But Giselle's eyes cut straight to me.“Oh, no, Francesca.You should stay and listen.You should learn how these men think.Might as well find out sooner than later.Unlike me.”
Yikes.
I thought about calling out for Stefan, but he probably wouldn't hear me.It didn't seem like Carlo was interested in letting me go anytime soon.And now Giselle was adding me into their relationship issues.
Carlo opened his mouth to respond.But Eve got there first.
“What is going on down here?”She was halfway down the long staircase.Everyone turned their heads to look at her.“I can hear your bickering all the way upstairs.Are you trying to wake the kids up?”She hustled down the rest of the stairs, and I thanked the universe that she was here to help.Because I didn't have a clue what to do.All I knew was that none of this had anything to do with me.
Thank goodness.
“Carlo's trying to boss Francesca around.”Giselle began explaining her side of things.
It didn't go as expected, though.Eve laughed.“Carlo bosses all of us around.How is that anything new?”She looked at her friend quizzically.
Giselle's lips pursed together, and she doubled down.“He's giving her marriage advice.And he's not even married.”Her shoulders bunched up to her ears.“How does that make any sense at all?What does he—” she pointed at her fiancé, “know about marriage?Plus, he needs to leave Francesca and Stefan alone.They can figure out their own marriage.Without any help from someone who knows nothing about it.”
Yeah.
Giselle was mad.
“Okay, I'm taking you upstairs.This is clearly not good for your ever-rising blood pressure issues.Which means it's also not good for the baby.”She put her arm around Giselle's back.“And you—” she pointed her finger at Carlo, “are going to try really hard to keep your nose out of Francesca and Stefan's business.Okay?”She stared at Carlo for a long moment until he finally let go of me.
“For Christ's sake.”He shook his head and stormed off toward the dining room.
Double yikes.
“I'm sorry, Francesca.”Eve looked at me with a mix of sadness, frustration, and overwhelm.
Even though I wasn't Eve's biggest fan at the moment, I still felt bad.Her plate was definitely overflowing at the moment.
But I was also pretty sure that fucking Carlo's brains out every day helped to relieve some of that tension.
I picked up the bags that were on the floor and followed them upstairs.I watched as they disappeared down the hallway.Just to make sure they got to Giselle's room all right.
Poor Giselle.My heart really went out to her.I turned left and wandered down the opposite end of the hallway to our bedroom.I took in a deep breath and smiled.It still smelled like Stefan in here.His cedary, musky, male scent.But it was also starting to smell like me.And my scents, too.
Together, we made a lovely smelling bedroom.
I walked into the closet and dumped the bags.We'd spent enough time in the hot tub and shower at the hotel that I didn't need to freshen up.So, I changed into some comfortable jeans and a pretty red top.It was tight with a deep V in the front.And with the right bra, it looked amazing.I was sure Stefan would appreciate it.
I went to the bathroom and tied my hair up into a messy bun, and did a quick touch-up on my makeup.
Then I remembered something—and hurried back to the closet.I grabbed two of the bags and wandered back out into the bedroom.These wouldn't solve Giselle's problems.Not by a long shot.But it might help in some small way.
I roamed down the hallway as quietly as I could, careful not to make any noise at all.The last thing I wanted to do was wake the kids.
When I arrived at Giselle's door, I knocked lightly.
“Come in,” I heard Eve's voice say.I opened the door and smiled at them.“Can I have a minute?”I asked and stepped inside.
“You can have all the minutes.”Giselle blew her nose into a tissue.Her pretty eyes were all red and puffy.
I gave her a sad smile and shut the door behind me.“I picked up a couple of things from the market.If you hate them, that's fine.You won't hurt my feelings, I promise.But I couldn’t help myself.”I sat on the bed and gave her one of the bags.
Giselle stopped crying and took it.
She pulled out a white onesie that said, “Futuro capitano d'Italia” on it.There was a cute Italian flag on it, too.
