some food, but only Jakob was here with the kids, and no food was provided. When I asked where you were, Jakob wouldn’t tell me.”

She laughed but it was more of a shocked laugh, not a ha-ha funny one. “Funny story, actually.”