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“Whoaaa four!” My eyes widened as I acted impressed to please her, “What is your name?”
She bounced a little then twirled in a circle, jumping, “Carissa.”
“That's a beautiful name,” I chuckled as I stood.
She skipped off to go sit in my mother's lap and I held out my arm to Isabelle. She made her way over, wrapping her arm around my waist. I introduced her, but she had put the pieces together by this point. She appeared a bit shocked, but she seemed happy about it.
“So,” I sighed, “You were not together when--.”
Eliza shook her head, “Oh no, but he took care of both of us.”
I nodded, thankful that my brother had not completely abandoned them while he traveled the world with the dense blonde.
We spent the next hour visiting with my family and catching up. They also got to know Isabelle and Tanya more. I was delighted they all approved of them both which was particularly important to me. Contrary to what people assumed of me, I was awfully close to my family and I could not wait to make Isabelle one of us soon.
“Oh my God!” Isabelle shouted.
I opened my eyes, blinking a few times as my eyes adjusted to the light in the bedroom.
She bounced out of bed, sprinting for the window, “Valentino, oh my God, is that real?!”
I sat up, sluggishly getting out of bed, and making my way over to her, chuckling, “Yes baby, it's real.”
“It's so beautiful!” She gushed over the white, snowy mountains outside the window.
Our home sat on a mountain, but larger snowy mountains surrounded our property and it was a perfectly clear day. She was in awe as she took it all in. She opened the sliding glass door that led to a deck, but immediately closed it, turning around and shivering.
“Nope!” she exclaimed with chattering teeth. “It's freaking cold out there!”
I laughed loudly, “That's how snow works, bella.”
She rolled her eyes, smiling, “Thanks, smarty pants.”
I grabbed a blanket off the sofa, wrapping it around her, pulling her close to me as I scowled. “That's Mr. Smarty Pants to you, young lady.” I gently kissed her cheek. “Come on, we have to get ready.”
“Where are we going?”
“I thought I would show you around the village.”
She glanced out the window then back at me, “What village?”
I chuckled, “We are on a mountain but at the bottom, there is a small village and I want to show you how beautifully it's decorated for Christmas before we meet up with the family for dinner.”
She glanced at the clock on the bedside table, gasping. “Oh my God, we slept almost all day.”
I nodded, “It was a tiring flight.”
She happily skipped to the bathroom to get ready. I followed, getting ready as well, having to refrain from touching her for now but I was tempted. She was the definition of perfection.
When we got to the village, she and Tanya were gawking excitedly in all the shop windows. We went into a couple of them, buying small souvenirs here and there. Before we knew it, two hours had passed, and it was time to head to the restaurant my parents had closed for the night so we could enjoy a peaceful family dinner. This was a tradition of ours.
We strolled under the Christmas lights strung up, zig-zagging from building to building. The girls could not stop complimenting every small thing they laid their eyes on as a light snow fell from the sky. The restaurant was located next to the Christmas Market, so we had a stunning view of all the Christmas lights and vendors that illuminated the outside square.
As we entered, we greeted my family then all took a seat around a long rectangular table. I had requested that the center of the table have two empty seats, one for Isabelle and one for me. I wanted to be able to converse with my family equally for the night.
There was a set menu, so after we got settled and beverages were passed around, the servers began to bring our first course. As we dined and chatted with my family through four courses of food, I began to get a bit nervous, which was an exceedingly rare occurrence for me.
I laid my hand on Isabelle's thigh, leaning over to her ear, whispering. “I love you so much and I'm happy you're here with me.”
