Dimitri (34 page)

"We are. It's coming along a lot faster than
I'd expected but we've got some of the bakery crew coming in to
help. A lot of the guys who work for me do tile work or lay
flooring or install drywall on the weekends anyway. They know the
contractor I hired and he's only too happy to have more hands on
the job."

"Probably because Dimitri inserted one of those
bonus payments on early completion clauses," Lena remarked. "It's a
good way to keep a contractor from milking you dry." She stepped
away to grab a glass of white wine from another waiter. "Don't
forget we're meeting at my graphic guy's place tomorrow. We have to
okay the designs for the launch."

"I won't." I'd started using her color-coded
scheduling system to keep track of everything. I wouldn't ever miss
an appointment again.

"I heard the radio commercial on the way to
class this morning," Vivian said. "It was catchy. I liked
it."

"That's all Lena." I smiled at her. "This girl
knows how to hustle."

Just then, a waiter stopped by our group with a
tray of canapés. The overpowering scent of salmon and dill and some
kind of egg salad made me queasy. I moved to the side and pressed
my hand to mouth and nose.

Erin shot me a worried look after waving at the
waiter to go. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," I said and swallowed hard. My stomach
calmed slightly. "I think I caught a slight case of food poisoning
from that Thai place the other night. I've been sick to my stomach
ever since."

Erin frowned. "Benny, we ate there a week ago.
You've been nauseated for, like, seven days?"

"Are you sure it's food poisoning?" Lena's dark
eyebrows had arched to her hairline.

"Pretty sure," I replied.

Vivian lean forward and whispered, "Are you
late?"

"For what?"

She rolled her eyes before focusing
her gaze on my belly. "
You
know
."

"No! I…" My brain short-circuited as I tried to
remember the last time I'd had a period. It had been a week or so
before Dimitri and I had gotten together so that meant my period
was due…

My tummy pitched as I hastily recalculated.
"I'm three weeks late."

Calmly, Erin asked, "You're sure? It could be
the stress of everything you've been through in the last month and
a half."

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Is it likely that you have a little Dimitri
bun in your oven?" Lena asked the obvious question. "I mean, have
you two been together without…?"

I blushed as I remembered that first morning
when we'd made love and then again the night he'd asked me to marry
him. "Yes. Twice."

"There's a drug store around the corner that's
open all night. I could run over and grab a test," Vivian
offered.

"No." I caught Dimitri's questioning gaze
across the restaurant. Even at that distance, he could read me so
easily. Glancing back at the girls, I said, "If I'm going to test,
I'm going to do with him. You won't say anything until I'm
sure?"

"No."

"Definitely not."

"Your secret is safe with me."

Assured they would keep mum until the time was
right, I excused myself. Lena squeezed my shoulder as I left and
smiled encouragingly. Moving through the thick crowd, I was stopped
every few feet and hugged and congratulated. Some of the
well-wishers I knew and others I didn't. Here, though, we were all
friends.

Butterflies swarmed in my belly as I drew near
Dimitri. He still chatted with Yuri, Nikolai and Ivan but his gaze
skipped to me as I made my approach. I didn’t know how the hell I
was going to tell him what I suspected. I fought the urge to press
a hand to my still-flat tummy.

Deep down inside, I knew it to be true. All the
little things I'd been ignoring and chalking up to stress over the
last couple of weeks made sense. The nausea, the headaches, the
sleepiness, my super sore breasts—they were all clear pregnancy
signs but I'd been blind to them.

Dimitri held out his big hand as I came close.
I placed my palm on his and enjoyed the heat of his fingers
enveloping mine. Dragged to his side, I wrapped my arms around his
waist. He kissed the top of my head and caressed my lower back.
"What were the four of you whispering about so
conspiratorially?"

"Oh that?" I shrugged and managed to play it
off. "Just girl talk."

Dimitri's eyes narrowed with suspicion but he
didn't pry. Instead, he said, "Yuri was just bragging on you.
Apparently, you're doing very well in your lessons."

I shot the billionaire playboy a grateful
smile. "He's teaching me all kinds of useful tricks for running a
business on lean margins. I'm starting to look forward to checking
my email every morning for my next lesson."

Yuri laughed. "I'm enjoying it actually. It's
nice to pass on some of the things I've learned to someone who
actually wants to learn them. Usually when I get requests for
mentoring, they're from people who want to make a fast
buck."

"Well that's not me," I said with a laugh. "If
I was after fast money, I've gotten into the wrong
business."

"Fast is rarely good. Sometimes the slow, easy
build is the best way to happiness."

His teasing smile told me Yuri wasn't talking
about business now. He meant relationships. My relationship with
Dimitri fit that bill. Was he also talking about his relationship
with Lena? I wasn't really sure where that was going. They weren't
friends but they weren't enemies either. They were…acquaintances
with the possibility of something more.

The soft notes of music faded and the DJ
switched to some truly old school R&B. Etta James crooned over
our heads. Beside me, Ivan swore softly in his mother tongue. I
spotted Erin coming toward him, holding out her hand. I sensed he
didn't actually like dancing but he wasn't about to tell her that.
He let her drag him onto the floor. Grinning and laughing, he
pulled her close and wrapped his arm around her. There was no
mistaking the love they felt for one another.

