Chapter 10
Francesca
The next day was spent cleaning up and reorganizing things. Carlo hired a few people to help us out. But there was still a lot to do.
Giselle was in a much better mood. Every time I saw her, she was looking at the new diamond wedding band Carlo gave her last night. It was an infinity band with huge diamonds all around it.
Carlo didn't have a ring—we'd all somehow forgotten that part of the ceremony. And when it was time for them to say their vows—Stefan quickly took his ring off and gave it back to his brother.
It was a really sweet moment between them, actually.
I was upstairs trying to organize our clothes. We'd packed in a hurry and hadn't had a chance to hang anything up or put our things in the dressers.
I wasn't sure how long we'd be here. But living out of suitcases wasn't great.
I found the purse Stefan had given me before we went to the outdoor market. I opened it up to see if the overstuffed wallet was still inside.
And—it was.
In fact, I swore there was even more money in it than before. Good grief.
As I stuck the wallet back inside—I noticed the ring at the bottom. The ring I'd bought Stefan from the jewelry booth that day at the market. I picked it up and looked at it.
Gosh.
I loved it even more now.
I smiled and stuffed it into the front pocket of my jeans.
It took me at least another hour to go through all our clothing and toiletries.
There was a smaller black bag that I hadn't gone through.
So, I opened it up. Hmm. Mostly what looked like business files and other papers.
I snooped a little—I mean, it was right here after all.
It looked like some quotes on a basketball court.
Oh, actually, I held the paper closer. Quotes on multiple basketball courts.
Hmm.
I was pretty sure Stefan had a place in the city. And even if he owned another property outside of the city, he wouldn't need multiple basketball courts.
I looked—okay, snooped—at the next file. Three quotes on a large swimming pool facility.
Hmm.
The next file I looked at had quotes for a large, multi-purpose building. Yikes.
I'd never seen numbers that big in my life. Sheesh.
Stefan had some serious business deals going on.
There was also a stack of mail bound with an elastic. And yes, because I was curious—and nosy—I might have flipped through it.
A lot of letters from businesses I'd never heard of.
Some from builders. Maybe those were communications for his projects.
One piece of mail caught my eye. It was from the food bank.
It was addressed to Stefan. Not just some random mailer that they sent out a few times a year to the “owner” of the house.
It was still sealed. But something about it made me want to open it.
I shrugged. Probably just a tax receipt or something.
I heard footsteps in the hallway, so I stuffed everything back into the bag and stuck it in the closet.
A few seconds later, Stefan walked into our room. His eyes dropped to me on the floor. Then he looked at the closet filled with our clothes, and suitcases stowed away in there.
“You did a lot. And here I thought you were resting.” He walked over and offered me a hand.
I slipped mine into his, and he pulled me up. “Nope, just finished. It took longer than I thought.”
He smiled. “It looks much better. And now we don't have to live out of suitcases.” He gave me a quick kiss. “I was just coming up to check on you before I started supper.”
I looked quickly around the room. Everything was neat and tidy. “I'm done. I'll come help.”
We made our way downstairs, hand in hand. Eve was already rinsing off vegetables in the sink. Giselle sat at the table. And Carlo and Nick were outside in front of the huge grill.
“What can I do?”
Eve turned to give me a smile. “In five minutes or so, can you grab the meat out of the fridge for Carlo, please? He's outside starting the grill.” And then she looked at Giselle. “Can you turn the news on?”
I didn't see a TV in here anywhere. Maybe Eve meant some podcast or online station.
Giselle nodded and answered a quick, “Sure.” Then she picked up her phone—and down came a large screen on the side of the room.
“Whoa,” I said, watching the screen roll down all by itself. “That's really cool.”
Stefan laughed and headed for the sink. “Giselle wanted a TV in the kitchen. But Carlo said no.” He and Eve looked at each other, and at the same time, they said, “So they got a TV.” Then they both burst out into laughter.
I glanced over at Giselle, who was rolling her eyes at her friends. “It keeps the kids busy.”
