Pairing Off (Red Hot Russians #1) (28 page)

He belonged...to her.

The power and truth in those simple words took her breath away. Anton was the man she’d been born to love, and who’d been born to love her. Different lives, different languages, different countries—it didn’t matter. Their hearts had recognized one another from the start.A curtain of tears blurred the sight of his handsome face, and she blinked them away. “So much for fake marriages. Too bad the Xposé Network can’t hear any of this.”

He took her hands and smiled. “You know how we prove our marriage is real? We stay together. Years from now, people will look at us and say, ‘remember crazy story about them? Who said it, anyway? That guy who sells diet pills on late night TV. Cody What’s-his-Name?’”

She laughed. “Who can believe anything he says. Not me, that’s for sure.”

“So what next,
solnze
? Do we move to Lake Shosha to coach...and start family?”

“Absolutely, but as I think about it, there’s something else I’d like to do too.” She paused, then smiled. “What would you think about trying this again?”

He raised a dark brow. “The next Winter Games?”

Excitement bubbled out as fast as she could speak. “Why not? In four years, we won’t even be thirty. We had a bad night tonight, but I’m not ready to give up on Parker and Belikov. I’ve never had as much fun skating as I’ve had with you. And if we’re this good after just one season, think how good we’ll be after two or three.”

“We’ll be amazing.” His voice was strong and confident. “Gold medal contenders, for sure. We can train where we live. Galina can come. It will be perfect.”

“Especially if we have a little one to look after.”

His eyes grew wide. “You want to train
and
be pregnant?”

“Well, not at the same time, but it’s been done,” she said. “Baby first, then training. I know it won’t be easy, but neither of us...”

“...is beginner.” He finished her sentence, recalling his words the day she’d arrived. They sealed the decision with a kiss that sent her heart soaring. “Well, if we’re going to accomplish such ambitious plans, we don’t have time to waste.” Anton nuzzled her neck. “We must start on baby right away.”

His sexy accent sent a tingle up her spine. She slipped her hand beneath his sweater, liking the feel of firm muscles and warm skin. “Tonight.”

Anton groaned appreciatively at her touch. “Pool’s open, I think.”

Epilogue

September, Lake Shosha

The long driveway, which Carrie had first seen buried in snow, was lined with cars.

“Looks like everyone found it,” Anton said, as he steered around a badly parked caterer’s van. “I’ll park by rink and walk back, but will let you out first.”

“Thanks.” Carrie massaged her bare right foot and wiggled the toes on her left. After a morning in high heels, both were swollen and sore. “Walking from the car to the house is going to be painful enough. And forget about shoes. I hope no one minds.”

“Who’s going to mind? You’re pregnant and among friends.” He reached over and gently stroked the curve of her belly. “Did they behave during wedding?”

“No,” she said with a laugh, feeling the familiar poke of a tiny heel or elbow just below her ribs. “I think one’s going to be a kickboxer instead of a skater.”

“Not kickboxer, hockey player. Girls can play too.”

Through the car’s open windows came the sounds of the party, and the four-man jazz band playing on the back patio. Carrie got out, carrying her shoes, and walked up the brick path in her bare feet. The bushes beside the front door needed more pruning, but fresh paint and window boxes planted with geraniums had gone a long way toward erasing years of neglect. The house couldn’t talk, but she suspected it was glad they were here.

Nika and Irina came out as Anton drove away. “Where’s he’s going?” Nika asked, aiming her camera toward the driveway entrance. “Won’t he want to be here when they arrive?”

“We left the registry before they did, so there’s still time. Anton went to park, but dropped me off so I wouldn’t have to walk,” Carrie said, holding up the strappy sling-backs she was done wearing for the day.

Irina patted Carrie’s hand. “He is a good man who knows how to care for his wife,” she said in Russian. “How are you feeling, Kerrichka? Not too tired?”

“I’m fine. Please don’t worry about me, and thank you again for everything you’ve done to help with the party.”

“I hope they enjoy the cake,” Irina said. “It is a little smaller than the one I made for your wedding, but still nice.”

“Smile, sister,” said Nika, from behind her camera. “I want a picture of my nieces, with their mom and babushka!”

Carrie smiled for the picture, knowing she probably looked as big as a house. She wasn’t due until December, but with her petite frame, she looked ready to give birth any moment.

So far, the plan they’d hatched on a Lake Placid balcony was unfolding on schedule.

Their story had captured the world’s attention, and a photo of them holding hands and smiling just before their short program, as well as Anton’s police mug shot, became two of the most widely circulated images from the Lake Placid Winter Games.

Dad’s political career seemed to be weathering its early scandal, thanks in part to their popularity. His willingness to face the press and candidly answer questions about Momma’s death had also generated strong public sympathy, as did Lolly’s recent work on behalf of a suicide prevention foundation. This fall, the nonprofit and the Parker family would partner on the release of Momma’s final album, “Into the Light,” with the royalties donated to fund counseling hotlines.

Anton’s criminal charges kept them in Lake Placid after the games, so they’d settled into a rented condo and trained for the World Championships. Sarah and Maddie returned for a visit and Maddie announced her plan to skate with Justin Bieber and win a gold medal in pairs. That he was neither a skater, nor an American made any difference. “He’ll move here to skate with me, then we’ll fall in love and get married,” Maddie said.

