His Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed. “I’ll prove myself to you, dragotsennyy. Take all the time you need. I can give you that and so much more as long as you don’t leave me.”

  “Okay,” I agreed as I wiped away one of his tears. “Show me, Zakhar.”

  Epilogue

  SOFIA

  The sweet giggles of my toddler as she ran down the beach filtered into the villa where I was standing with my mom and aunts. Alayna and her cousin Rai were being chased by Rai’s daddy, and I could picture the two little girls as they made a mad dash on the damp sand. Their chubby legs picking up speed as their laughter only grew higher and higher, telling me that Uncle Theo was just out of reach.

  Behind me, Tavia shook her head, her smile identical to my own as our gazes locked in the mirror while Mom finished up the buttons on my wedding gown. It was a gauzy white dress with thin straps that floated along my entire body, just barely hiding the slight baby bump of my second child.

  My family all knew I was pregnant again, but Zak and I hadn’t told them yet that we were having another girl. I’d thought he would be disappointed when he found out we were having another daughter, but he’d told me through his joyful tears that he was just happy that I’d blessed him with another child.

  Across the room, Yulia and Olena watched Mom finish up. Since Oleksandr’s death three years before, a lot had changed for the mother/daughter duo. Like Zak, Olena had sold off all of her deceased husband’s assets and moved to the States. She’d wanted to be closer to us, to get to know me and be there for when Alayna was born, to be the great-grandmother to my child since she hadn’t gotten the chance to be a grandmother to me.

  Yulia and Volodymyr hadn’t moved to New York permanently, but they did buy an apartment near Central Park, and they visited often. It had been slow going at first, but eventually, my parents had actually encouraged me to get to know the couple that was responsible for my birth. I would never think of them as my mother and father, but I had come to care for them like members of my family. I’d even gotten to know my half-siblings, Nikita and Nikolai. They were more cousins in my heart than brother and sister, but that was something the three of us had found acceptable.

  “Nearly done,” Tetka murmured as she and Raven finished placing the last butterfly pin in my braided hair.

  This whole wedding had been difficult to pull off, to say the least. Especially seeing as my groom knew nothing about the impending nuptials.

  It had taken me time, but I’d finally realized that marrying Zak was everything I wanted. I’d decided it was going to happen right after we found out we were pregnant again, but I wanted to surprise him with the wedding. Mom, Tetka, Olena, and even Yulia had banded together to pull it off for me so I didn’t have to stress about keeping it from Zak.

  Everyone but Zak knew this wasn’t just the big, happy family vacation my mom had begged us to join them on. While I was getting ready, Dad was off with Zak and Volodymyr, as well as my uncles and cousins. Somehow, Dad would get Zak to change into the linen pants and shirt I wanted him to wear for our ceremony.

  Alayna was already dressed in her flower girl outfit, a light-yellow dress with little daisies and butterflies on it.

  I thought I would be nervous for all of this, but the only thing I felt was excitement. I couldn’t wait to see Zak’s reaction when I walked to him on my dad’s arm.

  Lexa appeared in the open French doors of the villa. “It’s time,” she announced, looking gorgeous in her yellow dress that was similar to everyone else’s.

  Mom started fanning her face as tears glazed her brown eyes. “Okay, okay,” she chanted. “Crying will only ruin my makeup.”

  The others laughed, but I wrapped her in a gentle hug. “Thank you for making all of this possible.”

  She leaned back and cupped my face in her trembling hands. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Sofia. Absolutely nothing.”

  Fighting my own tears, I watched as everyone filed out of the villa. No chairs were set up for the ceremony. That would just cause too many questions, and Zak was way too smart for that. As far as he was aware, we were all going to take a big family group picture on the beach as the sun was setting. Yellow was the color I’d chosen for all the women, with me wearing my white dress, and the guys would all be wearing darker yellow linen pants and white shirts.

  Dad appeared at the door, dressed for the occasion, and handed me the bouquet of daisies. When he saw me, tears filled his eyes, but unlike Mom, he couldn’t stop them from spilling over. “You look so beautiful,” he choked out, dropping a kiss on top of my head.

