She grinned. “All in good time, comrade. Maybe when I’m thirty. There’s no hurry. Besides, surely Christian’s going to propose to Liss one of these days. We don’t want to overshadow them.”

Dimitri shook his head in exasperation, but he kept smiling. “You’ve always got an excuse, Roza. One of these days . . .”

“One of these days,” she agreed.

We stayed up late catching up with everyone and then finally dispersed for bed. Rose and Dimitri were camped out in the living room, and Jill had made the study her bedroom, just as she always did when she visited. Declan had passed out a while ago, and once I made sure he was resting comfortably in his crib, I made my way to my own bedroom. This house we’d been renting was an old Victorian, and our bedroom was in the turret, which was off to the house’s side and practically its own wing. I loved the room’s round shape and privacy. It made me feel like we were in our own castle.

Seeing as Jill had taken over Sydney’s usual studying place, I wasn’t surprised to find Sydney on our bed surrounded by books now, wearing a short robe. “You changed,” I said, shutting the door behind me. “I was hoping to see some more of that red dress.”

She smiled up at me and closed a textbook entitled Minoan Art and Architecture. “I thought you’d like this better. But I could go put it back on if you want.”

I helped her stack up the books and move them off the bed so that I could sit beside her. “That depends,” I said, running a hand over her leg. “Is there anything on under it?”

“Nope. Probably I should change.” She pretended to get up, and I caught her hand, pulling her down and rolling her to her back.

“Don’t even think of it.” She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I noticed she still had on her rings, which reminded me of our guests’ big news. “I’d been wondering how Rose and Dimitri would handle having kids or not,” I remarked. “But I guess that’s a question that won’t be decided for a while, seeing as how he can’t even get her to the altar.”

Sydney laughed. “I think he’ll get her there sooner than you think. She talks a good game, but I bet she’ll give in eventually. I did.”

“Yeah, but Belikov’s not nearly as charming as I am. Or as good a cook. It’s an uphill battle for him.”

“Maybe you can give him some pointers,” Sydney teased.