Eve, still laughing, said, “And it's handy so we can watch movies while we're cooking. And it’s nice to have something to occupy the kids while we're cleaning up.”
Speaking of the kids—none of them were here at the moment. The men had decided it was better if they were safely out of the way while all of us adults put the house back together from last night's festivities.
I was pretty sure it also had something to do with the fact that Nick and Eve had stayed up with us drinking half the night.
We had a lovely time. And despite the fact that Eve was sleeping with her husband's best friend—she seemed very in love with her husband.
They laughed and told us all about their impromptu wedding.
It was a sweet story that involved 80's T-shirts. Very cute.
It seemed like every time I tried to push Eve away—she found a way to draw me back in. Which kind of ticked me off. I wanted to hate that woman.
I really, really, really did.
But she made it difficult not to love her. I just wished I understood why she and Carlo would risk their families for a lay.
Nick was no slouch.
Nick was hot.
Everything about that man screamed sex. And the way he looked at his wife was—
Well, you knew what was going through his mind. He loved Eve.
Absolutely adored her.
But he also knew exactly how hot she was.
I had no idea why she'd throw all of that away for some quickies with another man.
“Turn it up, I can't hear,” Eve requested as she grabbed a pot and filled it up with water.
I turned to watch the screen while Stefan washed his hands in the other sink.
Giselle turned up the volume on the familiar newscast. I'd watched it many times back home.
“I like to stay informed. Even when we're out of the country. We can switch it to whatever you want after this, though.”
I glanced briefly at Eve. She'd been talking to me. “It’s fine. This is good.”
“Francesca likes that reality show. With all the married people fighting,” Stefan informed her.
“Oh, I love that one, too. I think a new season is starting soon,” Eve said.
“I'm a little behind. I missed last season,” I said, but didn't elaborate.
Eve frowned and put the pot on the stove. “What? Why?”
I shrugged and turned back to the TV. I didn't want to get into it and tell her I couldn't afford the streaming service it was on. The only reason I could watch those shows back at my apartment was because I got free cable there.
Once I moved back in with my dad and sister—that all went away. But these people didn't need to hear my sob stories. All I said was, “Life just got busy. No time to watch, really.”
Eve turned on the gas stove. “We'll have to catch you up.” Luckily, after that, Eve dropped the subject. I was excited about watching last season, though. I couldn't wait to binge it.
“Come sit with me,” Giselle called from the big table where she sat. “Those two can handle everything.”
Eve piped in. “Absolutely, go sit, Francesca. You must be tired from doing all that work yesterday.”
I looked at her. “You all did as much as I did. Or more, even.”
Eve laughed at that and shook her head. “Oh, my gosh. That is not true at all. You designed the entire thing. All we did was follow your lead. You've got a great eye, by the way.”
Stefan picked up a knife and arranged a cutting board on the counter. “She's a talented artist.”
Eve's face brightened. “Really? Well, that makes sense then.”
I shook my head and looked around. They were right. Stefan and Eve had everything handled. I'd probably just be in the way. “Don't listen to him. He's exaggerating.” Then I wandered over to the table and sat down with Giselle.
We carried on a light conversation while the news played in the background. Stefan and Eve cooked and talked, having a good time in the kitchen. My heart ached to think about how all of this would change once he found out she was sleeping with his brother.
Speaking of Stefan's brother—Carlo walked in from outside, and Nick followed him close behind.
“Oh, crap. I forgot about the meat.” I jumped up and rushed over to the fridge.
“It's okay, honey. There's no rush,” Eve said kindly. “The kids are eating next door, so we can have a quiet night.”
I felt bad. She'd given me one job, and I'd forgotten to do it.
I opened the fridge and pulled out a large plate with huge steaks on it.
After I shut the door, I turned to see the food bank on the big TV screen.
A reporter was interviewing a woman who looked very familiar.
She'd served me many times over the years. Her name was Gladys.
“Today, we'd like to report some fantastic news. I have the head coordinator of this food bank here with us today. Gladys, can you tell us a little about the wonderful things happening here?”
