Arya's POV -

"Holy fucking shit." Cassidy says when I open the door and I cringe at her choice of words.

"This is where you fucking live?!" She continues, walking inside and looking around with her jaw dropped. That was my reaction too when I first saw the house.

"No way," She mumbles, staring at the decor and I laugh quietly.

"Yeah I can't believe it either." I tell her and she turns to me. She then pulls me into a hug.

"I missed you, you can't go away that long again."

Grinning I hug her back. Cassidy and I have gotten really close even though it hasn't been that long since we've known each other. I'm really happy I helped her with math that one time.

"Want me to give you a tour?" I ask and her eyes brighten.

So I show her around the house. The kitchen, living room, and the few unoccupied offices that I had no idea were there. I then take her upstairs and show her my room.

"It looks like no one sleeps in here." She gestures to how organized it looks and I feel my cheeks heat up.

"Yeah...that's because I normally sleep with Rome in his room."

"Oh," She gives me a smirk and I roll my eyes, covering up my smile with a cough.

"Where is Rome anyways? I've never met him." She asks.

"He should be in his office, come on." I lead her back downstairs and to his office door that's closed.

I hear voices inside so James and Elijah must be in there too.

"Obviously he's talking to someone, should we wait?" She questions and I shrug.

"I don't know, I'll just knock."

Knocking, the voices quiet down and then I hear Rome's voice call out.

"Come in."

Opening the door, my assumption was correct because all three of them are inside, James is sitting in a chair and Elijah is standing while Rome is behind his desk.

"Are we interrupting? I just wanted to introduce Cassidy to you guys." I open the door wider so she can see and her eyes widen slightly. I don't blame her cause I'd have the same reaction.

"You're not, darling." Rome's eyes move to Cassidy and I notice she looks a bit nervous since It's now quiet.

"Anyways," I continue and glance at Cassidy. "You already met Elijah over the phone." I point to the man leaning against the wall with his normal blank expression.

"And that's James in the chair." I point and he gives a small wave to Cassidy. She smiles and gives one back.

"Finally that's Rome, but you've heard enough about him." My boyfriend narrows his eyes at me and I stifle a laugh.

Cassidy's eyes linger on Elijah for a moment longer before switching to Rome. Interesting.

"Nice to meet you guys. Arya's talked about you all a lot."

"She has?" James smirks and I part my lips, staring at her in shock.

"I do not!"

"You do! All the time." She nods and I groan.

"Well that's cause we're so fantastic, aren't we princess?" James teases and I go to hit him but Rome's hand on my shoulder stops me. What the- When did he walk over here?

"He's just teasing, baby." Rome presses a kiss to my head and I pout.

"I know which is why I wanted to hit him."

"Rude," The blonde grumbles, but then stands up. "Anyways, è tutto per ora capo?"

(Is that all for now boss?)

"Sì, ne parleremo più tardi."

(Yes, we'll talk more later.)

"Awesome, then I'm out of here. It was nice to meet you Cassidy. If you're a friend of Arya you're a friend of mine." He winks at her and walks out the door.

"It was nice to meet you too, James!" She yells but I'm not sure if he heard since he's already gone.

My eyes flit over to Elijah and I give him a look. He simply raises a brow at me and I nudge my head towards Cassidy.

Sighing, he rakes a hand through his dark brown hair and stands straight, taking a couple strides to stand in front of her. I watch Cassidy's face go red and I awe internally.

"Hi Elijah, I know we kinda met already." She says nervously and I look between the two like I had last time. Elijah had that odd expression on his face again but I couldn't pinpoint what it was. Rome was just silent behind me.

"But It's nice to meet you in person." She continues when Elijah doesn't look like he's going to respond.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Elijah just walked away. But my mouth was practically on the ground when he lifted his hand, holding it towards Cassidy to shake. I'm sure Rome was just as shocked as I was even though I couldn't see his expression.

Are you serious??? When I first met him he didn't even acknowledge my presence.

With her face flushing even darker, Cassidy's small hand lifted to shake his large one. Elijah glanced down at their joined hands for a split second before releasing her and giving her a short nod, walking past us to leave the office.

My mouth was still dropped open as I stared at the door and then back at a blushing Cassidy.

"H-He didn't even look at me when I first met him." I point out and her wide eyes find mine.

"You're blushing!" I accuse and she covers her face.

"No I'm not!"

"Don't even deny it, I already saw the evidence." I feel my lips tilt upwards when she groans and tries to take deep breaths.

Turning slightly to the side, Rome and I give each other a subtle glance, thinking the same thing and smiling at each other.

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"Wow, this is quite the house." Papa says as I give him and mama a tour like I had Cassidy. Except this time Rome and Cassidy joined.

"It really is, how did you afford this Rome? I mean at such a young age at that." Mama asks, no accusation to her tone but curiosity. I'm glad the three of them are getting along well.

"I earn a lot of money with my business."

"Impressive." Papa nods as we finish up the tour. I bring them all back into the kitchen where Elijah and James are both at.

