Chapter 3
Francesca
“We're here,” Stefan whispered. His hand rubbed my arm. We were in my bed. In my crappy apartment above Bernie’s butcher shop.
Stefan was trying to wake me up.
Maybe he needed help getting to the bathroom. Or his wound needed dressing.
“Francesca. Wake up,” he said again, squeezing my arm gently. Gosh, I loved it when he touched me. It always felt so good.
So right.
“Francesca,” he said a little louder. He must need water. And pain meds.
I'd get up.
Grab what he needed. And then come back to bed and we'd snuggle.
Stefan was an awesome cuddler.
“Tired. Gimme a minute,” I mumbled and swallowed. “Do you want pain meds? Or just water?” I tried to open my eyes—but my eyelids felt like cement. They were physically impossible to open.
“What?” he asked in a confused tone. “Francesca, open your eyes. We're here. At Carlo and Giselle's.”
My heart—stopped. And my eyes opened immediately in panic.
I was in Stefan's car. Not my old apartment. We weren't in my bed. And Stefan wasn't injured and weak.
I blinked a few times and sighed. “Sorry. I guess I fell asleep.” I moved my shaky hands over to my seat belt.
But Stefan beat me. He undid it. Instead of just letting it slide over my body, he held it in his hand and moved it to the side. I slipped my arm through and let the belt roll back into place.
Stefan had leaned over to accomplish all of this—which meant his body was incredibly close to mine. Our mouths were mere inches away. My eyes met his. Stefan's gaze dropped to my lips. And then further down. To my chest. His eyes flared for a quick moment before his hands pulled my jacket closed.
Well, technically, it was his jacket. It must've slid open while I slept.
“I'll help you out. Hang tight.” And then he opened his door and slipped out of the car. Something inside me cringed for him at the movement. I feared he'd hurt himself trying to get out of the car that quickly. But he didn't so much as grunt.
Like he wasn't in pain any longer.
I watched him stride around the front of the car to my door. He walked so quickly. With no hesitation.
He opened my door and held out his hand. I looked at it for a second and then thought better of taking it. I didn't want him to strain anything in helping me up.
“I've got it. I'm fine,” I said. But before I even had a chance to step out of the car, Stefan’s arms were underneath my legs and behind my back.
And then I was airborne. I gasped as my hands wrapped around the back of his neck. I feared he would drop me, or we would both go crashing to the ground. “Oh, my gosh!” I squeaked as I panicked. “Let me down.” My fingers dug into him.
“Shh, quiet. The kids are probably sleeping.” And then he shut the door with his foot and started walking toward the house.
“Stefan, I'm serious. You're going to hurt yourself. Put me down,” I ordered him. But it didn't seem like he was having any difficulty at all carrying me. And if he was in pain, he sure hid it well.
Stefan stopped moving and looked at me. Gosh.
He truly was the most handsome man I'd ever seen in my life.
His face had filled out. The hard angles he had before were still hard, but not as pronounced.
His hair was cut, and he was clean-shaven.
I wanted to reach up and touch his skin.
Even though it was dark, the outside lights on the house were on, illuminating the grounds quite well.
And Stefan.
He was still Stefan. But different.
Healthy.
Vibrant.
Full of life.
My heart swelled inside my chest knowing he'd not only made it—but he'd fully recovered.
Especially if he could carry me like this. The old Stefan wouldn't have been able to do this. Not at all.
“I’m not in any pain, Francesca.” The corner of his mouth quirked up a bit.
Gosh.
That man's smile was clearly just as effective on me now as it had been months ago.
“Okay, but I can walk,” I insisted and peered over at the house. Carlo and Giselle's house.
It was huge. The front yard itself was enormous. Filled with trees and flowers. I wondered whether Giselle had a hand in any of it. Or if Carlo was the one who designed it.
“In those shoes?” He nodded over at my feet. Reminding me of the ultra-high heels I had on. I mean, he wasn't wrong. Walking in these wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do. Even so, I didn't want him to carry me. I felt like he was going to hurt himself.
I shook my head. “I know how to walk in high heels.” I levelled with him.
His smile grew, and it was a good thing he was carrying me because otherwise my knees might have given out.