Gladys smiled as the camera focused in on her. I shushed everyone so I could hear better. “Certainly. We've been given a large donation to make enormous improvements.”
The reporter stepped in closer. “What kind of improvements exactly?”
Gladys smiled into the camera. There were trucks and workers surrounding them.
“Well, over there,” she pointed, and the camera showed a large area that was being torn up.
I remembered how horrible that concrete was.
Completely impassable. “We're going to be putting in four basketball courts. Right now, it looks a little rough. But soon—” her voice suddenly took on an emotional tone, “it'll be wonderful.”
The reporter pointed to the other side of the property. It was full of abandoned, dilapidated, unlivable homes. I always wondered why the city hadn't done something with it. “And over there?”
Gladys's smile widened. “Ah, that is an exciting new project.
We've just recently been able to purchase that entire parcel of land.
And we're putting in a swimming facility for the kids in the area.
As you know, our youth have a difficult time accessing recreation facilities due to many socioeconomic reasons.
But now, they'll be able to sign up for swim classes, diving classes, or just come on in to have fun with their friends and family.”
Wait.
Basketball courts.
A swimming facility.
I looked over at Stefan. His eyes were on the screen.
“Stefan,” I said, my stomach doing a weird little squeezy flip.
He looked at me. “What?”
Gladys continued talking. “And over here, the entirety of our main building will be torn down and turned into a multipurpose center. The kids will attend after-hours homework help from tutors. Or sign up for art classes.”
Holy.
Crap.
“Stefan,” I muttered in shock.
“And how were you able to raise enough money to pay for this?” the reporter asked, swinging her arm around. “It must cost millions of dollars to do all of this.”
Gladys's smile grew impossibly big. “An anonymous benefactor called us up months ago. We've been working hand in hand ever since. And now, we're excited to finally get started.”
Yeah.
Holy.
Crap.
The plate of meat slipped out of my hands and went crashing to the floor.
I turned to Stefan. “You—” I started speaking over my dry throat and swallowed. “You. That was you. Wasn't it?”
His eyes hit mine. “What? No, they said that the person was anonymous. It could be anyone.” He shook his head.
Someone had turned the volume down on the TV. Silence filled the kitchen.
“It wasn't an anonymous benefactor. It was you. I saw the files upstairs. And the letter. It was you. Wasn't it?”
Stefan looked down at the counter and set his knife there. When he looked up, he said, “It doesn't matter who did it. It matters that it's getting done.”
Tears fell down my cheeks, and I walked up to him. “It matters,” my voice trembled.
Stefan sighed and took me into his arms. “Francesca, it makes no difference who's behind this. None.”
My arms wrapped tightly around his middle. “It makes all the difference.” I looked up at him, my vision blurry, but I still saw his handsome face. “Thank you. I'm not sure why you did it. But I'm so, so, so grateful you did. The kids will benefit so much.”
Stefan exhaled loudly as his fingers tipped my chin up.
He looked into my eyes. And I swear—I freaking swear—I saw his big, beautiful soul shine through.
“Francesca.” He touched his lips to mine softly.
“They fed you.” His eyes grew wet. “When I couldn't. That alone makes it worthwhile. Because of them—” he kissed my lips, “you didn't go hungry. And that deserves to be rewarded.”
“Stefan,” I choked out. But I was bound and determined to tell him what I had to say.
“This is the nicest thing anyone could ever do. I love that you did this. And I love you. So much. Thank you. It always bothered me that I only took and took, and took. For so many years. The guilt—” I had to stop and wipe my eyes and take a few deep breaths.
“The guilt of knowing I could never pay them back. Not in a billion years was—soul-crushing.”
Stefan shook his head and kissed me on the forehead. “That's not how those organizations work, Chesca. You don't owe them anything. You needed them. They were there. And now you don't.” He lifted my chin further and smiled at me. “And this is how we say thank you.”
I gave him a huge hug and held on. “Does this mean we have to sell the castle and move back into my apartment?”
Stefan laughed and hugged me right back. “Hopefully not. But if we do,” he kissed my head, “I wouldn't give a fuck. As long as you were there with me.”