by Raven Rivers
The kid stared at him, unphased. “Kids wouldn’t fit in your mouth.”
Struggling to remember the children’s rhyme, he said, “I… um… grind their bones to make my pie. No, cake.”
“It’s bread,” the kid corrected. Yuri felt the little one’s eyes crawling over him in an assessing manner. “At least you’re wearing dress clothes.”
Yuri noticed the boy was also wearing dress clothes with a bright red bowtie, and kneeled down to tell him, “A man needs to present himself well if he wants others to take him seriously.”
Sniffing, the little one rolled his eyes and looked at Jade. “I suppose you can keep him.”
“Gee, thanks, kid.” Turning to Jade, he asked, “Why do you have a child?”
“He’s not mine,” she laughed. “I’m having a holiday party. It’s just a few people. Come in.”
Wrapping an arm possessively around her waist, they strolled into the living room. The fireplace was burning brightly, casting a soft glow over the room. Everything looked picture perfect to Yuri’s eyes. Her place was easily much more homey than his. He could see why she didn’t want to give it up. He was quickly greeted by Luka and his girlfriend, Trisha, along with Karl, who waved from across the room. Jade stopped in the doorway leading to the kitchen and stared at him. Yuri looked at her in confusion for a moment, unsure of what she was staring at. She playfully cleared her throat, and her beautiful brown eyes rolled up to look at a decoration on the underside of the doorway. There were sprigs of mistletoe entwined with ribbon hanging there.
Yuri knew exactly what that meant. Pulling her into his arms, his lips found hers and he took his time claiming his traditional Christmas kisses. The sound of the party died out around them. Her arms slid inside his coat to twine around his body. Pulling back, he gazed down at her smiling face.
“That was a nice Christmas surprise,” he said, returning her smile.
“I’ve got more for you.” When she tried to step away, he pulled her back.
“Wait. I have a gift for you first.” He pulled a small velvet pouch from his pocket and handed it to her.
Opening it, she gasped. “Yuri, it’s beautiful!”
Taking the three-carat diamond from her, he held it at the end of her ring finger. “I had it made long ago, thinking if we ever reunited, I wanted to be prepared. I won’t lose you again.” The small crowd gather around as Yuri dropped to one knee. “Jade Reinhold, I’ve spent the last ten years of my life loving you every day. That love will never fade. If you’ll have me, I want to spend the rest of my life loving you every day, too. Will you be my wife?”
Nodding eagerly, she began to tear up. “Yes, yes, of course! You know that I will.”
Sliding it onto her finger, he heard the room erupt in applause. Closing his eyes, Yuri let all the happiness around him sink in before looking back down at his sweet Jade.
“You are my happily ever after, baby. Don’t ever forget that,” she told him.
“I won’t, lyubov moya.”
Turning to face their friends, Yuri held her close as the applause continued. Mikael showed up moments later to congratulate his old friend, and the celebration lasted well into the night. After a lifetime of emptiness, Yuri finally felt like his life had meaning. And as for Jade, she knew knew she’d never feel scared or alone again. The two had found each other once more, and this time, nothing would pull them apart.
THE END
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Also from Raven Rivers:
All books in the Russian Mobster Series are standalone, full-length steamy romance novels.
They can be read in any order and do not contain cliffhanger:
Fixing Broken Hearts (book 1)
Mobster’s Fake Wife (book 2)
Owned by the Mob (book 3)
Click here for a list of all of Raven's Books on Amazon (Free on Kindle Unlimited)
Unexpected Love
Imani and the Don
Billionaire’s Hit List
Unexpected Wedding Surprise
The Goldsmith’s Protector
In The Crosshairs
The Pretend Girlfriend
The CEO Makes a Play
About the Author
From her cozy apartment in upper Chicago, Raven pens her steamy interracial romances that are infused with spirituality and moral conflict.
34-year-old Raven got her first story published ten years ago and hasn't stopped writing since!
Her passion for crafting believable worlds and characters has never waned, and she hopes you'll enjoy her unique romance stories.
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