Rogue Hearts

The last one was his ex-wife, who he didn’t want to even think about at the moment.

“No bashing,” his mother said. “Even if Trish’s difficult, she’s still the mother of my grandchildren. Speaking of those two, I hope you’re bringing them, too.”

“I am,” he said. “I want Victoria to meet everyone, but I’m just worried it’ll be a lot for her.”

“Don’t worry, Andrei. We’ll make sure she feels welcome the whole time.”

“Thanks, Mom, but it’s not you I’m worried about.”

“Your father will be fine. Have you told him yet?”

“I wanted to tell you first, but I’m going to tell him and Sam next.”

“Whatever you father says, don’t let it get to you. I will make sure he

’s on his best behavior.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll need the reinforcements.” Even though his father had his moments, he always listened to his wife and treated her with love and respect.

“I’ll have to plan the meal,” his mother said. “We should have roast turkey with rice, mushrooms, and butternut squash. Oh and there’s this stuffed pepper recipe I have wanted to try as well as a sweet potato pie one.”

“He doesn’t need to hear the entire menu,” Amy complained.

Andrei laughed. Their mother was the one he’d got the cooking bug from for a reason. “Whatever you fix will be great, Mom. It always is, and I’m sure Victoria will love it. She’s not picky and knows great food when she tastes it.”

“Her name’s Victoria. I’m so excited to meet her. I can’t wait, dear.”

“I may bring Erik, too. I think we both could use some time out of the city, and since he doesn’t have any family here, the mini vacation may do him some good.”

“Sure. We always love having, Erik. I have to go and start planning everything.”

“Good going, dork. You’ve unleashed the cooking beast again. Don’t forget who she drags in to help her with all these cooking and baking plans.”

“Oh hush, Amy,” his mother said. “It’ll be good for us. I have to get some things ready. We’ll see you all Friday for dinner.”

“Okay. We will see you then.” When Andrei hung up, he felt more confident about telling his father, knowing that his mother would have his back at least.

He told his brother to meet him in their father’s office and took a deep breath before leaving his. As usual, his father was huddled over massive amounts of paperwork.

Andrei knocked on the open door to get his attention. “Dad, do you have a minute?” he asked.

“Can it wait until later?” his father asked without looking up. “I’m working on a deadline for a client here.”

“It’ll be quick.”

“Fine.” He put the paper he was reading down and looked up at Andrei. “What is it then?”

His father was a kind man when he wanted to be, but work had the tendency to stress the man out. Although he had built a multi-million dollar firm, the money came with more responsibility and stress that had his father on edge most of the time. The man wanted Andrei to be more like his brother, Sam, who lived and breathed law since he was made to follow in their father’s footsteps. Andrei wished Sam had been born first to take the pressure off him to be a lawyer, but there were still times he enjoyed the profession.

Working as a chef had no guarantees as a lawyer, and at least he was able to provide for his daughters. Now, he just had to convince Victoria to let him take care of her every once in awhile, too. The woman was stubborn, but he had some tactics on how to get her to see his way that involved a lot of bedroom time and pampering during her pregnancy.

“You called,” Sam said, popping his head in.

“Come in,” Andrei said. “I just wanted to let both know I’m bringing someone special to the house this weekend.”

“When did you start seeing someone?” Sam asked.

“We’ve been seeing each other for some time now.” He didn’t want to hear his father’s speech on him barely knowing Victoria, so he left the exact time out.