by Bella Rose
“Thank you!” She was a bit stunned by his thoughtfulness. “Did you try to find me using my phone?”
“Yes. I saw that it was lying on a sidewalk and we pieced together the rest of it.” He looked grim. “I’m just sorry it took us so long.”
“Don’t be.” She brushed her fingers over the phone’s display. “You tried and that’s a lot more than most people would do.”
“Don’t you see I’ll always try for you?”
The expression on his face was heartrending. What was holding her back? Did she love him? Was that her fear? Was she afraid that she did? Or was she afraid that she didn’t? Or was she just afraid?
“Things are moving so fast,” she whispered. “I usually take my time. Lots of it.”
“And what did that gain you?” he demanded.
Okay that was fair. She’d never gotten anything for her patience. Perhaps it was time to jump and look later. It wasn’t like she was jumping into the total unknown. Sure, Maxim was a very strong-willed, stubborn man who thought he knew best for everyone. He’d also proved that he could be compassionate and even a bit self-deprecating when the situation called for it. That sort of made him a unicorn.
“Who wouldn’t marry a unicorn?” she wondered softly.
Maxim eyed her like she’d finally snapped. “What?”
“You’re a unicorn!” She busted out laughing. “I was just wondering who wouldn’t marry the unicorn!”
“Sweetie, do we need to stop by a hospital? You’re starting to sound like you hit your head.”
“No!” She waved off his concern. “I was just saying that if you really want to marry me, then I would be stupid to say no.”
“So is that a yes?” He frowned. “Because it was not a very kind yes.”
“It’s a yes!” she told him gleefully. “Yes! I’ll marry you, Maxim Sokolov. You just name the time and place.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“This was so not what I had in mind when I said you could name the time and place,” Landry whispered.
Maxim turned, looking surprised. “Really? Because I see all of your friends here ready to celebrate with us.”
She could not fault him on that statement. It was true. All of her friends were here—with the exception of Morgan, of course. But Morgan and David were now serving time for assault and battery as well as kidnapping. And Landry was pretty certain that as satisfying as it would have been to see Morgan’s face when Landry said “I do” to Maxim, Morgan would never be able to behave herself.
“Still,” Landry insisted, “poor Mr. Danvers must be having a heart attack.”
“No.” Maxim craned his neck to one side as if he were searching for the round little man from human resources. “He’s actually smiling over there. Can’t you see him?”
“It’s a little crowded up here,” Landry pointed out. “And I’m not nearly as tall as you are.”
“Ah, I guess you’re right.” Maxim glanced around at the roof of his building. “Would you like me to get a box for you to stand on?”
“No!” Landry protested hotly. “Then I would be taller than you. How embarrassing that would be!”
“If you say so.” Maxim sighed as if he didn’t put much stock in what she was saying. “Are you ready to begin? Everyone is looking a little fidgety.”
Was she ready? Landry wasn’t sure that was really something Maxim was entirely concerned about. The Monday of her second week working for Maximov, she had been whisked away to a tailor in New York City. By the end of that day she had been carrying a beautiful custom wedding dress in her hands. Now it was Tuesday and they were standing on the rooftop with every single person from the company and all of her other friends. These were the guests and she was about to have her wedding. Preparedness didn’t really have a lot to do with it.
“If I can get your attention, please?” Maxim had his hands up and was calling for every person present to stare right at them. Great. Because that wasn’t embarrassing at all. Then Maxim put his arm around Landry. “A few of you know Landry Tobin. She started working here last week.”
There were murmurs. Oh yes. They certainly remembered that mass e-mail they had gotten. Great. No weirdness there.
Of course, Maxim wasn’t done. “Many of you have heard rumors about Landry and me. They aren’t true in the way you might have thought. Landry and I had a previous relationship, but we were done before she even started working here at Maximov.”
That was an exaggeration. But since Landry had come up with that particular version of events, who was she to argue about it now?
“But Landry and I have patched things up,” Maxim announced. “And since dating her is out of the question”—there was a round of actual laughter that circulated the rooftop full of employees—“I’ve decided that I’ll just skip to the good part and marry the love of my life.”
There was no way in hell Landry could be upset about a speech like that. She pressed a tissue to her eye to wipe away the tears that threatened to ruin her makeup. Wow. She couldn’t imagine how other women dealt with this crap on a regular day. What a pain in the butt.
That thought brought Taylor to mind. Taylor Pearson who was standing a few feet away with three children at her side. Taylor was actually smiling. Landry tried not to suspect that it meant something bad. After all, Taylor was trying to turn over a new leaf. Maxim had helped her begin the process of claiming her children’s inheritance via Russian law and she was extremely pleased about that development.
“Now!” Maxim called. “If all of you could just give the official your attention, we can proceed.”
That was when Mr. Danvers began shoving his way toward the front of the group. Landry watched in complete shock as the little man shoved his glasses more firmly onto the bridge of his nose and opened a book. There was a script inside and he cleared his throat in preparation.
“Wait.” Landry pointed at him. “You’re performing our wedding?”
Danvers nodded. “Mr. Sokolov made me go online and get my certification over the weekend.”
