She indicated my dad, standing next to me with one hand on my shoulder. “That’s Frank. He took the girls to sing karaoke. Remember, Maria?” I nodded. How could I forget? I’d been obsessed with The Sound of Music. I’d begged my parents for a nanny, not really understanding what one was.
I’d loved the idea that handsome Captain von Trapp might have a soulmark that said ‘Maria’ — just like my soulmate would. I smiled at Lev, picturing the letters I’d seen curving below his ankle that very morning. And Lev was much more handsome, too!
“He even sang Edelweiss,” I added, making mom hide a snort behind her hand where Lev couldn’t see it.
“Not very well. He was tone-deaf, bless his heart.” She beamed. Sharing these memories brought back happy times for her. There was pain in not having my dad around anymore, but it would have been far worse if we’d forgotten about him. “What do you do for birthdays in Russia?” she asked.
“We don’t sing Edelweiss,” Lev teased. “Maria’s told me how much effort you all put into birthdays. It’s sweet,” he added. “I’ve usually had a party, but nothing very special.” Then, Lev gave my hand a squeeze. “I’m sure this year will be different.” It warmed my heart to think that, like Tanya had, Lev would now join our family tradition of celebrating birthdays in style.
Mom turned the page, landing on another picture of me as a kid, this time sat next to Emily. I remembered that occasion. I must’ve been about five and I was pouting because I’d eaten the orange my dad gave me and that meant I no longer had an orange to eat.
“You were adorable,” Lev informed me, pressing a kiss against my cheek. “And Emily, too,” he added.
“They were both very cute children,” mom confirmed happily.
“And cute adults,” Lev told me, squeezing my hand.
I laughed, squeezing back. I could see mom watching us, out of the corner of her eye. I hoped that we looked as happy as I felt. I’m sure we did. Emily had noticed how much I’d been smiling. There was little chance that mom was going to miss it.
“I like to think I’m a little more sensible now than I was when I was five,” I teased. I had learned a lot. With Lev by my side, I would learn even more.
I turned another page, laughing at a picture of Emily, very solemnly vacuuming the carpet for the first time. I remembered Lev saying that his family photos were all in Russia. I hoped I would get to see them when I visited.
In the meantime, I’d just have to make sure to add to his pictures of us. He needed something to put up on those bare walls of his! I would bet there were press shots of Lev’s dancing on ice for me. Maybe one of those could be framed in the bedroom.
“I’m going to get Lev to take me to more samba lessons,” I informed my mom. “The woman you found for me was amazing.”
“Oh, that’s fantastic!” mom exclaimed. “Maria’s always wanted to learn,” she explained to Lev. “So this year, Emily and I decided to do something about it. I’m glad you took her,” she added.
I saw the flicker of guilt flash across Lev’s face, no doubt as he remembered leaving me mid-lesson. I tightened my hand against his, not wanting him to worry. We’d talked about it and it was okay. His apology and the promise to take me dancing again was more than enough to make up for the disappointment I’d felt.
“Maria’s also been improving her Russian. She could easily hold a conversation with my mama,” Lev told my mom. I saw how proud he looked.
I beamed. If I kept smiling like this all the time, I was going to develop muscles in my cheeks that I hadn’t even known were there! “That isn’t why I learned,” I pointed out. “I started learning before I knew I would ever even meet your mama.”
My mom shook her head. “That doesn’t matter. Sometimes, these things just come down to fate.” It was something she had always believed. She’d told me a hundred times that I would meet my soulmate one day, just like mom had, just like Emily had.
“Maybe you’re right,” I agreed, grinning. If mom wanted to believe that Lev and I had been drawn together by our soulmarks, I wasn’t going to contradict her. Either way, we were in love. That was what mattered.
Mom turned the page, starting on another story about me growing up. When she ran out of those, she got out the album from her and my dad’s first year of marriage. I met Lev’s eyes over the top of it, my stomach filling with butterflies at the thought that we could have an album like that one day.
When Emily called us through to dinner, she and Lev discussed different healthy variations to recipes from around the world.
I let the familiar conversation wash over me, letting my mind drift back to mom’s idea of destiny. I’d always thought ‘fate’ was a little bit silly. Loads of people didn’t meet their soulmate. It didn’t mean they weren’t happy.
But I had started learning Russian just to have something to do with Lev. And despite that, it had come in useful when he’d flown his parents over.
Maybe it was fate. A little bit, anyway. The thought made me feel warm. It made my relationship with Lev something special. Different than the other relationships I’d had.
