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“I’ll do my best.”
We’re both distracted when we hear footsteps coming down the stairs. We walk out of the hallway and find children that I’m sure are Carlo’s nieces and nephew. The boy’s the oldest. He looks to be about five or six. He has reddish brown hair and brown eyes very similar to his father’s. There’s no doubt he’s Christian’s kid.
He’s carrying a child that can’t be more than two. Martina quickly moves to take her.
“Easy, Danny. You’ll drop her,” she says with a warm smile. She turns to me. “Astoria, this is Daniel. He’s Christian and Daniella’s son.”
“Yeah, I figured,” I say with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”
The kid looks like he’s sizing me up. Then he accepts my outstretched hand with a shrug.
“Hello, this is my cousin Angelica, but we all call her Angel,” he says, gesturing at the little girl who’s practically hiding behind him.
She pokes her head out to look at me before quickly hiding behind her cousin again. I get a glimpse of her beautiful blue eyes and long blonde hair. She’s her mom’s copy through and through.
“Hi, Angel,” I say softly.
Martina takes over, introducing me to the last member of the D’Angelo family.
“This little one’s Catherine,” she tells me.
Catherine has her mom’s red hair and a beautiful toothy grin. She giggles playfully.
“Grandmammy!” she says, her voice high-pitched and adorable. “Who that?”
“Children, this is your aunt Astoria. She’s Carlo’s girlfriend.”
Daniel’s eyes widen. “Uncle Carlo has a girlfriend?”
“Yes, he does. Be nice to your new aunt. Angel! Stop hiding behind Dan and meet Astoria.”
“Oh no, it’s fine,” I quickly say. “Take your time, Angel. You can meet me anytime you want,” I tell the little girl. She doesn’t reply, but I smile. I’m sure she’ll grow out of her shyness eventually.
Daniel, on the other hand, is a social butterfly who quickly latches onto my side as we head into the dining room to have dinner. He’s a curious kid and smart, too.
The men reappear as we start to take our seats at the large dining table. I notice Topher rubbing his side. He winces a little as he sits down beside his wife, pulling his daughter into his arms. Carlo walks over to me, an easy expression on his face, and takes note of Daniel at my side. The kid’s telling me about his pet frogs.
“Hey, little man,” Carlo greets, taking a seat on my other side.
“Uncle Carlo!” he says happily. “I met your girlfriend.”
“Yeah, I can see that. You like her?”
Daniel nods eagerly. “She’s really pretty. I was just telling her about my frog, Leo.”
“Carry on,” Carlo says grandly. He leans over to whisper in my ear. “You good?”
I nod. “I am so good.”
He grins. I’ve never seen him smile so much. It’s clear he loves his family very much. He’s completely at ease around them. When he reaches under the table and intertwines our fingers, I smile at him, my heart bursting at the seams.
Martina said she was under no allusions that Carlo was an easy man to love, but every day, I find myself slipping through already slippery cracks. Cracks that lead me straight to overpowering love for this man.
Dinner is brought out. Martina asks Christian to say grace and then we dig in. Conversation flows and I’m so glad to have been made a part of something so special.
* * *
Carloand I are having a movie night. We were originally meant to go out to a theater, but his hatred of being in public is still alive and strong and he convinced me to stay home. He’s cooking dinner to make up for it. I’m lying on the couch under a blanket and waiting for him to be done.