Anton nodded. “A very good plan, I think.”

A month later in Berlin, they capped off Carrie’s comeback by winning the competition she’d been disqualified from the year before. Following a three-month stint with the European Champions on Ice tour, a drugstore pregnancy test confirmed what she’d begun to suspect. On the flight back to Moscow, they’d talked baby names, but couldn’t decide between Victoria or Maria for a girl. “Since we can’t decide, we’ll have to flip a coin,” Carrie said.

An ultrasound a few weeks later confirmed the coin toss wouldn’t be necessary.

In July, they’d moved to Lake Shosha and settled into their new life. Days were busy, working with the athletes and coaches Valentin was bringing to the center. Yulia would train here this coming season and several Saint Petersburg skaters, including Anton’s friend Misha, were considering a move, as well. Carrie had been working with Suzy and Sarah to host a weeklong training camp for some of Sweetspire’s most promising skaters. She and Anton were also eager to get back on the ice next spring.

They’d spent the white nights of summer walking the meadows behind their house and swimming in the small pond under the dusky midnight sky. As the summer faded, they spent evenings watching the sunset, and even found time to view a few online episodes of Olga’s South American reality show.
Frozen Hearts
bombed, but Olga’s new boyfriend, a theatrical producer, had a better idea.
Evita on Ice
was now playing to sold-out arenas throughout Argentina.

“Still on your feet?” Anton called, as he came up the driveway.

“The paparazzi has been keeping me busy,” Carrie said.

“My sister takes her job very seriously, but at the next wedding, someone else will take pictures,” he said, grinning. Nika and Sasha had recently become engaged, and lived in Anton’s Moscow apartment.

A car turned off the main road, horn honking, bringing the other guests from around back. Nika aimed her camera. The car stopped in front of the house. Adrian waved from the driver’s seat as Brigitte got out and opened the back door for the bride and groom.Galina looked almost glamorous in a pale pink silk suit and white gloves, with a wide-brimmed hat perched on her bleached blond head. Ivan the Terrible cut a dapper figure in a gray suit and pink tie as he bent to bestow a passionate kiss on his 55-year-old blushing bride.

As everyone gathered for a photo, Galina took Carrie’s and Anton’s hands. “Thank you both for doing this. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful wedding.”

Anton gazed down at his longtime coach, his dark eyes filled with love. Carrie hugged his arm and leaned against his shoulder. It had been just a little more than a year ago that she’d come here for a last chance to save her skating career. Love had been the last thing she expected to find.

But love had found her. She’d reunited with the man who was her destiny, and been welcomed into a family that today, had grown larger by two. Galina and Ivan, like the Belikovs and even the Parkers, were delighted to be grandparents. Standing beside Anton, Carrie gazed at the smiling faces all around. A year ago, they’d been strangers. Now they were family. Nika positioned her camera on a tripod, and then dashed into the frame seconds before the flash.

With the pictures finished, the guests wandered back to the party, but Carrie and Anton lingered in front. He picked a fluffy white flower from one of the bushes that grew beside the front door and tucked it into her hair. “You look beautiful,
solnyshko
.”

She rolled her eyes. “I look like a house.”

“Not house. Home. The only one my heart will ever need.”

* * * * *

About the Author

Quirky settings. Loveable, if imperfect heroines. Gorgeous men with hearts of gold. Contemporary romance author Elizabeth Harmon loves them all.

A graduate of the University of Illinois, she has worked in advertising, community journalism and as a freelance magazine writer. She feels incredibly blessed to have a career that allows her to spend her days imagining “what if?” and a loving family that keeps her grounded in the real world.

An adventurous cook, vintage-home enthusiast, occasional actress and entry-level figure skater, Elizabeth makes her home in the Midwest, where life is good, but the sports teams aren’t. She loves to hang out on her front porch, or at her favorite local establishments, enjoy good food and wine, and talk writing with anyone who will listen.

Visit her online at
www.romancewriter-girl.com
.

Sports romance gets sexy in Lynda Aicher’s
GAME PLAY, book one of
Power Play
!

One night, one time, nothing more. That’s all it was supposed to be. They’d agreed their first night together would be their only night together—and Minnesota Glaciers defenseman Dylan Rylie was fine with that. Giant hickeys and claw marks on his ass had never been his style, even if the very memory of Samantha Yates’s merciless sexual energy gets him hard within seconds. He needs to focus on getting a better contract, not
mind-blowing orgasms.

One night, one time, nothing more. Fresh off representing the US at the Games and with nowhere else to play, Samantha gave in to one night of frantic passion with the Glaciers’ brawny hotshot. She couldn’t get hurt—not if she controlled the outcome. And she planned to leave Minnesota soon, anyway. She didn’t expect to be recruited to coach Dylan after they’d gotten down and dirty.

When brutal on-ice workouts lead to kinky locker room sessions and “one night” falls by the wayside, Samantha insists on keeping things casual, despite Dylan’s quiet hope for more. But when Dylan goes down—hard—and his career is in jeopardy, Samantha is the first one by his side. What will it take to keep her there after he’s healed?

Available February 2015, wherever ebooks are sold.

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