But, to be honest, I’d known that anyway. Whether it was fate or not, Lev was unlike any other man I’d ever had feelings for. I loved him with my whole heart and soul. And I believed that he loved me, too.
All we had to do now was keep going, keep learning with each other. I looked forward to many, many happy years.
Epilogue
A year and a half after meeting Maria, we were, for the second time, celebrating my birthday together. Last year, Maria had gone all out; there’d been a hot air balloon and everything. This year, she’d promised to keep it slightly more low-key. And by that, Maria had meant that she’d throw a party for me.
We had moved in together six months ago, buying a new house to share. This one had many pictures on the walls. Maria had even gotten my parents to scan some in so she could get them reprinted. It was lovely. Far lovelier than I could’ve ever expected.
I was trying to convince Maria that we needed a cat next. Or maybe a dog. Better yet, both. So far, she’d promised to think about it. That seemed good enough, really. I was pretty sure I would be able to convince her.
And until then, I had a birthday to celebrate.
“Do you need a seat?” I asked, handing Emily another cup of juice. She was nine months pregnant now but Maria had assured me that it was very unlikely that Emily would go into labor during my birthday celebration. I didn’t mind, it’d be pretty cool to have a little nephew share my birthday!
“No, no, I’m okay.” Emily shook her head, thanking me for the drink. “Tanya’s just gone off to get me a snack. I swear all I’m doing is snacking,” she added with a dramatic sigh that made me laugh.
I didn’t think Emily was eating more than was reasonable for a pregnant woman, but I knew she was fed up with this pregnancy. “Have you spoken to Naomi? Ryan’s wife? She’s pregnant, too,” I commented. “She’s blind, so I bet she has some cool stories about being pregnant.”
I could only assume that being pregnant when you were blind was an interesting experience. But then, maybe so was just being pregnant. I had no idea. Ryan had said that Naomi was doing very well, even if her guide dog was somewhat confused about what was happening.
“Oh, that does sound good, which one is she?” Emily asked. I offered to introduce them.
Leaving Emily and Naomi (and Tanya, who had joined them) chatting about pregnancy, I went off to find Maria. The party was buzzing and she kept rushing about making sure there were enough snacks and drinks for everyone.
Catching her, I pulled Maria in, my arm wrapping around her side. “You’re working too hard,” I informed her. “It is my birthday! I demand you pay attention to me.”
She laughed, turning her face up to me so that I could plant a kiss against her lips. “It’s your birthday, I don’t want people to go home saying they had a bad time,” she countered. But she did stop rushing, leaning into my side and taking a dee
p breath.
“You’re right. I should stop and enjoy the moment. It isn’t every day that you get a year older. And a year more handsome!” She grinned, the glint in her eye letting me know that she was determined to do just as I’d asked and shower me with attention.
“I am more handsome this year,” I confirmed happily. Even if that wasn’t true, I did believe that Maria found me handsome. “I’ve introduced your sister to Naomi so they can become pregnancy friends,” I informed Maria.
Having Emily and Tanya as my one-day-to-be sisters-in-law was cool. They were always up for chatting about hockey and Emily's food was amazing. Almost as good as Maria’s Russian dishes. In the time we'd known each other, her cooking had really improved. But I’d always loved being her guinea pig.
“I think Tanya’s a bit overwhelmed by all the hockey players,” I added, laughing.
Maria shook her head. “She loves it,” she assured. “No one in this family can be overwhelmed so easily.” She was right. One of the things I loved about Maria was her ability to take anything in her stride. Tanya and Emily were similar in a lot of ways.
“I think the hockey players are a bit overwhelmed by all the pregnancy talk,” she teased. “Connor looked a little pale when Emily and Tanya were explaining their birthing plan.”
She broke into a grin. “I’m so excited to get to be an aunt! You’re fun to plan birthdays for, but I think a little kid is going to be even better.”
“Oh, I see how it is!” I pouted, but it was hardly real. I was pretty sure that whether a person was a child or an adult, Maria would love to plan a birthday party for them. Truthfully, I was starting to enjoy this tradition. Especially since it meant I could go all out for preparing Maria’s birthday presents.
Finding a seat, I pulled her down to sit in my lap. “You know, if we got a pet, you could organize their birthday party,” I pointed out.
Her eyes went wide, a grin breaking over her face like sunshine. “I hadn’t thought of that! Oh, you are so going to regret putting that idea in my head.” I could see the wheels turning as Maria started to wonder what would make a good birthday for a cat or dog.
She brought herself back to the moment, shifting to press her body more against mine. “But I’m not organizing that right now,” she said. “I’m paying attention to you, Levushka. Is there anything else you need for your birthday to be perfect?”
