I nod. “Looks as if it. It’s okay, although, so long as she was having enjoyable.”

Mia rubs her eyes. “They’d me play treasure hunt like twelve occasions earlier than bathtub time, after which that turned out to be diving treasure hunt.” She pauses. “I feel Chelsea taught my daughter to breathe underwater as a result of she was down there too lengthy and I freaked out.”

I chuckle. “Chelsea is usually a little bit of a handful,” I admit.

Mia waves her hand. “Alessia goes to be the identical manner,” she says simply. “Takes after her father.” She smiles. “And me.”

I cock an eyebrow and assist her collect her and Alessia’s issues, main them out to her automotive, which is parked within the condominium parking storage.

“Inform Dante that I’ll be again as soon as I get this wedding ceremony factor over with on the fifteenth,” I say, and Mia chokes.

“It’s the fifteenth? I’ll should put a hearth beneath Dante’s ass to go.”

“You guys don’t have to come back,” I mumble, however a part of me actually needs them to. I’m solely doing this as soon as, so I would like all my mates there. They’re like household to me, particularly after my father and I grew to become estranged. I’d grown up with Nico and Dante.

Mia frowns. “In fact we do.”

She places the sleepy child into the automotive and will get inside, waving at me,. I wave again, feeling a rush of affection for my mates.

They’ll be there for me, even throughout an organized marriage, and it means lots.

I stroll again inside, up the steps the place I hope to get a bit of extra sleep whereas Chelsea’s nonetheless out, and I stroll previous Chelsea’s room.

I poke my head in, and Catarina lies curled up subsequent to her, loud night breathing softly along with her hand round Chelsea. Chelsea’s hand is in her hair, a curl twisted round her little thumb.

My coronary heart does that flippy factor once more and I frown.

I actually need an antacid.

I make it to my mattress earlier than mendacity throughout it diagonally and going to sleep, ignoring that bizarre, heat feeling in my chest.

18

CATARINA

I get up in two hours when Chelsea wakes up, slapping my face not-too-gently to wake me.

“Mama! Mama! Alessia and I discovered treasure.”

“Treasure?” I ask, my voice slurred with sleep. “What sort of treasure.”

She grins wickedly, her face inches from mine. “Monies,” she says, and bolts out of bed to her toybox and throwing it open.

I yawn and stumble away from bed to go see, anticipating it to be some sort of child jewellery or stones, however as an alternative, it’s money. I gasp and lean down, reaching into it, and there’s in all probability 1000’s of {dollars} in there.

“Chelsea,” I say slowly. “The place did you get that?”

“I discovered it,” she says defiantly, sticking her little chin up.

“What do you imply, you discovered it? Did you discover it in somebody’s purse?” I ask her in a derisive tone, and she or he huffs.

“No, Mama. Mia advised us the place to look and we discovered it. We’re pirate queens. We’d like pirate booty.” She giggles on the phrase and I look down in any respect the money in shock. There’s additionally a girls’s Rolex watch in there, and a few jewellery.

“Mia gave you all this?” I ask, and Chelsea offers me a glance as if she thinks I’m silly.

“No, Mama. I tole you,” she insists. “We discovered it.”

I swallow exhausting and stroll out into the hallway as Chelsea counts her pirate booty, slapping Angelo on the ass as he’s fallen asleep totally clothed throughout his mattress.

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