Kara's POV:

After we demolished the scrumptious dinner served to us by Rosa, our bellies were stuffed and satisfied. By we, I meant mostly Hannah and I. All Dante and Alessandro did was stare at us with their eyes and mouths wide open as we filled up plate after plate. What can I say, Hannah and I weren't shy at all when it came to eating. Food is definitely a way to our hearts. You would have a higher chance of us accepting a proposal with a gigantic stack of pancakes than with measly diamonds. It's a fact.

We offered to help Rosa with the dishes but was sent away, with her telling us to enjoy ourselves and rest up with the boys. We listened to her like we would to our own mums as we moved away from the dinning room and into the movie room where Dante suggested we rest up until our food babies disappeared.

Since we had Brooke with us, all of the movies Dante suggested were thrown out the window. We had to stick to PG movies after all. Dante pouted, whining at Alessandro, causing him to be shoved away.

"Mummy, mummy," Brooke whined as she held our two movies, "Little mermaid or Mulan?"

"Hmm," I pondered while Dante was at the back screaming repeatedly "LITTLE MERMAID!"

"Hmm, why don't we pick little mermaid then, since someone is dying to see it," I whispered to Brooke as she giggled, agreeing with me.

"Okay uncle Dan, this one," she said as she held it out to him. Dante mirrored her happiness as he lifted her up in the air, giving her kisses all over her face.

While Dante and Brooke set up the movie, the rest of us were tasked with making the area as cozy as possible. Alessandro shifted the bean bags from the corner to the centre of the room, covering them with lots of blankets, comforters and pillows. Hannah and I were way too bloated to even move an inch as we stayed on the ground, cradling our bellies in our arms.

Once the movie started playing, Brooke plopped herself in the centre, looking intently at the screen, totally immersed in the show. Seeing as Hannah and I weren't planning on moving anytime soon, Alessandro and Dante lifted us up bridal style and moved us to the squishy chairs.

"Thank you," I whispered to Alessandro as he draped a fleece blanket over me and tossing a couple to Dante on the other side.

Alessandro kissed my forehead in return as he got up to place a blanket around Brooke's shoulder, careful not to distract her from the movie. He came back to his original position and placed his arm under my head for support.

Being so close in his embrace, I could feel the warmth radiating off his body. Perfect, my own personal heater. I was always freezing cold anyways. I snuggled closer to the warmth, enjoying the company and his actions. I placed my head onto his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart beat. Right in that moment, I was happy. Truly happy, nothing could beat it.

As the movie progressed, it got to Brooke's favourite part as she hopped up from her seat, yelling, "Mummy! Mummy!", pointing to the screen. All of us sang along as the crab, Sebastian, began singing out:

"Under the sea

Under the sea

Darling it's better

Down where it's wetter

Take it from me

Up on the shore they work all day

Out in the sun they slave away

While we devotin'

Full time to floatin'

Under the sea"

Once the movie ended, Brooke clapped loudly with Dante joining her. Alessandro pressed the buttons on the remote as the screen rolled back up and the projector reclined back into its case. The lights turned back on abruptly as we groaned. I shielded my eyes from the light, turning my head further into Alessandro's chest.

"Sorry," Alessandro said, dimming the lights slightly to suit our eyes.

Brooke crawled to my side, squeezing herself in between Alessandro and I, joining into the cuddle. Alessandro gave her a kiss on her forehead, her cheeks and her nose as she giggled in delight.

We stayed in that position for while until Hannah suggested we take a walk around outside and get some fresh air. We headed out the door, remembering to grab our coats from the rack and placed our shoes on. Brooke and I waited for Alessandro as he notified his mum that we were heading out while Hannah and Dante headed out first.

Once we were out the door, Alessandro and I each held one of Brooke's hands, occasionally swinging her up and down like a little monkey. We seemed to have caught up with the love birds as we saw them not too far away. Brooke broke off from our hold, running full speed ahead to their direction.

Dante must have heard her footsteps thundering behind him as he turned around just in time to catch her. He picked her up gracefully, laughing alongside her, placing her on his shoulders as she held on to the hairs on his head, like reins of a horse.

Watching them from afar, I couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of me. Brooke was definitely a light in our world. Alessandro and I walked hand in hand, enjoying the comfortable silence between us.

As a strong wind blew by, I shivered slightly, hiding my face deeper inside my coat. Alessandro must have noticed it as he halted in his footsteps, turning my body to face him. He took off the scarf he had around his neck and placed it onto mine, wrapping it around my neck gently.

"You need more winter clothing," he mumbled.

"I have a bucket load."

"Clearly you aren't using it well, are you?" He teased.

"You sound like my mother." I gave him a pointed look.

"Mothers know best." He said in a sing-song voice.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me tighter into his side, keeping me snug and warm. While we were on our walk, we passed by the stables once again. Hearing the neighs of the horses, Brooke's ears perked up as she begged to see and pet them.

"Why not," Hannah shrugged as we turned and headed in that direction. Brooke yipped happily, walking with a skip in her step, barely able to contain her excitement.

