His Pregnant Christmas Bride(48)
Uncle John, his father, looking as if he’d dodged a bullet, laughed and raised his glass. “And now you do have more family than you’ll know what to do with. You have two fathers-in-law and two mothers-in-law and a bunch of in-laws—siblings, nieces and nephews. Before this alarms you, let me assure you it’s a bargain. We’re full of uses, all ready and eager to do any amount of chores and babysit on demand. And we’re only slightly interfering.”
Her father rose with a wide smile, raising his own glass. “Ivan doesn’t strike me as the kind of son-in-law who’d allow any level of interference.”
Ivan returned her father’s smile. “Not even from a superpower.”
Swallowing down her agitation, Anastasia volunteered the explanation. “He’s not being metaphorical here. Remind me to tell you about the time when he blithely ignored the Russian premier’s demand for a personal meeting because he thought babysitting me was more important.”
All voices rose around the table, demanding she tell the story immediately. And in telling it, she and Ivan relaxed back into their flawless rapport, and what she never thought could happen did. The night turned into an immensely enjoyable interlude, especially when Cathy and the kids came over.
For long stretches of time during the night that extended into the early hours of morning, Anastasia found herself forgetting everything but that she was with the people she loved most on earth, the people who surrounded the union she was forging with Ivan with delight and caring.
But every now and then, the illusion cracked and she saw the truth. The truth that was uglier than anything from a nightmare. Ivan bolstered her, absorbing her agitation as soon as it surged. But even if he’d dealt so incredibly well with what he’d lived dreading—seeing his parents up-close again—she could not do the same.
After their wedding, she would never expose him to them again if she could at all help it. His parents didn’t deserve the happiness and privilege of knowing him as he’d made himself, didn’t deserve his unbelievable mercy.
* * *
With the countdown to the wedding rushing by, Anastasia found herself sliding into stretches of absolute euphoria.
Being with Ivan now that she was certain of his love was a happiness she hadn’t known could exist.
He, too, seemed on a constant high.
Yet, it still came in waves. That tension, like a sick buzz of electricity that zapped her muscles, a white noise that scratched along her nerves. Ivan kept assuring her it wasn’t coming from him, that he was fine, that being with her had nullified anything he’d feared he’d feel. He not only didn’t feel anything negative around his parents, as strange as it might sound, he actually enjoyed being with them.
And then they’d found there was a bonus that neither of them had considered. His siblings.
Cathy and the others, with all their kids, were all over him, as if they recognized he was kindred. This complicated Anastasia’s original plan of moving away as soon as the ceremony was over and seeing their families as little as possible. Ivan deserved to have the pleasure of knowing his siblings and being part of their lives, to bask in their eagerness and admiration, in what she knew would turn to love.
And today of all days, it did feel as if it would be impossible to just walk away from their families.
Debating how to handle or time making this disclosure, she walked into the great room that overlooked the Atlantic and found Ivan looking out to the horizon, in one of the rare times she’d found him alone since they’d come here.
Ivan had invited everyone to stay in his Hamptons estate, where they’d have the wedding. He’d been constantly waving his magic wand to give everyone an experience that would never be equaled, mixing the holiday season celebrations with what he called “wedding overtures.”
When she objected that this was all a far cry from the simple couple of hours she’d expected for the wedding ceremony, he just kissed her and demanded she appreciate his “restraint”, reminding her what it was like when he was extravagant.
His brothers would be arriving a day before the ceremony, and she couldn’t wait to see the rest of that unique brotherhood who’d shared Ivan’s tragic origins, and who had not only triumphed over unimaginable hardships, but also, like him, had gone on to conquer the world in their own fields of virtuosity.
Feeling a wave of love crash on her harder than those on the beach below, she slid her arms around him from the back. To her amazement, he was surprised. Ivan had always been primed, feeling the slightest movement from afar, even before it happened. He’d certainly never been oblivious to her approach, seemed to feel it when it was only an intention in her mind. That he’d been now meant he’d been too consumed by something.