21. Sandro #2
I had a thought, and although Abel was mated to Marcello, and I was a bit surprised he’d not already done so, perhaps we should look into getting a tutor for Abel. He had only been here with us for a few months, and he’d picked up a few words, but there was so much more that he didn’t know.
A baby started to fuss, and I remembered that Mazzi and Tulio weren’t here, so it had to be one of the twins.
Abel looked like he was about to cry, but he quickly got up and went over to the other side of the room.
I sat there, staring at Marcello, and was about to say something to him when he jumped and then glared at Master Vincent.
“Ahi! Perché mi hai preso a calci?”
I snorted, and Leo started coughing. I looked over at my beloved, making sure he was fine, but I realized he was trying to cover up laughing.
Marcello stood and quickly went over to take the baby from Abel. “I’ll take him.” Abel turned around.
“No. I have him.” Abel took the baby and left the dining room.
“Be back,” Leo said. He hurried over to the crib that was in the dining room for the babies and picked up Luci. He carefully cradled her to his chest and then left the dining room, following Abel out.
Marcello stood there, watching, probably just as confused as I was. “Is there a reason why you aren’t jumping to help your beloved before being kicked?” Master Vincent asked.
“I was going to help just before you kicked me. I was going to go to the kitchen to make the bottles,” Marcello said before he left, following Abel and Leo. Master Vincent sighed.
“Is everything all right, Master?” I asked.
“As much as it can be. Marcello is a bit concerned, perhaps too much. It will all work out though.” His focus moved to my right, and he smiled at Rio. “I appreciate that you were able to meet with Nikolai while you were away.”
“Of course, Master Vincent. I’m always happy to help if at all possible.”
I looked at Rio. He’d not mentioned that he’d met with Master Nikolai while gone.
As far as I knew, he’d been meeting with the new psychologist, and then there was something he was looking into for Master Vincent.
Rio smiled at me, and I looked back to Master Vincent.
“Where are we moving to?” I asked quietly before I could think better of it.
“Nothing has been finalized,” Master Vincent said as Leo returned to the dining room. Luci wasn’t with him, so I had to assume that she was with her dads and they were feeding the babies elsewhere.
Leo sat down and picked up his cup of tea. “Carmine was already making the bottles, and now he’s making a tray to send up to their suite. Abel didn’t look happy about something.”
“Marcello will make things right. Whatever is bothering Abel, he’ll fix it,” I said, trying to reassure Leo. “Would you like for me to get you some fresh eggs?” His had to have gone cold by now.
“No, I’m just going to eat the other things.”
I nodded, then glanced back at Master Vincent, who was eating his meal.
I was trying to figure out where he might be considering moving the coven.
Master Nikolai was in the United States.
The new doctor was coming from Canada. Master Vincent had been gone for a few hours recently, and nobody except Marcello seemed to know where he was.
I looked back over at Rio. Except Rio possibly, because Master Vincent was most likely with him and Master Nikolai. But where?
I ate a bit more food, not actually all that hungry this morning, and when Leo was finished, I happily left with him.
When we were out of the dining room and away from the others who seemed to be leaving at the same time, I grabbed my beloved’s waist and pulled him toward our suite.
He laughed, and I went with it. I had absolutely no intentions of doing anything but getting him to our suite to set him on the sofa with the tablet to go shopping while I discussed the possibility of us moving away from Italy. Quite a distance, it seemed.
As soon as we were inside the suite, Leo stopped and looked at me. “What’s going on? You don’t usually push me back to the suite so quickly after we eat.”
“I know. I want you to start shopping for both the baby and you, no arguments,” I said.
Leo looked like he was about to do just that but stopped. “But there’s more.”
“What?”
I leaned against the wall, not far from the door. I glanced at it, and although the possibility of anyone being outside it and actually listening to us was slim, I pulled Leo farther into the suite anyway. “Rio was away to meet with Dr. Higginson.”
Leo nodded. “Yeah. That’s why we had to wait for the other ultrasound. What about it?”
“He was gone for a bit longer than originally intended. There was also a morning when Master Vincent was suddenly gone and couldn’t be found.”
Leo tilted his head. “What’s going on? Do you think Rio and Master Vincent have something going on?”
It took me a moment to process what Leo said. “What? No. Master Vincent wouldn’t ever have any sort of relationship with anyone in the coven unless they were his beloved. Not only that, but he also seems to prefer the company of women.”
Leo’s eyes widened. “Oh. I guess I hadn’t picked up on that. Not that I really paid too much attention to anyone other than you.” Leo sat down and, after a moment, stared at me. “What’s going on, then?”
“I believe we’re about to move,” I said.
“Because of me?” Leo asked. Not only could I feel the emotions through our bond, but I could hear the sadness in his voice.
“No, not because of you,” I said as I pulled him into my arms. “We’ve been here for a very long time.
Probably too long if anyone around is truly paying any attention to us.
Luckily, the villa is somewhat isolated, and we aren’t exactly having parties and inviting the neighbors.
But Master Vincent was told by the fates some time ago that it was time to move our family. ”
“Oh. So, we’re going to be moving.” Leo looked around the suite. “I like it here. It’s so much nicer than the pride house was. And although I don’t mind helping with chores, it’s also nice to be able to have a lazy morning and not get up before the sun to start the day’s chores. “
I kissed his temple and held him close. “I’m happy that you feel comfortable and the villa can feel like home,” I told him.
“But our next place will be just as nice, if not nicer. Our family is growing, and I’m not referring to just the two of us and our little guy.
Our coven family is growing, and we are quickly outgrowing the villa.
Once Marcello and Abel have another child, they will be out of room for them.
Same for Mazzi and Naldo, as well as us. ”
I couldn’t help but wonder if moving so far away would help with my heartbreak of being here without Vitto. I loved my brother and always would, and it would be difficult to be in a place that I shared no memories of him being included in. But perhaps it truly was time for us to move elsewhere.
Leo smiled up at me. “Are you planning on having more children with me?”
I chuckled. “I was under the impression that was the plan? It was what we had discussed before you went into heat.” A thought hit me.
“Have you changed your mind and I didn’t realize?
” That was possible now that he was pregnant.
Perhaps he only wished for the one because he wasn’t enjoying being pregnant.
Leo shook his head. “Stop worrying. I’ve not changed my mind. I was teasing, but apparently, you didn’t pick up on that.”
I held him close to me for a moment, trying to think about where I’d missed him teasing me about children. I couldn’t come up with where I’d gone wrong.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Leo said. “Besides, I thought we were supposed to be shopping? Did you want me to get the tablet?”
Now, that was a good thing. If Leo was interested in shipping, that was a bonus.
“I’ll get it.”
“But I have to get up anyway, so why don’t you just stay there, and I’ll go grab it,” Leo said.
He sat up and didn’t give me any choice when he was up and off my lap without hesitation.
We certainly needed to get him some shirts that weren’t mine because although I loved seeing him in my clothes, I realized they covered his magnificent ass, and that just wouldn’t do at all.