"You didn't hear?" Avery said.
"Did not hear what?" Kova’s eyes snapped up to mine.
"Tell him, Aid."
I bit into my lip as he stared at me. His chest rose higher and faster, and I swear I could feel his heart pumping. Kova watched me, waiting, looking hopeful.
"Ria?" he asked slowly.
I averted my gaze and hopped down from the counter.
"Well…" I began, and walked over to Avery. "I haven't really had a chance to tell you and honestly, I wasn't sure how I would." I wrapped my arm around the back of her neck and tugged her to me. She hugged me back, dropping her head to my shoulder and hooking her arms around my waist. I could see from the corner of my eye she was smiling softly at Kova.
"This birthday has been the best birthday of my life. Not only did you surprise me with a meaningful gift, but Avery, well, she…"
Shoot. Emotion hit me faster than I could stop it from happening. Tears filled my eyes and my jaw trembled. Trying to say I had a kidney match proved to be harder than I thought.
Avery lifted her head off my shoulder and looked at me. A tear slipped out of my eye and down my cheek. I still couldn't believe what she was going to do for me.
"For Adrianna's birthday, I surprised her too." She looked toward Kova. "I'm her match. Well, we already knew that." She joked with a playful roll of her eyes. "I'm a kidney match. When the time comes, because I know she's stubborn and won't do it now, I'll be giving her a kidney. I got these shirts for us since we're kidney besties for life now."
I watched Kova's face shift through a handful of emotions. The color in his cheeks drained and he stood stone still, like he was in shock and didn't know what to say. His Adam's apple bobbed. Lifting his hand, he ran it over his mouth and looked at the floor. Then, he walked toward us and surprised us both.
I thought he was going to pull me into his arms, but he didn't. Instead, he pulled Avery into his arms and hugged her.
My jaw dropped and my eyes widened as I watched his face twist into a blend of heartache and relief. Squinting, I caught the subtle shaking in his arms.
Avery looked to me for guidance. All I could do was shrug my shoulders because other than when we were alone, or he was with Katja, I never saw Kova show an ounce of emotion, let alone touch anyone. Right now, he was pouring himself into her.
Eyes twinkling, Avery went with it. She wrapped her arms around Kova's back and ran her flat palms ever so slowly up and down from his shoulders to his hips. Her eyes floated shut and she smiled from ear to ear.
"My, Kova, what a strong back you have," she said.
I laughed.
Kova pulled back, his lips twitching. "Thank you, Avery," he said. His voice was hoarse.
He turned and looked at me, almost making my heart stop. Raw love and affection filled his eyes. I knew he loved me, he told me often, but this time it was different. His love rendered me speechless. This was a side of Kova he never exposed to the outside world, for obvious reasons, yet he was allowing Avery to see it. It made me fall for him even harder.
"From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Avery," he said again, blowing out a heavy breath. He was struggling with the news the same way I had. "I cannot imagine my life without Adrianna."
We both stared at him in astonishment. Kova followed up with a few things in Russian, though I didn't ask him what they meant. Something in my gut told me to just give him a minute.
Avery recovered and pretended to dust her shoulders off. "Now that I made it so you guys can fornicate for the rest of your lives, show me her mark." Kova looked confused. I didn't know what she was talking about until she said, "Adrianna told me about the A, and I want to see it. Take your shirt off."
I covered my mouth. "Ave," I said, trying not to laugh. She was so unpredictable.
She looked at me like it wasn't a crazy request. "What? It's the least he can do for me. I want to see it. I think it's so sexy and sweet." Avery had a wistful look on her face that made me laugh even harder.
"No," he said, shutting her down.
Her jaw plummeted to the floor. She looked at Kova like she was offended. "What? Why not?"
"No."
"Okay. Fine. Don't take your shirt off, just lift it so I can see."
Kova turned to me for help. All I could do was offer him an apologetic look.