The Trouble with #9 by Piper Rayne
Two weeks after my last Maksim Petrov sighting, I prepare myself to see him tonight.
Nadiya and Jessie are getting married and they invited me. I was going to decline, but there are a lot of working parts when it comes to Maksim and me. We have mutual friends and are bound to see one another at parties. Might as well bite the bullet. Plus, I can’t deny being curious about his parents and this may be my only opportunity to see them.
At the wedding, I slip off my shoes and put them in the basket, stepping into the sand. There aren’t many chairs, which makes me happy that I accepted the invitation. It doesn’t look as though a lot of people were invited.
I catch sight of Aiden and Saige talking to an older couple. Saige sees me and waves me over, but she excuses herself and meets me halfway.
“You look gorgeous,” she says, hugging me. “I’m so happy you came.”
I smile. “I’m nauseous and scared to death.”
She laughs and I do too.
“You came,” Maksim says behind me.
I close my eyes and release a deep breath before turning around.
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Saige says and walks back over to Aiden.
Our eyes take in one another for a moment. He’s so much taller when I’m not wearing shoes. I want to step into him, feel him, smell him, let him hold me.
“Hey,” he says after a moment.
“Hi.”
And we’re back to staring at one another.
“Maksim,” a woman calls from his patio. “She’s here.”
He looks back. “I’m sorry. I gotta go.” He leans forward and his hand on my waist feels as though it sears my skin when he kisses my cheek. “You look stunning as always.”
Then he’s gone and I can’t tell him that he looks handsome in his khakis and white shirt. There are a million things I want to tell him. I’m sorry his season is over. That he played some great last games. That I can tell he’s enjoying playing more than ever before.
I find Saige and sit down beside her, saying hello to Aiden and waiting for the ceremony to start. Candles lit in vases are placed in a row down the walkway to the flower-covered arbor.
“Pretty therapist,” Ford says and sits down on my other side.
“Hey, Ford,” I say.
“You could reciprocate with handsome hockey player.” He elbows me. “But I get it, you only think one hockey player is handsome, right? I mean, I wouldn’t want my girl going around and complimenting other players.”
“I’m not Maksim’s.”
He gives me a look. “You’ll always be Maksim’s.”
I open my mouth to say something, and he raises his eyebrows as though challenging me to say differently, so I shut my mouth. Because he’s right. I’ll always be Maksim’s.
The music starts, and Jessie and her parents walk down the aisle. The woman who called Maksim from the porch walks down with who I presume is her husband.
Then the music changes, and we all turn to find Maksim at Nadiya’s side at the end of the makeshift aisle. He winks at me and tears well in my eyes. He looks at the sky for a moment, whispering something, then smiles at Nadiya, and they walk down between the rows of chairs.
The ceremony is beautiful and happens just as the sun is setting. Watching a couple commit to a life together does something to me. Makes me believe in fairy tales and happily ever afters. By the time they seal their marriage with a kiss, Saige and I are both messes.
Sparklers are given to everyone instead of bubbles or birdseed, and we all have fun with them. Ford almost lights my dress on fire by accident, but I laugh it off.
The happy couple thanks everyone for coming and tell us there’s a buffet inside Maksim’s house. I can’t bear to go in when the house reminds me so much of us, so I remain outside, drinking on the beach.
“I thought you might want to eat something.” Maksim hands me a plate and sits down next to me on the sand.
Nadiya and Jessie are dancing, as well as some of their friends.
“They’re beautiful together,” I say.
“Yeah, now I have to deal with both sets of our parents on my own for a week since they’re going on their honeymoon.”
I laugh. “At least it all worked out.”
“Not all of it.”
My heart skips.
“I don’t have you.” His voice is low and serious.
“Maksim,” I say, shaking my head. “Not here. Not now.”
A woman I saw earlier who resembles Maksim comes over to us. “You’re her.”
“Ne seichas, Mama,” he says.
“You’re the one he loves.” She shoos her son away. “Go, Maksim. I need a word.”
“Mama,” he says again.
“Go.” Her tone brooks no argument and my eyes widen.
He listens and shoots me a look of apology before stepping away.
“I’m Inessa, his mama.”
I hold out my hand. “Paisley.”
“I want to thank you. You pulled my boy out of the darkness.”
I shake my head. “No, I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
“You did. He told me. He’s going to therapy. We talked the other night until the stars went to sleep. He said he didn’t know what was wrong until you came into his life. He wants to be better for you.”
“That’s kind, but you’re giving me too much credit.”
She rests her hand on my knee. “I saw when you walked in. Your back was to him, but he stared for the longest time before he could be strong to approach you. Even now, he’s not sure how to act, but a mama knows and I see it in his eyes. He loves you.”
“I—”
She holds up her hand. “Why do you young people make love so complicated? You love him. He loves you. That is enough. Love is enough. I’m married thirty-five years. Love is what gets you through.”
I smile at her advice.
“I don’t know what happened. But I know what I see. What my son has told me. How he talks about you and what a fool he was to let you go. If you feel the same, why spend this time apart?”
In the distance, I see Nadiya’s mom getting out some Chinese sky lanterns.
Inessa looks at her and back at me. “If you want to put everything behind you and be together, light a lantern with Maksim. Let the wind take your problems away. Start over if you need to, but don’t let the love you share fade away. Sometimes it only comes around once.” She pats my knee.
“Thank you,” I say.
She shrugs and smiles before walking over to Nadiya’s mom.
As they pass around the Chinese sky lanterns, Maksim brings one over to my side. “Do you know how to light these and get it up?”
“Maksim,” I say.
He’s trying to pull it up and looking at where it needs to be lit. “Uh, huh?”
“Look at me.”
He looks over. “I’m sorry about my mama. Whatever she said.”
I shake my head. “You never took me on that ninth date.”
The lantern slips out of his grasp, but he catches it before it hits the sand.
I laugh. “So…”
He swallows hard. “Why are you mentioning that?”
“Well, I was trying to be smooth.”
He smiles. “Are you saying what I think you are?”
I nod.
He drops the lantern and takes me in his arms, picking me up off the sand. I laugh into his neck.
“Ya lublu tebya. I love you, Paisley. You know that, right? I love you so much and I’m so sorry for everything that happened and everything I said. I’m going to therapy, and you were right, it’s helped.”
“I know and I love you too, but, Maksim?”
He lowers me to the ground, his hands cradling my face. “What is it?” He stares me in the eye, his bright blues full of love.
“It’s kotik,” I say and he laughs, pressing his lips to mine.
Ten minutes later, we light a Chinese lantern, each of us holding one side before letting the wind take it, along with all our problems, and hope for some good luck for the future. But regardless, Inessa is right. For us, love is enough.
