Stella

I'm starving.

I need food like I need air.

And if someone looks at me wrong, I'm going to rip their head off.

"Uh oh... I know that look." Cody said opening the door to his and Anthony's place. He carefully put his hands up and slowly backed away. "Please, I got food in the kitchen. It's yours as long as you don't hurt me."

Growling I threw my purse at his head which he caught laughing. "Don't be an ass."

Following him into the kitchen Anthony looked up with a big smile, stopping his movement of cooking. "Hey! I got a bone to pick with you."

Cody was quick to step beside him and began opening the fridge. "Careful Ant, right now we have a wild, hungry pregnant lady in our kitchen. We must be careful not to spook her until she eats, or she will kill us both."

Anthony hissed and quickly went back to cooking. I let out a groan, shaking my head at the two of them. "I hate you both."

"Do you really?" Cody asked passing me some cheese and crackers.

A knock at the door took Cody away to go answer it, leaving me to eat while Anthony watched me amused. Anthony tilted his head at me. "Weren't you supposed to come over with Maximus?"

"Yes. She was." Max said behind me making me turn to him with a guilty expression. "Here is dessert for tonight, tiramisu."

Cody took the dessert while I slowly shrugged taking another bite of my snack. "I was hungry and you were late."

He chuckled walking over to me. "I was actually going to be thirty minutes early and bring you food, then I found out you had left already."

His mention of food caught my interest, his arm wrapping around my waist while his lips kissed my temple. "Food?"

Max rolled his eyes, "I didn't have time to pick it up since I had to bolt after my pregnant lady."

"Pregnant?" My head whipped to find my Nanna in the kitchen with her arm around Cody's, her hand lightly tapping his hand. "Cody dear, I think I could use a glass of red if you have any."

Cody laughed. "I'll get you a bottle."

Max turned to me, his face blank. "You hadn't told your Nanna."

I grimaced at him and then my Nanna. "I'm sorry, I was going to tell you but you just left to go on a mini trip again. What was I supposed to do? Send a postcard of San Fran with 'hey remember the hot guy you told me to have fun with, I did and now I'm prego?'"

Max shifted uncomfortably next to me, his hand unclasping his suit jacket.

"Oh!" I quickly exclaimed losing my appetite at the expression on Max's face. "I am not hiding you! No, Nanna Max is a lot more than a hot piece of ass to have fun with and once I stop talking and he starts, you'll see why."

Anthony start laughing loudly. "I feel for you Maximus, having to deal with that for nine months."

I looked over to Anthony. "Oh, hush or I won't celebrate the fact that both you and Cody are wearing engagement rings on your fingers. Instead I'll try to hook Cody up with my bodyguard Tate."

"Tate's dating Vincent." Max said with a chuckle.

I shrugged to Max. "No, he's hooking up with Vincent, Cody is husband quality."

"Oye! Stop trying to hook my fiancé up with your body guard!" Anthony butted in.

"I don't know." Cody mused handing my amused Nanna a glass of wine. "It is good to know my last option."

Nanna took a sip shaking her head. "Now will you all stop teasing poor Anthony, he looks like he is going to have a hernia. At least wait till after he takes the dinner out of the oven and begins feeding us."

Anthony shook his head. "Note to self, don't have you guys over for dinner again."

"Oh, now Anthony no need for extreme threats." Nanna started as a timer went off. "We will get ourselves to the dinner table while you give your fiancé a speech about how you make more money than a private body guard. Now, Maximus if you would take the time to explain to me as to why Stella needs one while accompanying me to the dinner table."

Max chuckled, his arms unwrapping from me to walk over to Nanna. "Of course."

"Maximus, anything you want for drink?" Cody called.

Max looked over his shoulder and shook his head. "Whatever you have is fine."

With that he and Nanna walked out of the kitchen towards the dining room.

Looking back at my friends, I find both of them looking at me. "What?"

Anthony snorted. "Leaving him to fend for himself?"

I shrugged putting the cheese in the fridge. "When I met his family, I had an office meeting with his brother. I think he can handle a short walk to your dinning room."

Anthony snorted again. "You underestimate your Nanna."

It was my turn to snort. "No, you understate a meeting with Lorenzo Sorrentino."

A tsk came out of Anthony. "Never mind, leave him to suffer."

Humming I close the fridge and looked at the kitchen counter. "What can I bring out?"

Cody reached over and passed me a large salad bowl. "Only this, now go get settled we will be in with the rest of the food and drinks. We host, now go chill."

Chuckling I take the bowl and glace to Anthony. "He always so bossy?"

Anthony wiggled his brows. "It's one thing I love about him."

"Ew, information I do not need to know." I grimace walking out of the kitchen to go to the dining room.

Max looked up from his seat when I walked into the room and Nanna stopped talking. "Your Nanna would put my brothers to shame."

Chuckling I put the salad bowl on the table. "Why do you think I can handle them so easily?"

Nanna chuckled taking a sip of her wine. "Atta girl. Though I was surprised you let me steal him so easily."

Max chuckled. "It was payback."

Sending him a wink I take the seat beside him, Nanna sitting across the table from us.

