A Very Merry Hockey Holiday (Assassins #6.5) (6 page)

When they all started opening the gifts that he and Piper had picked out, their faces were priceless and something he would always hold near to his heart.

Knowing that he brought some light to a kid’s Christmas when their home life wasn’t good was really the true meaning of the holiday.

With Dimitri and Katarina in their stroller, Erik pushed the kids through the Green Hills mall in search of Tiffany’s. He hated shopping, but they had to get something for Piper for Christmas. He was leaving in a few days for a short road trip before Christmas, and he wanted to make sure the kids got to help him pick something out. Getting rid of Piper and his parents was a feat, but he managed it. Now if Dimitri could stop throwing his sippy cup out of the stroller and Katarina could stop crying, life would be grand.

Stopping in front of a glass case, he could see that the girl behind the desk couldn’t agree more.

“Sir, can I help you?”

Erik nodded. “Yeah, I need a mom ring,” he barked as he hauled Katarina up into his arms. The wiggly one-year-old didn’t want to be held though and promptly smacked him in the head. “No, that’s not nice.”

“Not nice!” Dimitri yelled and Erik rolled his eyes. The kid was his own personal parrot. He copied anything and everything Erik said, and usually that got him in trouble.

Katarina’s little lip quivered, and then she wailed at the top of her lungs. Trying to soothe her, he looked back at the salesgirl and said, “Mom ring, August birthday and a July birthday.”

“Platinum, white gold, or gold?”

“Platinum, big stones, diamonds, and the prettiest you got.”

“Prettiest you got,” Dimitri said.

“Price limit?”

“There isn’t one,” he said, and when she smiled, he shot her one back.

Then Dimitri added, “There isn’t one.”

The girl gave Dimitri a sweet smile before walking away and Erik shook his head.

“You need to cut that out.”

“Cut it out.”

“No, you cut it out.”

“No, you cut it out.”

“You’re copying me.”

“You’re copying me!” he cheered before grinning extra big. Erik shook his head in disbelief just as Katarina dumped her drink down the front of his jacket.

“Lovely, my love.”

“My love!” was Dimitri’s comment, while Erik’s sweet baby shot him a little grin.

Chuckling, he decided it was lovely. She was his princess and Dimitri was his little dude. They both drove him insane, but they were his. Just as Piper was his too. Erik kissed Katarina’s cheek, and she cuddled into his neck as the girl brought back a few rings.

“Here you go, we can have it all ordered and ready before Christmas.”

Erik nodded, satisfied since he was worried he might be too late. “Awesome. Okay, guys, which one?”

Dimitri stood in his stroller and peered over the counter. He then exclaimed, “That one, Daddy!”

Erik was almost tempted to copy him since that’s what Piper did to make him stop, but they weren’t at home. Looking at the ring, he decided that was the one. The two stones would make a heart with three diamonds around it that would represent Erik and the kids. It was perfect and he knew she would love it.

“That’s it.”

Piper Titov’s head fell to the side as she took in the elaborate Dr. Seuss mural she was doing for her nephew Journey’s room. The little bugger loved Dr. Seuss, and while she had done his hockey mural only a couple years ago, she was happy to change it to make her little guy happy. She was sure her niece Ally was next, but for the time being, she was going to make the best Dr. Seuss mural in the world.

Not only was the famous cat causing havoc on the wall but he was joined by Thing One and Thing Two, along with Sam, the Lorax, and many other timeless characters from the wonderful books. This was probably her favorite mural yet. Smiling, she moved her brush along the wall, the color vibrant as she let out a contented sigh. She loved her life. She had the hottest husband imaginable, two superawesome kids, and family and friends people begged for.

But.

And she hated that there was a but.

But.

She was getting bored painting murals.

She knew it was crazy, and she knew that she was making a killing doing them, but she was getting bored! She had been doing this for almost four years and she was kinda done. She needed more of a challenge and found that in book cover design. She hadn’t told anyone yet, but for the last three months, she had been designing covers for her author friends. It was so exhilarating! Bringing a book to life was becoming something she had to do. Something she was born to do. She loved reading, and being able to sum up the book with a simple image gave her a crazy rush. The only problem was she had made a huge deal saying that painting murals was her life.

She knew people expected her to change her mind, but she wanted to stick with something. Unfortunately, she just wasn’t happy doing it anymore, and she wasn’t sure what she should do. It was Christmastime, not really the ideal time to tell her husband she wanted to change careers. Erik didn’t care about the money since he made enough for their family and then some, but she wanted to contribute. She didn’t make as much money doing covers as she did doing the murals. Would she feel like a contributing part of the family? And plus, what would everyone think?