Maxim took her arm. “I wanted this to be absolutely airtight with HR.”
Landry struggled not to giggle. Nobody could ever accuse Maxim of being above the rules. He simple brought the rules right down to the level he needed them at.
“All right,” Landry said finally. “Let’s get this done before I find out something else that makes me wonder if I’m losing my mind.”
Maxim was smiling, laughing actually. His dark eyes sparkled and she completely lost track of what Mr. Danvers was saying. Maxim was so incredibly handsome it took her breath away. She couldn’t help but be amazed that this man was actually going to be hers from now on. It seemed like more than a dream. It seemed like an impossible thing that had just landed in her lap.
“Ahem.” Danvers cleared his throat. “Did you have your vows?”
“Oh. Right.” Landry swallowed nervously. Her mouth had suddenly gone dry. “Maxim Sokolov, I promise to love you as long as I live. I promise to give all of your dictates some serious thought before telling you that I think you’re an arrogant pig that should keep his opinions to himself.” There were a lot of shocked whispers and laughter from the audience. “I will take care of you the best I can and I will always be your friend. You have my unconditional regard until death do us part.”
There. She’d said it. It was done. Except now Maxim had to say his vows. All of a sudden the pack of butterflies in her belly exploded and she clutched his hand until hers hurt.
***
Maxim struggled not to laugh at the vows his beautiful bride had decided were important enough to say at their wedding. He was no fool. He knew she still harbored doubts, but with time and love he knew that this was going to be the most incredible partnership he could have ever been blessed to discover.
“Maxim?” Mr. Danvers raised his eyebrows. “Are you ready?”
“I am.” Maxim cleared his throat. He caught Landry’s gaze and held it with his own. “La
ndry Marie Tobin”—ha, she’d thought he wouldn’t think to discover her full name—“I solemnly vow to love you to distraction for the rest of my life. I promise not to be insufferable unless there is a reason. I won’t be pushy, and I will always listen to your opinions before doing my own thing. I respect your right to tell me ‘I told you so’ at any time when I am wrong, and I fully expect you to point out those occasions of wrongness at every possible moment.” The laughter on the rooftop was only getting louder. “I will care for you every minute you will let me, and I will cherish every single second I have with you until we are both gone from this life. Then you may fully expect me to find you and pester you in the afterlife as well.”
There were tears in Landry’s eyes. Then she suddenly threw her arms around his neck and pressed her face to his chest. “I love you, Maxim. It was perfect.”
He stroked her hair and gently pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Then shall we finish so it’s official?”
“Oh. Right.”
Her smile was warm and he saw a sparkle in her bright eyes that had not been there only moments before. Special did not cover what this woman meant to him.
“By the power vested in me”—Danvers paused, looking somewhat confused—“uh, the power from the Internet marriage licensing bureau, or something like that, I now pronounce you man and wife.” Then Danvers made a shooing sort of gesture with his hands. “You can kiss your bride, Mr. Sokolov.”
The audience tittered as they watched the owner of the company and the newest member of the security software development team wrap themselves in a very thorough embrace. Maxim pressed his lips to Landry’s and it was almost as if the rest of the world burned away to ash. There was nothing in that moment but the woman in his arms.
He slipped his tongue between her lips and made love to her with his mouth. He felt her tremble and heard her whimper. The sound and feel of her was intoxicating. He wanted her. Not just the physical sense of wanting, but to be joined to her in a way that would never end. He gently set his teeth to her lip and growled as he felt her stretch herself even more fully against him.
“Ahem.”
Mr. Danvers’s fake throat clearing brought Maxim roaring back to the moment. They were standing on a rooftop in front of every single person who worked for his—their—company, and he was trying to make out with his wife.
Maxim backed off and gently ended the kiss. Landry was looking more than a little dazed. She held tightly to his arms and he kept her in the circle of his embrace because he was honestly afraid if he let go she would just plop down on the ground.
“Mr. and Mrs. Maxim Sokolov!” Danvers shouted at the top of his lungs. “Congratulate them, folks!” There was a pause, and then Danvers just had to add, “and remember to refer back to your employee handbooks to review the still-in-effect no-dating policy contained in Section Two of our employee code of conduct!”
Maxim leaned around Landry and gave Mr. Danvers a withering look of frustration. “Really? You just had to throw that in? What? Are you now afraid that there will be a rash of weddings around the company?”
“Well I was thinking about reviewing our legal aid plan, you know,” Danvers said thoughtfully. “I mean with all of the weddings that this incident is likely to spawn, we will have at least the fifty percent divorce rate that exists everywhere else in this country. Right? That means our employees will be utilizing their legal insurance more often.”
Danvers trailed off when Landry started to laugh. He looked disgruntled. Then Landry patted him on the arm. “You poor thing. I really don’t see a whole lot people following my example. First of all, Maxim is one of a kind. I cannot imagine there being a bunch of men out here in this crowd who are just itching to run to the altar. And secondly, not every girl is as convincible as I am, you know.”
“I didn’t have to convince you,” Maxim murmured to his bride. “You sort of did that all by yourself. In fact, I don’t think I was ever really involved in that one-sided conversation. I didn’t even know what was going on.”
