1
Francesca
“Umm, surprise!”Giselle said with a small laugh.Even though it hadn’t been that long since I'd last seen her—that baby belly of hers had grown.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”Stefan asked his family.
I couldn’t help but purse my lips together and hide my laughter at his reaction.
“Happy to see you, too, Brother.”Carlo slapped him on the back, then stepped over to me.“That shirt suits you, Francesca.”He smirked and leaned down to hug me.“I hope my brother is treating you well?”
Dani's voice shot in with, “Daddy, was Auntie Fran-schmesh-ka a bad girl?Why is she getting a spanking?”
Carlo chuckled in his deep, smexy voice.“Oh, I bet Auntie Francesca can be a really bad girl—” his eyes looked right into mine— “when she wants to be.”He winked.
What the heck was that?
Then Giselle questioned her daughter.“Where did you hear that word from?I know for a fact you sure haven't heard it from us.What do you think it means?”
Carlo turned to listen to the explanation.
“It's when you're bad and someone hits your butt,” Daniella explained in her very cute, very sweet little girl voice.
Giselle and Carlo shared a look.
“And where did you hear it?”Carlo asked his daughter.
Dani shrugged and said, “Owen in my ginastics class tolded me.He got his butt spanked when he ran across the road without his mom.”Dani zoomed around her father, right up to me.“Did you cross the road without Uncle Stefan?”she asked me with concerned, innocent eyes.Gosh, she looked exactly like her mother.
“Something like that.”I laughed and picked her up in my arms.
“Don't worry.”She wrapped her little arms around my neck.“I won't let mean Uncle Stefan spank you.”
I heard Stefan swear—and that only made me laugh harder.“Thank you, Dani.I'm so glad you're here to save me.”
Nick cleared his throat and stepped up to me.“Francesca.You look well.”He grinned down at me.Then he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek as his hand landed on my lower back.“And I completely agree with Carlo.You look wonderful in this shirt.”He leaned in closer and whispered in my ear so Dani couldn't hear, “But you'd look even better out of it.”He kissed my cheek one more time and stepped back.
And—what the heck was that?
Eve said, “Okay, men to the car.Grab all the kid stuff out and bring it in.”She walked up to me and gave me a quick hug.“Francesca can tell us which rooms to stay in.There must be at least thirty-five bedrooms in here from the look of it.”She let go of me and smiled.“I have a feeling Stefan has only let you see one of the bedrooms, though.”
She and Giselle laughed.
Nick stuck in, “Or two.”I caught his eyes looking at me—and I wondered if he knew about Stefan's dungeon.
Nah.
I couldn't see Stefan sharing that kind of personal stuff with anyone.
Well, other than the women he'd had down there, obviously.
“Hold on a minute.”Stefan's hands shot up in front of him.“Why are you people here?And who invited you to move in?”
The sleeping baby in Eve's arms sighed and snuggled into her.“Carlo's pipes are on the fritz.We had no choice.”
Stefan frowned and said, “What about the guest house beside it?”
Eve gave him a look.“You expect all of us to cram in there?”