Gosh.
That smile.
“Fine. I'll let you down on the walkway. Deal?” he asked, his eyebrows raising slightly in that sexy little way he had about him. It took everything in me not to slide my hand into his hair and pull him in for a kiss.
Instead, I bit my lip and nodded. “Deal,” I said, and then swallowed over a dry lump in my throat. Stefan carried me to the winding walkway and set me down. Carefully. I tried to let go of him, but he kept his hand on my hip. And his body close.
“You can let go of me. I'm fine. I can walk.”
“Then walk.” He jerked his head toward the house.
I took a deep breath and decided not to push it. I took a step and—toppled over. The cement came much closer into view as I stumbled toward it.
Crap.
But at the last minute, strong hands grabbed me and stopped my fall.
“Oof,” was all I got out before I was once again in Stefan's arms. I opened my mouth to tell him to put me down, but he beat me to it.
“Not one word,” he said sternly, sounding ticked off.
So, I shut up and didn't say anything while he carried me the rest of the way to the house.
The door opened as soon as Stefan walked up the steps. Surprisingly, he set me down. “Don't move,” he ordered, and then crouched down beside me.
“Hi,” Giselle greeted us, looking from me and then down to Stefan—who was currently undoing my shoes.
“What are you—” she started asking and then said, “Oh, my gosh. Those are gorgeous shoes.” Her eyes widened, and she gazed back up at me.
“If they're a size seven, can I borrow them?” I wasn't sure if she was just trying to be nice or not. But her tone sounded genuine enough.
“They're a seven,” I said with a smile.
Stefan cut in. “And you can have them. She nearly fell to her death a minute ago.”
I frowned down at him and rolled my eyes. “I barely even stumbled,” I argued. Even though he was one hundred percent correct. I looked at Giselle and said, “He's totally exaggerating.”
Giselle snorted and grabbed my hands so I could step out of my shoes.
That was when I noticed the sizeable baby bump she was sporting.
“This is going to be so much fun,” she said.
I cautiously stepped out of my shoes and allowed Giselle to steady me.
“I mean, I know the reason you're here isn't a fun one. But—” her eyes started to get wet, “I'm just so glad you're finally here.” And then she pulled me into a tight embrace.
And started crying. “We were all so worried about you.
Thank God you're safe.” She squeezed me until I could barely breathe. And despite myself, I got all teary.
“Move over. You're hogging her.” Eve appeared in the doorway as well. Giselle let me go, and Eve yanked me in for a big hug. “You had us all very worried. Especially that man who just removed your shoes,” she whispered into my ear.
“Francesca,” I heard Carlo's voice. “Welcome to our home.” Eve stepped back and grabbed my hand. She pulled me into the entryway. Carlo stood there in a white button-up shirt and jeans. He was huge.
Then he reached out and took my hand from Eve. “Anything you need,” he said, pulling me in, “just ask. We'll get it for you. Okay?” Then—he was hugging me. His warm, woodsy, pine scent floated into my nose.
Gosh.
He smelled wonderful.
And he felt great. His big, strong arms held me tight. “You're safe here. With us. I promise,” he said quietly. He let me go and passed me over to Nick.
He was wearing dark navy suit pants and a blue button-down. And he looked incredibly handsome. “You certainly had us worried, Francesca.” His arms circled around me—and now he was hugging me, too. What was it with these people?
“Carlo's right. You're safe with us.” Nick’s spicy, manly smell wafted up my nose.
And I knew I should feel weird about hugging these men—but for some reason—I didn't. And I found that a little weird.
After all, I didn't know them. Not really.
And certainly not well enough for them to hug me and promise to keep me safe.
“All right, enough,” Stefan's voice boomed behind me.
Nick chuckled and let me go. “Let's go into the living room to talk.” His eyes fell to my chest—which I realized was fully on display. The jacket I wore was nearly falling off my shoulders, exposing my white bustier for all to see.
“She's tired,” Stefan stated with his arm around me. “Let her get some sleep.”
Nick swallowed and shook his head. “Unfortunately, there’s no time for that at the moment. There are decisions that need to be made immediately.” Nick stepped back and waved his hand down the hall in front of us.