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Did people even take kids there? Fuck it. This was my bright idea so we will find something family friendly to do.
I returned my focus to the cutest little kid ever.
Paolo.
After leaving Italy, he had been growing into a happy, energetic kid. I think the time in Moscow had truly helped. He smiled and giggled all the time. If we weren’t painting together, then we raced around in the garden, or swam in the pool.
I checked my watch. “Damn. Another hour already passed?”
Who knew that a little kid could keep me busy just with putting on his clothes?
Of course, it had been my bright idea to tell Baba and the nannies to take a break. Currently, they relaxed in a spa that I had booked for them. They would be receiving the works—facials, hot stone massages, herbal body wraps, aromatherapy, laser treatments for unwanted hair removal, along with manis, and pedis.
I looked Paolo over. “Are you ready, buddy?”
He bobbed his head.
Since Paolo was obsessed with the color green, it shifted to a love for snakes—cobras to be precise. Kaz even wanted to give Paolo a snake as a pet.
All I need are lions and cobras all over the property, scaring the shit out of me.
Regardless, Paolo was absolutely thrilled when I showed him the outfit I picked for him—a bright green shirt adorned with a chuckling cobra, paired with khaki shorts, and topped with a matching green hat.
Kneeling down, I finished adjusting Paolo’s hat. His eyes sparkled with an excitement that lit up the entire room.
“You’re looking good, buddy.”
He bounced on the balls of his feet, hissed like a snake, and clutched at the hem of his cobra shirt, his small fingers tracing the outline of the fierce snake on the front. “Look. Look.”
“I see.”
“Cobra.”
I made a serious face. “Deadly, swift, and silent.”
He widened his eyes.
“And don’t forget, they strike like this.” Fast, I lunged forward, mimicking a snake’s strike with my hand.
Paolo jumped back with a dramatic gasp before he crumbled into a fit of giggles.
And I couldn’t help but laugh too, since his joy was infectious.
In the midst of our laughter, Harlem trotted over with that glossy coat and big, soulful eyes.
I studied him.
When did you start getting bigger?
Harlem, our chocolate cocker spaniel, had grown noticeably since Kaz had first given him to me.
Yet, Harlem seemed blissfully unaware of his increasing size and strength, still considering himself the small puppy that could easily nip at Paolo’s fingers without consequence.
Harlem attempted to nip at Paolo’s chin, and the suddenness of it caught Paolo off guard.
I stared at my fur baby. “Harlem, no.”
The puppy looked up at me with those large eyes, a soft whine escaping him as if he were apologizing for his forgotten manners. Instead of nipping Paolo again, he gently licked my hand and wagged his tail.
