Chapter 3
Francesca
“How many cookies does him got?” Daniella asked with a very serious look on her face.
I couldn't help but laugh. “Your uncle Stefan has boxes and boxes and boxes of them.”
Her eyes went wide. “Are any of dems chocolate?”
I nodded and walked through the dining room. “At least three different kinds of chocolate ones.”
She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. “Really?” she squeaked excitedly.
“Really,” I reassured her. I'd found an entire cupboard of cookies while I was in the kitchen with Anna.
It had surprised the heck out of me. Especially considering how in shape Stefan was.
He didn't seem like the type to eat boxes and boxes of cookies all by himself.
And I hadn't seen him eat so much as one cookie the entire time we'd been here.
But, whatever. I wasn't going to complain about cookies.
“Whoa!” Dani screamed the second we stepped into the kitchen. She spun around in my arms and practically jumped out of them. She squealed out loud as she ran to the wall of windows.
I stood and watched her excitedly jump around with joy.
Gosh.
She was just so cute.
A few moments later, Eve rounded the corner and stopped in her tracks. “Holy cow,” she breathed out, her eyes wide with shock.
“What the heck's going on in—” Giselle followed behind more slowly for obvious reasons. When she saw the wall of windows, she gasped, “Holy cow.”
Dani kept jumping around like a little goofball.
A few moments later—Stefan barged into the room. He had a huge, worried frown on his handsome face as he gazed around at what was going on.
“Uncle Stefan!” Dani shrieked at the top of her lungs. “Look! Look!” She giddily pointed at the windows.
“Christ,” he breathed out quietly. “I thought the ceiling had caved in or something with all the screaming.”
Giselle and Eve both turned to him with expressions I couldn't read.
Finally, Eve spoke up. “Really, Stefan?” she said, looking more pissed off than anything else right now.
“Really, what?” he questioned her in a cautious tone.
Eve's eyebrows rose on her forehead. “Seriously?” She twisted toward the windows. “This? What the heck is this?”
His eyes narrowed at her. “It's a kitchen, Eve,” he said so sarcastically, even I wanted to kick him.
“She's right. You had all of this!” Giselle flung her arms out. “And you never even told us about it? Let alone shared it with us?” Her voice sounded hurt and disappointed.
No.
Beyond hurt and disappointed.
“He has his reasons.” Carlo walked into the room and crossed his arms. “Don't give him shit about it. You're here now. That's all that matters.”
Eve sneered at Carlo.
Yikes.
She was mad.
“Excuse me? You're telling me that not once in the entire time he's known me,” she pointed at Stefan, “that he couldn't have said, “Oh, hey. Guess what? I have a—” she put her hands on her hips and leaned in, “a freaking castle in Italy. With an entire freaking wall of windows that looks out on something so beautiful it—” She took a deep breath, her eyes glassy, “hurts.”
Giselle sniffled behind her. Eve instantly turned and wrapped her arm around Giselle’s shoulders.
“Let's get upstairs. You need to put your feet up.” Eve looked at me.
“Can you get her some kind of snack, please? And bring Dani up with you when you come?” She glared at Carlo—and then at Stefan. “Alone.”
Double yikes.
I nodded. “Of course.”
Giselle mouthed a “Thank you” to me before Eve guided her out of the kitchen, quietly murmuring to her.
I looked at Carlo. And then at Stefan.
Their faces were blank.
Whatever.
I wasn't really sure about what had just gone on here, but it wasn't really my business. Not at the moment, anyway.
I had other things that I needed to do. And one of those things was looking at me with wide, frightened eyes. “Are you ready for secret cookies?”
Dani grinned and ran up to me and jumped into my arms. She said breathlessly, “Yes, please.”
I carried her to the secret cupboard and sat her down on the counter. I pulled down three boxes of chocolate cookies and showed them to her. She pointed at one, and I opened it and handed her a cookie with drizzled chocolate on it.
She took a big bite. “Mommy's preger-nant. Daddy says it makes her a little bananas sometimes.”
I grabbed a cookie, too, and laughed softly. “I bet having a baby in your belly would make anyone tired. Maybe even a little grouchy sometimes.”
Dani took another bite. “And she cries at everything.”
I nodded, and kissed her forehead. “That all sounds pretty normal to me. And I bet her feet hurt, too.”
Dani's beautiful eyes widened. “They do. All the time.”
I nodded and brushed her hair over her shoulder. “She's growing a whole new person in there. That's really special. But it also means other parts of her body get stressed out. Like, remember when you had your fever?”
She nodded and said, “When you married Uncle Stefan?”
I nodded, and she giggled. Little pieces of cookie falling out of her mouth. “Yeah. And then I barfed. On Uncle Nick.” She laughed at that.
And so did I.
“But there was nothing you could do about that. Right? You wanted to do one thing—but your body was doing something else. And you couldn't help it. You had a virus. And that wasn't your fault.” I tried to explain it in kid terms.
She frowned for a second, and I swear I could see the tiny gears turning in her little girl brain. “Is the baby a birus?”
That made me laugh right out loud. “Not exactly. More like a parasite, I guess. But after the baby's out of your mommy's belly, her body will go back to being normal again. No more sore, swollen feet.”
She took another big bite of her cookie and asked in a serious voice, “Will she still be grouchy?”
Gosh.
This kid.
She was way too cute.
“I think we can all be grouchy sometimes.
Right? Especially if we haven't eaten or slept properly.
But I think she'll feel a whole lot better after your baby brother or sister is here.
So, hopefully that helps with any grouchiness.
You'll have to help, though.” My index finger touched her button nose.
“Me?” Her free hand covered her heart dramatically, and I laughed.
“Yes, you. Your mom and dad will need help with all the babies.”
She nodded confidently. “Oh, I already do that. Daddy says I'm too bossy with them. But Mommy says they need tough love, or they'll never learn.”
I popped the rest of my cookie into my mouth.
“Well, Dani. That's one way to go about it.
Everyone parents differently. So, if it's working for you—” I shrugged, “I wouldn't change a thing.” I looked up into the secret cookie cupboard and asked, “What kind of cookies do you think your mom will want?” Dani stood up on the counter, and I kept my hands on her the whole time while she pointed at every box.
Gosh.
This kid.
I negotiated it down to just a few varieties. And she helped me put them on a cute little plate. Then I suggested maybe some fruits and vegetables.
“Oh, Mommy likes ham sandwiches!” she exclaimed.
I nodded. “Nice choice.” I lifted her off the counter and set her down. “Mustard?”
Dani looked at me like I'd just said the worst possible word ever. “No way. Mustard makes her barf.”
I took her hand. “Good to know.”
When we turned around—two sets of very intrigued, very male eyes were staring at us. “What are you guys doing?” I questioned why they were just standing there, doing nothing. “Is Nick looking after all those babies by himself?”
They looked at each other and then walked out.
“You're bossy, too,” Dani said with an enormous grin on her face. “I like it.”
Then we both laughed.
And then Dani made her mommy the best ham sandwich ever.
Filled with more love than any sandwich.
Ever.
With absolutely no mustard.