"Is he here?!" I asked Vivi, bouncing up and down nervously.

"Relax, baby. He'll be here soon." Vivi told me, making me sit down on the couch.

"How much time is soon?" I asked.

"I don't know. A few minutes." He chuckled.

"Vivi! I want him to come quickly!" I said nervously.

"Why are you so nervous? He already thinks you guys are best friends." Vivi told me.

"We are." I smiled, looking down at my hands which were sitting in my lap. I was wearing a pretty white dress and my hair was in a loose braid that came to one side.

"He already loves you, Kiwi. Just relax." Vivi told me, kissing my forehead.

Yeah, Remi already loves me.

So does Daddy.

Momma too.

Even Coco.

And of course Fifi.

Everyone I've met, except Vivi!

He's the one person I want to love me, and he still hasn't said it.

I glared at the back of Vivi's head as he headed to the kitchen to pull the pizza out of the oven. I was not happy that I still hadn't heard those three special words. I constantly said it to him. I told him I loved him ten times a day, at least. But he just kissed my forehead when I said that and he walked away. How mean is that?!

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and I sprung up, going to the door and flinging it open. The second I saw the blue-eyed, brown haired version of Vivi. I flung myself at him, wrapping him up in a hug.

"Remi!" I giggled.

"Oh... I didn't expect such a warm welcome." He chuckled, rubbing my back and stepping into the apartment, shutting the door behind him.

"I missed you." I said to him.

"Really?" He laughed. "This definitely not what I was expecting. But I definitely missed you too, Cupcake."

"Cupcake?" I asked.

"Can't I call my baby sister Cupcake?" He asked me.

"You can." I giggled. "But only of you brought me more of those cupcakes we had at your office."

"Maybe I did, Cupcake." He chuckled, pulling a box of cupcakes out of his briefcase.

They were really messy, the icing was smeared all over the packaging.

"They may or may not be squished, but they'll taste good regardless." Remi laughed.

"We can eat them with spoons or forks." I giggled, finally letting him go so he could breathe.

"I also have other stuff here, that you and I are going to enjoy." He said.

"Really?! What is it?!" I asked.

"Pictures that Vidal isn't going to be too happy about." Remi chuckled.

"You did not!" Vivi said, running over and attempting to grab Remi's briefcase.

"Ah! Take it, Cupcake! Protect it! Run! The monster is coming to steal our treasure!" Remi said, handing me his briefcase and blocking Vidal from getting to me. I ran off with the briefcase, unable to control my giggling and Vivi eventually was able to break free and grab me. He was laughing too now. I quickly handed the briefcase to Remi and he took it and rushed off.

"You two are going to kill me." Vivi said.

"Please Vivi! I wanna see the pictures he brought." I said, pouting at him.

"They're embarrassing." He said to me, his resolve breaking as he looked at my face.

"But... I'm your kiwi. It's ok to be embarrassed with me. Right?" I asked.

"You're right." He said, kissing my forehead and letting out a heavy sigh.

I giggled and ran to Remi, we both sat down on the couch and Remi took the photo album out of his briefcase.

We sat down, looking through funny pictures of Vivi when he was little. He was so cute. Him and his bright orange hair, with his hazel eyes and his little pout. In some of them he was angry, in other ones he was covered in mud or sand. One of them had him in a bright yellow pair of swimming shorts, and he was holding a red popsicle with red smeared all over his face. He was a messy eater.

"This is after Momma, Dad, Vivi and I won a water war." Remi chuckled, pointing to a picture.

"Oh my goodness! Look at you two!" I giggled.

"I'm the cutest, aren't I?" Remi laughed.

"Yes! You had the chubbiest cheeks ever!" I cheered, squeezing his cheeks which were now scattered with stubble.

He swatted my hand away and he flipped to the next page. He laughed and pointed at the tiny little baby.

"Look at Ari... isn't she adorable?" He laughed.

"That's Arabella?" I asked.

"Yup." He chuckled.

"Oh my goodness! She's such a cutie!" I giggled.

We pointed to a few more pictures with Vivi pouting.

"He was a grumpy little guy." I laughed.

"Yup." Romeo laughed.

"No way! That's baby Vivi!" I giggled, pointing to a tiny redheaded baby.