"Dance with me?" Dimitri gave me a gentle tug
toward the swaying couples. I happily went with him. My eyes closed
briefly as I pressed my cheek to his chest. His scent and heat
soothed my raw nerves. I tried to decide if now was the time to
tell him or if I should wait until we were alone and had
privacy.

"What were you really talking about with the
girls?" Dimitri peered down at me with concern in his pale eyes.
"You looked panicked. Was it something to do with that tense
discussion Vivian had with Detective Santos?"

"No. Did you know they're cousins?"

His surprised expression answered that one.
"No, I didn't."

"Well they are. He was coming to give her a
heads-up that her dad is getting out of prison early."

"Shit." Dimitri's gaze jumped from my face to
some place behind me. I didn't have to look over my shoulder to
know he was searching for Nikolai. "That's going to be a
problem."

"I gathered that."

He slid a finger under my chin and forced me to
meet his curious gaze. "If it wasn't that, then what had you so
panicked?"

I gulped, my mouth suddenly dry, and tried to
figure out the best way to tell him. "Um…what do you think about
kids?"

"Kids?" He seemed taken aback by the unexpected
query. "I think they're fun. I assumed we'd have some."

"Like…when?"

He laughed nervously. "I don't know. Whenever
you'd like, I suppose. Why? Is this your way of telling me you'd
like to start trying after we're married?"

"Well…"

Dimitri stopped dancing. Shock filtered across
his face as he pieced together the hints. "Are you—are
we—?"

"I'm not sure," I hurriedly patted
his chest. "I'm late. Like
really
late and I have other symptoms and we did…you
know…twice."

Slowly, his mouth curved into the most ecstatic
grin. Gone were all traces of shock. He seemed completely and
totally thrilled by the possibility. Touching his forehead to mine,
he whispered, "We'll buy a test on the way home. I hope it's
positive."

"Really?" I held his gaze and gauged his
sincerity. "You're not upset?"

"Upset? About making a beautiful little baby
with the woman I love? Never!"

I'd never seen him so happy. The anxiety I'd
been experiencing fled.

"Are you upset?"

"No," I answered quickly and honestly. "I'm a
little scared. Two months ago, I wasn't even dating. Now I'm
engaged and probably pregnant. It's a lot—and really
fast."

"Life doesn't follow prescribed timetables,
Benny. Sometimes it just…happens." He cupped my face and captured
my mouth in a loving kiss. "I promise I'll be a good
father."

After the miserable childhood he'd experienced,
Dimitri would probably spoil our baby rotten but he'd be a
wonderful father. My heart threatened to burst as I gazed into the
shimmering eyes of the man I intended to marry. "I know you will.
That's one thing I never doubted. You're the best man I've ever
known, Dimitri. I can't imagine sharing all this with anyone
else."

He gathered me close and started to sway with
me again. "We'll have to move up the wedding date. Yuri offered to
let us use one of the yachts for the ceremony and reception so
Johnny can be there." He chuckled and teased, "Of course, Johnny's
probably going to punch me in the face when he finds out I got his
sister pregnant."

"Probably," I agreed with a short laugh. He'd
been so supportive when I'd called to inform him of the engagement.
Honestly, my brother hadn't seemed the least bit surprised. I'd
been left wondering if he and Dimitri hadn't already discussed the
possibility of him proposing at some point.

"You'll have to cut back at work," Dimitri
insisted. "What do you think of hiring an office manager to handle
the part of the business you dislike so much?"

"It's not a bad idea."

"And you'll have to stop going in for the early
morning shift. You'll need your rest. We'll get you a nice,
comfortable stool for working at the decorating table. You can't be
standing on your feet for twelve hours a day anymore. And fans for
the kitchen," he added hurriedly. "It can't be healthy for you to
be so hot."

Amused by his overprotectiveness but also a
teensy bit annoyed, I started to argue with him. Then I remembered
how he'd borne my mothering and coddling when he'd been injured.
With a submissive smile, I replied, "Yes, Dimitri."

"Just like that? No arguing?"

"Would it help?"

He laughed. "No."

"Exactly."

Nuzzling my cheek, he murmured, "I can't wait
to get you home. We'll have to start a new nightly routine for
you."

"Oh?" My tummy trembled with excitement as I
wondered what he had in mind.

"A nice, relaxing bath, foot and back massages
and then I'll make love to you," he decided. "How does that
sound?"

"Fantastic." I rose up to meet his seeking
kiss. Ridiculously in love with my big, sexy Russian, I slid my
hands up his arms and held on tight. "I love you,
Dimitri."

Grinning, he kissed the tip of my nose. "I love
you, Benny."

Cradled to his chest, I felt safe and secure.
If this was how we were going to spend the rest of our nights, I
couldn't wait to start the next chapter of our lives
together.

Author's
Note

I hope you enjoyed the second
installment of the
Her Russian
Protector
series! The third story in the
series,
YURI
,
releases in May 2013.

You can get updates on new releases
by visiting my
website
, signing up
for
my
newsletter
or liking my author
page on
Facebook
. Thanks so much for
reading DIMITRI!

Roxie's
Backlist

Her Russian Protector
Series

IVAN

DIMITRI

YURI (Coming May 2013)

NIKOLAI (Coming June 2013)

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