"Mama, papa. This is Elijah and James, they were both in Italy with Rome and I."

They greet each other and James starts a conversation with my parents. I can always count on him to make things less awkward. I definitely can't count on Elijah because he stays quiet most of the time.

"I need to talk to Rome about something, you good here?" I ask Cassidy.

"Yeah, don't worry about me." Turning towards James whose still talking, she listens in on their conversation. Biting my lip, I grab onto Rome's wrist and he tilts his head towards me. Guiding him out of the kitchen and near the bottom of the stairs, I blurt out what I've been thinking.

"I think I want to tell my parents about the mafia but I want to make sure It's okay with you." He looks at me in surprise at my sudden bluntness.

"You can tell them if you want, but you want to tell them here? Today?"

"Yeah, if I'm going to be with you forever they need to know everything." I decide and I see a soft smile form on his lips.

"Forever, huh?" He asks quietly while leaning closer to me and I blush.

"Y-Yeah, forever." His lips capture mine in a heated kiss and I wrap my arms around his neck.

"I just don't want them to freak out." I mumble against his lips and he hums, pulling away.

"They're going to freak out whenever you tell them." I nod at his words.

"What about Cassidy? Are you going to tell her?"

Chewing on my bottom lip I think over his question.

"I'll tell her another time once she gets comfortable around you guys."

Interlacing our fingers together I lead us back to the kitchen where James is still talking. The sight of my parents laughing at him has my heart warming.

"So what should we eat for a late lunch?" James gestures towards the clock that shows It's a little after 3.

"Should we order something?" I question, joining the circle with Rome beside me with our hands still laced.

"Okay, but what?" James lifts a finger to his chin, tapping it a few times like he's thinking.

"What about pizza and wings?" Cassidy asks, but then shrinks in her shoulders when all the attention shifts to her.

"I'm fine with that." Elijah says, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed while everyone else agrees. Cassidy gives him a sheepish smile and they quickly meet eyes before Elijah darts his away. I beam at the two excitedly.

"Pizza and wings it is then, I'll make the call." James picks up his phone, dialing the number.

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An hour and a half later we're all stuffed. I feel like my stomach might explode. I definitely ate more than I should have and will probably have a massive stomachache later. But it was totally worth it.

I filled Cassidy in on some of the details about Italy like where we went and the funny skiing story. That might have been the funniest part seeing James scream while flying down that mountain and then face planting in the snow. It will always be fresh in my mind.

Running to the sink, I help Rome who is washing the dishes. He gives me a look.

"What? I want to help."

He sighs and shakes his head but lets me help which is quite surprising.

"Rome is there anything we can do to help?" Mama asks with papa trailing behind her.

"Oh no, you're the guests." He gives her a smile.

"But-"

"I promise It's alright. Arya why don't you go catch up with your parents, hm?" Stunned at how smoothly he just said that so I can't do the dishes, I don't get a word in because he nudges me towards them and mama smiles at me.

Still full of disbelief, I get led out of the kitchen and into the living room.

"So tell us about Italy. How was it kiddo?" Papa asks, taking a seat on the couch beside mama while I sit on the other side of him.

"It was so amazing, Rome took me to all these really cool places. We went onto the Rialto Bridge which apparently is one of the most famous ones. Oh! We also went skiing, iceskating, and then shopping and tried out different foods like macaroons and-"

My parents cut me off with a laugh and I realize how long I blabbered for.

"Sorry," I mumble, scratching my arm with a small grin.

"Well it sounds like you had a lot of fun, I'm glad you did." Papa says.

"Rome seems like a very good man." Mama adds and I clear my throat.

"What else did you guys do?" Mama asks and I continue to talk about the trip. The restaurants, how freezing it was compared to here, the frozen ocean. I could talk about it for hours.

"What about you guys? How's work been papa and mama, are you still doing therapy?"

"Works been good. Busy as usual but I've got a few days off."

"That's good to hear."

"Therapy has definitely helped. I'm still going to it." Mama tells me and I couldn't agree more, she was doing amazing.

Blowing out a breath, I try to approach the topic without looking obvious.

"So how much do you guys trust Rome. You like him, right mama?"

"Yes I think he's very good to you. At first I had my doubts but now I can see that you two truly love each other."

"He has our approval that's for sure." Papa says and I smile, giving them both a quick hug.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that." I tell them.

"Do you see yourself in the future with him?" Papa asks and I nod quickly.

"What's this?" Mama lifts my hand with the silver ring on my finger.

"O-Oh, Rome got it for me for my birthday. It has little flowers on it and it connects to the middle with the saying ti amo."

"Ti amo, what does that mean?"

"It means I love you."

"Wow, that's amazing honey." Papa says and I glance at the staircase.

"Can you guys come with me for a second?" They look confused but follow me up to my bedroom.

I tell them to sit on my bed and they do so with confusion still in their eyes. I close the door and take a deep breath.

Before I can stop myself the words come tumbling out of my mouth.

"Rome's in the mafia."