“Oh is that right?” She slugged him in the belly. “Then maybe I should change my mind? I think there’s still time for an annulment. You know, if the marriage hasn’t been consummated or anything.”
Maxim swept Landry into his arms and flung her over his shoulder. “That can certainly be remedied.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Five Years Later…
Maxim gazed around at the people scattered across the lawn of what had once been his cold, sterile mansion. Now the place was full of friends and family all here to celebrate one thing.
Landry slipped her arm around his waist. “If you had told me five years ago that I would be inviting hundreds of the most important people in my life to have a party at my thirty-five-room mansion, I would have told you that you were not only not funny but also delusional.”
“And yet here you are.” Maxim wrapped his arm around his wife and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You are rich and powerful like a goddess who can command the world with only the wiggle of one tiny finger.”
“If by tiny finger, you mean our daughter, then yes.” Landry pointed to where their one-year-old daughter Isabella was laughing up a storm. “Because I’m pretty sure the fate of the universe is at the mercy of her tiny hands.”
The imp in the frilly pink dress was holding court in the middle of the patio. Her auntie Dinah had stacked all of the little princess’s gifts into a ridiculous tower. Thayla and Casey were taking turns playing peek-a-boo, and even Cooper and Adam were arguing about who got to take pictures of the birthday girl with her first piece of cake. The house was crawling with Maximov employees and the other friends that Maxim and Landry had made over the years. They had been busy and happy and they wanted to have everyone celebrate Isabella’s first birthday with them.
“Have I told you lately how happy you’ve made me?” Maxim asked his wife.
She turned to gaze up into his face. “You tell me all the time, but I never get tired of hearing it.”
“Well then let me tell you again.” He leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips. “You make me deliriously happy.”
“I can certainly vouch for the delirious part,” she agreed solemnly. “And I have to admit that you also make me delirious in more ways than one.”
Maxim felt his smile disappear. Sometimes he wondered if she regretted her choice. Their wedding—hell, their relationship—had been so rushed. At the time it had seemed like the right and only choice. In hindsight, Maxim often wished he could have wooed his wife with a gentler sort of courtship.
“You know that I would have bought you the world,” Maxim told her softly. He cupped her face tenderly. “I would have taken you out every single night if that’s what you wanted.”
Landry was already giggling. “I know. Even though poor Danvers would have had a heart attack, you would have completely violated Section Two of the employee code just to win my heart.” She touched his face in return. “Maxim, I don’t have any regrets. Okay?”
***
Sometimes Landry wondered if Maxim would ever get over being worried that he had pushed her into marrying him. The truth was that she had needed his push. Perhaps she only realized that now that she was a little older and wiser, but still. She never would have been able to take that leap alone.
“Shall I divorce you, I wonder,” she mused. Cocking her head to one side, she took in the horror in his expression. “You know. I’ll divorce you so that I can turn right around and start pestering the shit out of you to get married. Right?”
The relief on Maxim’s face hit her hard. She hadn’t meant to hurt him with her joke. She was trying to make a point. Instead he grabbed on and held her so tightly she thought he might actually make her pop. “Don’t ever joke about that, my love. Never.”
“Okay!” Landry wondered what was making him so melancholy today, and then she realized. “Pyotr didn’t respond to your invitation, did he?” She already knew the answer.
&
nbsp; Maxim hadn’t spoken with his brother since the day he had confronted both Pyotr and Boris. At first it was Maxim who held out and refused contact. In the last two years it had been Pyotr who refused to reinitiate any sort of communication or dialogue. Maxim now blamed himself for the estrangement.
“I lost my brother through my own arrogance,” Maxim grumbled. “I cannot expect him to simply forgive and forget.”
“Actually, you should be able to expect just that,” Landry pointed out gently. “You’re family. And someday he’ll pull his head out of his ass and realize that. You’re both just stubborn Russians. That’s all.”
He made some dark, growly noise and Landry wondered if his mood was going to sour the entire party. Then he sighed and flung his head back to stare up at the afternoon sky. It was a beautiful day. The sun was bright. The temperature was perfect. And they had plenty of people here enjoying the mountains of food and drink.
“You’re probably right,” Maxim grunted. “You always are. It’s a rather annoying trait actually.”
“That’s so weird!” she teased. “I was going to say the same thing about you!”
“Shall we join the others then?” Maxim started to walk, tugging her along with him.
Landry paused for a moment. “Just one thing, I think.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m pregnant.”
She actually laughed at the blank expression on his face. Then all the cylinders seemed to kick into gear and he picked her up and whirled her around like a crazy person. “That’s amazing! Totally amazing! Have you told anyone yet?”
“No!” Landry laughed. “I think telling you first is probably just polite, don’t you think? Since you’re the sperm donor and all.”
“I suppose that would be the polite thing to do,” he allowed. “As opposed to dragging me onto one of those daytime talk shows so we can fight and yell at each other on national television.”
“I’ll never understand why you’re so fascinated with those,” Landry muttered.
“You Americans,” Maxim joked, “always wanting your five seconds of fame.”