"Alright who is hungry?" Anthony asked stepping into the room and placing a dish of Chicken Piccata on the table.

Cody coming in behind him, putting a few wine glasses on the table. "A cab fine Maximus?"

"It's perfect." He answered as Cody poured a glass in front of him.

"And for you, sparkling water." Cody said placing a glass in front of me.

I groaned looking at the water compared to the wine everyone was drinking. "I hate being pregnant."

Cody and Anthony took their seats, food being passed around to fill everyone's plates.

While some began eating, alarms were going off in my head knowing that Cody and Anthony are wearing engagements ring and that they have called each other 'fiancé'. Yet they haven't talked about it.

I looked between them, to Cody, then Anthony, to Cody then Anthony. "OKAY! Tell me the story already!"

Anthony slowly smirked over to Cody. "Told you, not before we even had a chance to eat."

Cody groaned looking to me. "You were supposed to yell at us during desert."

I rolled my eyes. "Well I want the information now. And wouldn't a normal person yell at it when they enter the room?"

Anthony shrugged. "Yeah, but you would have been trying to contain yourself and wait for us to mention it. That is until you lost your patience."

Nanna chuckled. "Well I agree with her. Out with your stories."

Cody laughed lifting his glass to me. "Well kudos to Stella for keeping it a secret that I was going to propose and also not saying anything when Anthony told her he was going to propose."

I chuckled cutting up a piece of chicken then took a bite. "Your both welcome."

Cody laughed again. "Anyway. Anthony had the idea of taking a sailboat out which gave me the perfect opportunity to propose to him. We set sail and before I knew it I took out the ring and asked, or shouted, if he would marry me."

"And I responded." Anthony cut in when Cody began laughing. "'That little bitch.' Took out my ring and showed it at him."

The room erupted in laughter, the image clear in my head. "You didn't even know if Cody told me." I pointed out.

Anthony motioned to me with his fork. "He rushed in his proposal that I would like the ring because you approved. You just wanted to be a part of our engagement."

I laughed. "It's not like I could have said anything to both of you. It would have been hilarious you two taking out the rings at the same moment."

Cody nodded taking a sip. "It was a good sign for both of us that the other was ready."

I snorted. "But seriously you are so boujee, taking a sailboat out to propose."

Anthony flipped me off. "Shut up, taking a sailboat meant he could either agree or swim back to shore."

"If Cody didn't have a ring and intension to ask, sounds like you were going to offer him no chance to say 'no'." Max chuckled taking a bite of food.

Anthony shrugged. "I knew he was going to say yes, and you can't judge."

I showed my knife in his direction. "Keep making those jokes and I will have Tate come over to remind Cody that he hasn't taken his vows to you yet."

Anthony put his hands up but the quip between us had caught Nanna's attention. "What's this about?"

Max shifted on his chair beside me. "Anthony enjoys teasing me because I asked Stella to marry me and she returned the ring."

Nanna looked to me than back to Max. "Well how could she have agreed to marry you? Yes you two are having a child but you still don't know each other well enough to put rings on."

"Well as Beyoncé says." Anthony said butting in. "If you like it, you should put a ring on it."

Max looked hard at Anthony then turned to Cody. "Tate has tomorrow off in case you are free."

I rolled my eyes and went back to eating. "We are looking at places to move into so that when the baby comes we can raise it like a family. But if you keep bring marriage up in our context, you won't get a key."

Nanna chuckled. "So you fiancés, any ideas for the wedding?"

"Elopement." "Big wedding." Cody and Anthony said at the same time making them snap their heads to the others.

Nanna winced. "Forget I asked."

Cody lightly coughed. "You want a large wedding?"

"Uh..." Anthony took a large sip of his wine. "You want to elope?"

I slowly leaned over to Max to whisper. "It's like I am watching two trains coming down different slopes towards each other. I know they are going to hit but I can't look away."

Max leaned to me. "Or you could run in to pull the track change lever to keep the trains from hitting. What if you guys do a small ceremony to compromise."

Anthony put his hand up to Max. "Not engaged, no opinion."

Nanna took a bite of her food. "Why don't you both enjoy on being engaged, don't jump into any wedding planning."

A phone went off beside me, Max giving a deep sigh before digging his phone from him pocket. His eyes scanning a text before putting it away in his pocket. "Apologies, if you will excuse me I am afraid I must run. Complication at work."

I smiled over at him. "Hope you aren't up to late, I'll meet you back at your apartment."

Max got up from his chair and kissed my cheek. "I'll keep you updated. Thank you all for dinner, it was great. Anthony and Cody, congrats and Mrs. Reynals I shall see you for lunch tomorrow."

She smiled at him. 'Oh please call me 'Alerica'."

Max bowed his head and left the room, Cody and Anthony saying goodbye after him.

I looked cautiously at my Nanna. "You're having lunch with him tomorrow?"

She took a slow sip of her wine. "And you waited how many months to tell me your pregnant?"

Anthony snorted. "Yeah, nice going there Stella."

I puckered my lips and looked to Cody. "So, tell me about this elopement?"