I looked up and saw Vivi looking at me with a faint smile on his face. I giggled and couldn't help but think if we might ever have kids together. I would want that, but he'd have to wait a long time. I wasn't ready to be a momma anytime soon, it would be years before I'd be ready for a baby.

Then I noticed how Vidal was just staring at me. It was like he didn't actually see that I was looking at him. His eyes scanned me and he examined my face in detail.

"Look at this one." Remi said, nudging me and pointing to another picture.

"You guys have always been together, huh?" I giggled.

"Yup. I don't think any one of us can live without this family." Remi told me.

I smiled, liking the sound of that. I wanted a family that felt that way about each other. Just about two and a half months ago, I was stuck in a dark place with no idea what family was all about. Now I was so excited just to be a part of this huge, happy family. I knew other people didn't always have good families. But I was lucky enough to land in this family. Of all the people in the world, I knew for sure that these people understood what a family was all about.

I laid my head on Romeo's shoulder and I looked at the pictures with him. He told me stories about when Arabella moved in with him and how that's when she met her husband. I smiled when he talked about how he liked having Ari with him. He spoke about her like she was the most precious person. I thought that was amazing. Remi was a good guy. He was super goofy and adorable.

"Want some pizza?" I asked Remi, remembering the forgotten pizza that Vivi and I had made.

"Yes please." He laughed and I got up. Remi followed me to the kitchen and Vivi finally snapped out of whatever daze he was in.

"W-what?" He asked, making both Remi and I laugh at him.

"Get up off your butt, Bro. Stop staring too, it's not polite?" Remi said, smacking Vivi on the shoulder.

"Hey, don't be mean." I said, nudging Remi.

"Unbelievable." Remi said, laughing and pulling his smiling brother off the couch.

"Vivi can you share a piece with me? I want one and a half." I said.

"How come you didn't offer that to me?" Remi asked.

"Because you were mean to Vivi and because I want to share with him. I'll share the cupcakes with you though." I said.

"Ok. I'm happy with that." Remi said.

"Of course I'll share, Kiwi." Vivi said, rubbing his nose along my neck and kissing it as he held me to his chest from behind. It had me feeling way too flustered to let him continue.

"Vidal. Get off her, please." Remi said, making Vidal let me go.

"You're so annoying." Vidal said to him.

"Shut up and eat your pizza, idiot." Remi said to Vivi.

"Guys! Stop fighting! You two are crazy!" I giggled, jumping on Vivi's back and making him carry me to the couches.

We ate our pizza in peace and then Vidal zoned out again as I talked to Remi. Vidal had a lot on his mind lately.

"Remi.... do you like a girl?" I asked him.

"I... that's a difficult question, Kiara.... there is a girl... but I'm not sure it's going anywhere." He said to me.

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's complicated, Cupcake." He said to me.

"Can you tell me about it?" I asked.

"I can. But just don't get too excited. I don't want to get attached to this before it can go anywhere." He said to me.

"Alright. So why are you worried it won't go anywhere?" I asked him.

"Well. She's... she's been through a lot, Cupcake. I feel for her, I really do. And that's why I'm helping her. But every time I flirt, she shuts it down immediately." He explained.

"Maybe she's just not ready." I explained.

"I don't think she likes me very much." Remi chuckled.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because I'm a little too much for her." He chuckled, but he didn't seem very happy at all.

"Remi. You're not too much." I said.

"I am sometimes. Like I joke around too much and she's not always in the mood, with good reason." Remi told me.

"If she can't take your jokes all the time, then maybe she isn't someone that you should be worrying about." I said.

"Since when does my little cupcake give relationship advice?" He laughed.

"Because I'm single, Remi, and single people give the best relationship advice, it's just a fact." I giggled.

"Are you single?" He asked with a frown.

"For now." I nodded.

He looked at Vivi who was sitting there staring at Bunny. Remi frowned at his brother in confusion.

"What's wrong with him?" Remi asked me.

"Uhm... I don't really know. It's become a thing for him to zone out like that." I said.

"Hm... maybe I'll talk to him about that later." Remi said.

"Please do." I nodded. "I don't think I can get through to him on this one."

"I would've thought that you guys are together now." Remi said.