Lifting a hand, she ticked things off on her fingers. “You have your team, your presents, your mama and dad.” She glanced around. “Did Kira find you? I pointed her in your direction a little while ago.”
“She did,” I confirmed with a smile. Kira was doing so much better. After our talk, she’d let me figure out where she could get help. Her family was a lot more involved in how she was doing now. From what she told me, her therapy was having some excellent results. It was amazing to see her smile again, be happy again.
Maria’s determination had worked there, too. While she and Kira weren’t exactly friends they got on pretty well. We had Kira over for dinner every so often. Kira and I were relearning how to be just friends. It was going pretty well.
Having Maria in my life had made such a big difference to so many things. Including my birthday parties.
Looking around at how happy everyone was - my team, my friends, my family - I couldn’t help but smile. Tugging Maria down, I pressed a kiss against her lips.
“This is perfect,” I told her. “You’re perfect.”
She was.
My best friend.
My everything.
Other books in the Madison Howlers Series
Game Plan
Sometimes, knowing the name of your soulmate is more trouble than it’s worth. That’s how Connor Lewis feels when photographs of his soulmark get published.
The hockey fans go crazy. Every Ashley in the Madison area is wild to convince Connor that she’s the one. All Connor wants to do is focus on his game.
Ashley Walton isn’t looking for a soulmate. She wants a relationship based on something real.
That makes her perfect for what Connor has planned. He asks if she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend, on the understanding that it’s just until the media frenzy dies down.
They expect it to be a few months, at most. Ashley’s really more interested in learning from the Howlers’ PR team than she is in Connor.
At least at first.
Everything about their ‘relationship’ is a show staged for the press. Except, Connor spends every waking moment with Ashley on the brain. Finding out she wants to move miles away for her dream job hits him like a body-slam into the boards.
The closer they get, the more Connor is willing to risk to keep Ashley at his side. Falling in love wasn’t in their game plan, so Connor takes matters into his own hands...
Best Shot
Finding your soulmate is supposed to be easy! Especially when everyone carries their soulmate’s name written on their skin.
Best friends Thea and Doe would never fall out over a man. Doe’s soulmark reads ‘Blake’ and Thea’s is ‘Frederick’, so the possibility has never crossed their minds.
Enter Blake Ashbury. Thea is first to meet the gorgeous hockey player. As soon as she finds out his name, she gives playing matchmaker her best shot. She should be over the moon to introduce Doe to her soulmate. It doesn’t matter that Thea is the one who loves Blake’s jokes, or that his touch feels like fire and electricity. Blake isn’t meant to be with her, so Thea will back off.
At least, that’s the plan.
Blake never expected meeting his soulmate to be so complicated. Doe is sweet. She’s everything Blake thought he wanted in a girlfriend. He can’t understand why it’s Thea who makes his pulse race!
Thea and Blake aren't meant to be together, so why is it so hard to keep the chemistry between them down? The longer they spend together, the harder it becomes to remember that they need to keep their distance!
Empty Net
A tiny portion of the population have empty space where the name of their soulmark should be.
Ryan Newell believes that hockey is his one true love. Knowing he doesn’t have a soulmate, he gives his heart to the Madison Howlers. It’s only his body that he gives away freely.
A little too freely. A scandalous picture lands him in hot water with the team’s PR. To fix his rep, they send him off to fundraise for a local charity.
That’s where he meets Naomi Stone. Being blind since birth, Naomi has never seen the name that’s written on her skin. All she knows is that Ryan makes her pulse race and her skin tingle in ways she’s never felt before.
As things heat up between them, Ryan starts to feel like he’s in over his head. Having a girlfriend isn’t something you can train for. Knowing that he can’t be Naomi’s soulmate is a thought that Ryan can’t escape.
Finding love is hard enough without knowing you are no one’s destiny.
Goal Line
When your dad owns an NHL team, you meet a lot of hockey players.
Annie’s daddy made her promise she’d never date one of the Green Bay Mammoths. That suited her just fine. Her interest was in their skills on the ice, not off.
But Devon Oakley changes everything.
Ever since she discovered the name of her soulmate, Annie has been waiting to meet him. And Devon’s just as dedicated to his soulmark match as he is to his team.
But there’s always a catch. Devon doesn’t play for Green Bay. He’s the goalie for their greatest rivals!
Annie has to know: is true love bigger than ice hockey loyalty?
There’s only one way to find out...
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Final Score (Madison Howlers #5) Page 20
