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I tried not to look at him, but I couldn’t help but steal glances in his direction.
Get a damn grip.
I glanced at Amara and Nikolai, who were taking care of Luca. Dmitry had his arm over the back of his new wife’s chair. I was able to focus on other things besides the fact that I was pregnant, that I’d nearly had an orgasm in the middle of a restaurant surrounded by my family, and that I was in love with Gio.
I doted on Luca, my nephew, the cutest thing I’d ever seen in my life.
Nikolai, Dmitry, and Gio started talking about work, their conversation cryptic and not making any sense to anyone but them. But that didn’t stop me from listening in.
“As much as you assholes annoy the hell out of me, I won’t lie and say this marriage doesn’t make our union even stronger,” Gio said. He leaned back in his seat and braced his elbow on the arm of my chair.
I shifted as I felt his energy surrounding me.
Dmitry started talking, and when I glanced at Nikolai, I could see him staring at Gio with a strange expression on his face. It made my heart race for another reason.
Did he suspect something?
But Nikolai turned his focus to my new sister-in-law and asked, “Claudia,”—his Russian was thick—“do you know about our fight club business venture?”
I snapped my focus to Dmitry and saw my brother instantly tense.
“Nikolai,” he growled and leaned forward, bracing his forearms on the table and glowering.
Nikolai smirked. “What,brat?” he asked with false innocence, using the Russian word for brother.
“Enough,” Dmitry bit out.
But it was clear Nikolai wasn’t perturbed by the clear aggression and warning pouring off Dmitry. Whatever he was doing, whatever he planned on saying, was going to continue whether the groom liked it or not.
Nikolai grinned and cast a glance at Gio before looking at Claudia again. “You should check out a fight. It’s pretty fucking incredible entertainment.”
“Language, Nikolai,” Amara chided, but we all knew he did whatever the hell he wanted, when he wanted.
“Fucking ya!” Luca shouted, a wide smile on his face as he scored points on whatever game he played.
I felt my eyes widen in surprise and covered mymouth with the back of my hand to stem off my laughter.
Nikolai chuckled and looked over at his son, but at the narrow-eyed look on Amara’s face, he sobered and shifted in his chair.
“Baby, we don’t repeat the bad words we hear Daddy say, remember?”
Luca didn’t respond as he kept playing, which had Amara sighing in frustration and casting another angry look at Nikolai before grabbing her water glass and downing it.
“I mean it, Claudia. Have your husband bring you.”
Dmitry shook his head.
There was a heavy silence that filled the table.
“I’d like to go,” I said in a low voice, staring at my brothers. I had no clue why I even said a word, let alone got involved in this. The last thing I needed to do was go to another fight when the last one I attended had been a nightmare.
But I knew I’d be safe, and there was this push and pull inside me that said Ihadto go. I had to create new memories in a place that had been so dark.
Gio didn’t look at me, but when I glanced up at him, I could see he was scowling. Hegestured over to the waiter and asked for something too softly for me to hear. Only a moment later, a glass of whiskey was being set down in front of him.
He promptly tossed it back.
“I thought you said those fights were nothing but a bunch of bloodthirsty savages?” Amara wiped Luca’s face after she spoke.