As we walked into the stables the familiar stench filled my nostrils, although this time, I was more used to the smell than before. However, unlike myself, Alessandro and Dante, Hannah and Brooke had plugged their noses between their fingers, wincing due to the stench.

"Someone hasn't been eating their fruit and veg," Hannah joked, her voice sounding like a two year old as her nose was still plugged.

I burst out laughing when I heard her voice. It was too good not to. Alessandro lead the way, heading to one of the sections in the back. He lifted the hatchet, opening the top door to reveal a beautiful auburn stallion. He greeted the horse by petting it gently on its head, stroking it soothingly.

"Hello beautiful," he said, "this is Taffy. She's one of the more playful ones around here."

Brooke was on her tippy toes, straining her head to get a peak of the horse. She latched onto Alessandro's pants, tugging it slightly. Alessandro picked her up, moving her hand towards the horse's head. As her hand touched the soft hairs of its mane, she gave a great big smile, all teeth showing.

"Mummy, I'm petting a horse," she exclaimed.

"Yes little one. I can see that."

"Piccolo, give this to Taffy," Alessandro said as he placed a sugar cube that he retrieved from the bag by the side into her hand.

She placed her palm out straight and stretched out her arm. Taffy came closer to the cube, sniffing it before engulfing it whole. It's mouth must have gave Brooke's hand a ticklish graze as she recoiled her hand quickly, laughing uncontrollably.

"Again, again Alessy!" She beamed, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

All of us took turns petting and feeding the different horses in the stable, making sure not to over feed them as well. Alessandro was busy being Brooke's leg as he carried her throughout the stable, moving from one section to the next.

I turned my head to the right and saw the other love birds quietly in the corner with Midnight. Dante was standing behind Hannah, engulfing her frame, one hand holding her shoulder while the other was holding her hand, instructing her on how to pet Midnight. Seeing the position that they were in, I knew almost instantly that Hannah and Dante were definitely going to get together. One way or another. They were way too cute together.

Once everyone gathered together, some of us began to yawn so we decided to head back to the main house. The moment we stepped into the house, we were greeted by the warm toasty air. Ooo, that's lovely.

We sat by the fireplace as we were served cups of coffee, hot chocolate and some cookies. The perfect way to defrost. Us, girls, helped ourselves as we sprinkled the marshmallows into our drink, stirring it with a cinnamon stick. Just like how godfather had taught us. It was the only professional way after all.

Unlike the professionals, the two boring men had plain black coffees. Gross, how could they drink such a bitter beverage on a cold winter day like this? Uncultured swines.

We sipped our drinks as we sat by the fireplace, enjoying each other's company with some small talk here and there. I sighed, relishing in the peacefulness as Brooke came to lie on my lap, clearly quite tired from the day she had. Work had been a weight on my shoulders for quite a while now so this was a nice way to unwind and spend time with the people I cared about.

After we were done with our drinks, there was one last cookie on the tray. Hannah, Dante and I eyed each other, no one making a move just yet. Within a blink of an eye, Hannah lunged for it. Dante was quick to follow, grabbing it at the same time she did.

Odd one out, how rude, I pouted.

Neither willing to back down, Hannah licked the cookie. Dante looked at her in shock, giving her a 'how dare you, what did you just do' face, letting his guard down. The opportunity opened and Hannah took every advantage of it as she yanked it out of his hands and into her mouth, the cookie half way sticking out. She put her hands on her face, waving her fingers about, mocking him.

Dante glared at her and suddenly swooped in, biting the other half of the cookie that wasn't in her mouth. Hannah gasped, the cookie daring to drop out of her mouth. She chomped hard and fast, swallowing it down.

"Ho-How...W-wh-why," Hannah muttered, unable to get a sentence out.

Dante smirked at her, shrugging his shoulders, acting all innocent.

The little girl lying down on my lap yawned loudly, snuggling further into me. Time to head home.

"Okay love birds, cut it out," I said, "I think it's time we head back."

Hannah nodded her head as we got up from our positions. Alessandro helped to carry Brooke off me, carefully placing her in his arms as I stood up. I grabbed our bags from the hall and put our coats and shoes back on.

All of us headed out the door as the car Hannah drove to the office came around. Alessandro placed Brooke in her car seat, strapping her in. Hannah said her goodbyes to Dante and hopped into the front seat.

"Thanks for today Alessandro. I really enjoyed myself," I said, opening the car door to slide in.

Before I could do that, Alessandro tugged me back.

"Tesoro, let's go on a date, a real one this time. Saturday. 6pm." He stated, looking straight into my eyes. Wait what?

"Okay it's a date." Feeling a rush of energy surge through my veins plus the added confidence he gave me, I leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on his lips.

Not feeling satisfied by the peck, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and connected our lips once again, moving them slowly against mine. Hannah banged her hands against the car roof.

"Smooching time's over chica, let's get a move on." Hannah said teasingly.

Alessandro and I separated as I blushed profusely.

"Till next time," he whispered huskily into my ear, kissing my temple as he released my waist from his grasps.

He closed the door behind me as I slid into the car. The boys waved us goodbye as Hannah drove off. I sat in the back seat of the car, running my fingers over my lips. That man really is something else alright.

*****

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