  “Thank you, Daddy,” I murmured, fighting the emotions trying to choke me.

  I’d honestly never thought this day would come, but Zak’s love for me had healed all the hurts he and Oleksandr had inflicted. Now, I wanted nothing more than to be his wife.

  The photographer was already getting people into position, and I watched them while walking toward them on Dad’s arm. The kids were all running around, not giving a single care that the adults were trying to corral them into one certain place. Mom, Olena, Yulia, and my aunts were instructing the cousins. Raven was making sure her family members were in the right spot.

  And then there was Zak. On his knees beside Alayna, drawing hearts in the sand together. Seeing him, I felt my own heart lift into my throat, and I couldn’t hold on to the tears a moment longer.

  The others slowly grew silent as they noticed us walking toward them, their laughter turning into loving smiles. It took another minute before Zak realized that the rambunctiousness had quietened, and he finally lifted his head from writing Alayna’s name in the latest heart he’d drawn.

  His golden gaze drifted over our family and then passed to me on my father’s arm. His throat bobbed with emotions, and he got to his feet, but he didn’t seem able to take a step toward me.

  Which was exactly what I’d wanted, because the officiant stepped up beside him, waiting for my arrival.

  The photographer kept clicking away, taking one picture after another. Alayna spotted me and jumped to her feet, abandoning her sand artwork. Skipping over, she took hold of my other hand, the one that held the daisy bouquet. Her blue eyes got large when she saw the plastic butterflies mixed into it, and I happily gave her the bouquet, knowing it would keep her occupied while her father and I were busy saying our vows.

  Taking the butterfly-studded flowers, she skipped over to where Rai was with Finn, the two of them thick as thieves like always as they stood between Tavia and Lexa. One after another, I passed members of my family, both biological, adopted, and honorary. But all I saw was Zak.

  By the time Dad and I reached him, huge tears were spilling down Zak’s cheeks. Without hesitation, I stepped into his arms the moment we were close enough to touch.

  “Dragotsennyy?” he rasped.

  “I, Sofia Volkov, take you, Zakhar Morozov, to be my husband. To have and to hold. For better or worse. For richer or poorer. To love and to cherish. In sickness and in health. For all the days of my life and beyond,” I vowed through my tears.

  It took him several tries before he could speak around the lump in his throat. “I, Zakhar Morozov, take you, Sofia Volkov, to be my wife. To have and to hold. For better or worse. For richer or poorer. To love and to cherish. In sickness and in health. For all the days of my life and beyond.”

  “The rings?” the officiant murmured quietly, knowing that his being there was merely a necessity to make this legal than anything else.

  Theo handed Zak the ring for me, and he slid it on to my hand with fingers that trembled so badly he nearly dropped it on the sand. It was the same ring he’d asked me to marry him with all those years ago. The diamond-and-emerald ring that matched the necklace I wore to every one of my mother’s charity events—the same one I wore today.

  Then Tavia stepped forward to give me the ring for Zak. Taking it from the little box, I showed it to him. A simple silver ring that was engraved on the inside with the day we’d officially met, that first charity event for the women’s shelters. The day our lives had changed, become irrevocably intertwined.

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant announced, keeping the ceremony as short and sweet as I’d requested. “You make kiss—” he broke off when Zak lifted me off my feet and devoured my mouth in a kiss that was just barely suitable for the children present.

  “The bride,” I heard the man mutter, and I pulled back from the kiss with a happy laugh.

  “Hello, husband,” I whispered in Russian.

  “Zhena,” he choked out, calling me his wife for the first time.

  Coming Soon

  Sacrificed: Zariah

  Sacrificed: Cali

  Shattering Trinity

  Sanctuary (Angel’s Halo MC Next Gen: Jack)

  Legacy Weddings: A Rockers’ Legacy Novelette Collection

 

 

  Terri Anne Browning, Sofia

 

 

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