Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 188(@300wpm)
“Eat the rest of your food, pchelka,” he urged gently.
“But I already feel full.”
“You have to eat for yourself and for our baby, you know that, right?” Sergei reached for her spoon, asking, “How about I feed you—-”
What? When she saw that the billionaire was indeed serious, she hastily grabbed the spoon from his hold, muttering, “I can feed myself, thanks.”
Sergei smiled. “Good girl.”
And just like that, she knew that he had only bluffed about feeding her, knowing that it would get her to eat.
Jerk, Fredericka thought without heat.
Sergei Grachyov should have been everything that she hated, but instead he was proving her every prejudice wrong.
Younger guys were supposed to be immature, but instead Sergei had taken his impending fatherhood in stride. He had issued a press release about her pregnancy, and he had his secretary pen all her doctor’s appointments and workshop dates into his calendar. He also seemed to know more about the ins and outs of pregnancy than she did, and when Fredericka had asked him about it, he had told her without an ounce of embarrassment that he had already read six manuals on the subject.
He was perfect husband material in other words, and it was getting harder and harder for her to remember why she had to turn his proposal down.
When everyone was finished with breakfast, the Grachyovs started to stand and Fredericka cursed in her mind. Shit. She had been so busy daydreaming she had forgotten about this. She hastily came to her feet, hoping to escape, but it was too late.
Vassi, the youngest Grachyov brother and the family’s prankster, reached for her first. He might look like a silver-haired angel at first glance, but he was really the devil in disguise and he gave her a crushing bear hug, murmuring piously, “Seri and I have to leave for work, big sister. We’ll miss you and the baby.”
“Ha!” But her face still ended up flaming, and Vassi released her with a laugh.
Seri reached her next and the younger girl placed a kiss on her cheek. “See you later, Freddie.”
The two linked hands as they walked away, both of them at ease with being a couple made infamous by the fact that they were also stepsiblings.
When she noticed Misha reaching for her, she quickly tried pulling back, but because he had really long arms, he still managed to ruffle her hair in the end. “It’s my turn to babysit today, so I’ll be checking on you later on.” Although notorious for being coldly indifferent to everything and everyone outside his family and work, Misha had made an exception in her case.
Unfortunately.
“I can take care of myself,” she muttered.
“I know that,” Misha answered patiently. “But big brother over there—-” He inclined his head to Sergei, who was leaning against the breakfast counter and gazing at them with amusement as he took a sip of his coffee. “—-will die if anything happens to you. The entire family, actually, will be devastated, so I need to do my part and make sure nothing happens to you while you’re on my watch.”
“I am not a kid,” Fredericka growled.
“I know that, too.” And this time, Misha slanted a pointed glance at her tiny bump, which her wraparound dress couldn’t hide.
The innuendo had her muttering, “S-shut up.” She glared at him as he walked away, but then she found herself face to face with Fyodor Grachyov. Although he was in his mid-forties, the older man looked more like a big brother to his grown-up children. Sergei was, in fact, the mirror image of his father, and looking at Fyodor, Fredericka already knew that Sergei was blessed to look beautiful for the rest of his life.
“Has the pregnancy caused you any discomfort?” Fyodor was asking.
Hurriedly pushing all envious thoughts of Sergei’s gorgeousness aside, she shook her head, mumbling, “It’s been great so far. Just a few unusual food cravings, but other than that, nothing.”
Behind them, Sergei coughed politely, but Fredericka pretended not to hear it. So ‘a few’ and ‘unusual’ were understatements, but so what? He had knocked her up, now he had to live with the consequences, and that included looking for an exotic Asian shrimp paste paired with an equally exotic variety of mangoes – in the middle of night.
“That’s good to hear. If you need any of us, do not hesitate to call, okay?”
She nodded.
He raised a brow.
Aaaaargh. He really was like the rest of them. Or rather, all of his children took after him. She said obediently, “Da, Papa.”
Fyodor grinned. “It gets easier, da?”
“Nyet,” she returned honestly, but her answer only made the older man laugh.
And then it was just her and Sergei, and she told him accusingly, “See what you’ve done? It’s like this every morning!”
But the billionaire only smiled, saying mildly, “All I told them was to make you feel like you’re part of the family because you’ve spent most of your life alone.”