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.