"He's my caregiver, so we can't be. Not for a while longer anyway. I don't know the details. But anyway, I don't really think he wants a relationship between us right now." I said.

"He does." Remi told me, insisting and not letting me argue.

"How do you know." I laughed.

"Because I know my brother. And that... is his 'upset because I can't get what I want' look." Remi said, pointing at Vidal.

I shook my head with a laugh and remembered that we were talking about Remi's love life, not mine.

"So this girl... she's not worth it if she can't handle your sense of humour." I said.

"She's been through a lot.... she's a busy, tired, hardworking person. Life made her serious and here I am joking about everything. I understand why she doesn't like my clown-like attitude." He said to me.

"Do you really think she could be the one?" I asked.

"She has to be. All signs point to her, but.... she won't let me get near her. She's pushing me away and setting up a steel barrier to protect herself from me." He sighed.

"Remi. Tell me about her." I said.

"You can't tell anyone else yet. Can I trust you with that much?" He asked me and I nodded my head.

"She's married." Remi said.

"Remi! Are you dumb?! Obviously she doesn't want you! She's married!" I said, trying not to snap Vivi out of his daze.

"It's not like that. Just let me explain." Remi said.

"She.... he threw her out... he was a horrible husband and I'm helping her get her divorce... she never wanted to marry him in the first place." Remi said.

"What?" I asked in shock.

"Listen, I can't tell you the details.... because her case is private.... but, maybe one day, if she ends up being mine, you can meet her and my little munchkin." He said.

"What? You got her pregnant?! Remi!" I whisper-yelled.

"Sh... no! I didn't get her pregnant!" He said.

"Who's your little munchkin?!" I growled quietly.

"Forget it. It's ok. I'll tell you eventually." He said.

"Remi. Have you produced a child now or in the past?" I asked him.

"No." He laughed. "Relax, Cupcake. I didn't think you had it in you to get all crazy with me."

"I don't know, Remi. I think it's time to just... back off." I said to him, not liking the sound of this.

"I don't want to back off. She's so perfect, Cupcake.... I don't want to lose her." He whined.

"She's your client." I growled at him.

"I know. I don't flirt with her when we're working on her case. Only when I'm alone with her." He said.

"Alone with her?! Remi!" I gasped, grabbing a newspaper off the coffee table and rolling it up, hitting Remi lightly and repeatedly on his back.

"Chill!" He said.

"Why are you alone with a married woman?" I inquired angrily.

"Relax, Kiara. Her marriage isn't normal. And we're not alone together in a bad way. Just when we're out at a park or something." He said.

"A park?! You're so confusing, Remi. So, so, so confusing!" I said.

"She agrees to go on walks with me. It's ok, I wouldn't ever do anything bad, Cupcake. I care about her and I won't take advantage of her, not like other people have." Remi said, kissing my cheek.

"Can I be the first to meet her?" I asked.

"I'll try to make that happen, Cupcake." Remi smiled, pulling me closer and kissing me on the forehead.

"Good. Now you stay away from girls until this case is over, understood?" I said.

"Understood, Chief Cupcake." He laughed.

"Good, now can you fix him?" I asked, pointing to Vivi who was still not in this world with us.

"What's wrong with the idiot?" Remi asked.

"He keeps doing that. The first time was staring at my hair, then he started just getting lost in thought for a while and now he's literally staring at a bunny." I chuckled.

"Vidal!" Romeo yelled suddenly in a deep voice, making even me jump up in shock.

Vivi scrambled up in shock and looked around, making us both laugh at him.

"You good, Bro?" Remi asked.

"I'm fi-good." He said, still blinking himself out of his dazed state.

"Come with me, let's go have a talk." Remi said, getting up and leaving me to scurry to the kitchen and grab some forks for us to eat the smushed cupcakes with.

I curled up on the couch with Bunny and I thought about how sweet Vivi had been to give me such an amazing massage and then get me a huge gift the next morning. That was so sweet of him, I still couldn't believe the gifts he'd given me.

I grabbed my phone and I remembered that I needed to get Remi's number. That's when I started trying to figure out how I would ask him for it. I started rehearsing it in my head, but it built up a lot of nerves about how to ask him. And I started to stress about it. But he was just Remi. He would never make it awkward. I knew I needed to relax.