They’d probably roll their eyes and think of her as flighty again. It was a depressing thought because she didn’t want to be flighty. She wanted to be strong, know what she wanted, but she just got bored with the same thing all the time.

Being a mother and wife was the only thing she didn’t get bored with. It was everything she had ever thought it would be, and sometimes she couldn’t believe she had been so scared to have Dimitri. He honestly brought out the best in her. He also helped his daddy get his head out of his ass and love her, so really, he was the biggest blessing in her life. As well as Katarina. She was so full of life and so perfect. She drove them all crazy since she was sort of a crybaby, but Piper loved her so damn much. They had the perfect little family, and she couldn’t wait for the future.

“Wow, looks amazing.”

Piper looked over her shoulder and smiled as her older sister Harper entered the room.

“Thanks,” she said with a grin as she dipped her brush in the paint. “Where did you go? I got here expecting some food, but only Jakob was here with the kids, and no food was provided. When I asked where you were, Jakob wouldn’t tell me.”

She laughed but it was more of a shocked laugh, not a ha-ha funny one. “Funny story, actually.”

Piper’s brows came up. “What’s up?”

“We are getting an extra special Christmas present this year.”

Still confused, Piper asked, “Huh? What?”

Shaking her head, Harper met Piper’s gaze and said, “I’m pregnant.”

Confused, Piper’s head tilted to the side. “But you couldn’t get pregnant.”

“I know.”

“And your tubes are tied.”

“I know. I’m ten weeks and had no clue.”

“Huh?” Piper asked, completely shocked. “Ten weeks!”

“Yeah, I’m as shocked as you are. Believe me. We both are. I haven’t had my period, but it been spotty since the tubal anyway. But I haven’t been sick or anything. The only reason I went in was because my tits have been hurting so bad, I thought I had cancer or something. Nope, a baby.”

Piper laughed. “Wow. That’s so awesome! Congrats!”

Wrapping her sister in a half hug, she found that her eyes were clouding with tears. Harper had wanted another baby so badly after Ally. She’d even asked Piper and her twin, Reese, to carry it for her, but then they found a surrogate and had Journey. Now though, she was going to carry her own child.

“Audrey’s pregnant too! This is so awesome.”

Harper laughed. “All us Assassins women are always pregnant together. Damn hockey players are fertile as hell.”

“No shit, right? That’s so cool! I am so excited for you,” Piper said, squeezing her again, and when she pulled back, her sister had big fat tears rolling down her face. She could see the excitement in Harper’s eyes and couldn’t be happier.

“I’m nervous I could lose it again, but I mean, I’m ten weeks. I think God did it that way so I wouldn’t stress and worry, you know?”

Tears flooded Piper’s eyes as she wiped away her sister’s. “Yeah, this one is going to stick and stay. It has to—it went through tied tubes to get here!”

“I just can’t believe it!”

“Me either! It’s freaking amazing. Come here!”

Harper laughed and wrapped her arms tightly around Piper as she sobbed into her shoulder. Piper loved Christmastime; it was the best time for miracles.

And Harper’s and Audrey’s babies were just that.

After finishing for the day and loving on Harper and her family, Piper went home to her own family. As she drove, a huge grin was on her face. Her sister was pregnant. What a freaking miracle. When her phone started to ring, she reached for it to see that it was her twin.

“Hey!”

“Have you talked to Harper?” Reese basically yelled with excitement.

“I did! Can you believe it?”

“No! Oh my God, really, Piper, I’ve been sitting here crying, I am so happy for her.”

“Me too, I cried. I just can’t believe it.”

“It’s a damn miracle, I tell you!”

“I know. It’s so awesome,” Piper agreed. “Next is you, lady.”

“Oh, hell no! You’re next.”

“Whatever, we are done. We have two, a boy and girl, what more do we need?”

“I have a handful of a son and then a niece who is getting married. I’m too broke to have any more.”

Piper laughed. “Liar. You can afford ten more.”

She scoffed. “Claire is going to make us broke. You know she wants to pay for everyone to fly in? Phillip told her to kiss his ass, and I’m like, Claire, you haven’t even picked a date!”

Piper’s grin grew. Her niece was going to drive Phillip and Reese insane with her wedding.

“I swear, he is going to be gray before this wedding happens. My poor husband.”

“He’ll be fine. It’s awesome. Claire and Jude love each other so much.”

“Yeah, I know. She is so happy, and I love when she is happy. I just wish she’d wait at least another ten years.”

Piper scoffed. “Please, in ten years, she’ll have kids and stuff.”