Kara's POV:

Once I reached home, I sent a message to Mr De Lu-. I mean Alessandro.

Hi, the party tonight starts at 6pm, at 135 Rosewood Heights. You are welcome to bring a friend along with you, if you want. I hope to see you later.

- Kara

I couldn't stop thinking of the way Brooke behaved around him. She had never been so clingy to anyone outside the family, let alone a stranger she had just met. I couldn't believe my eyes. He was such a charmer, the way his eyes gazed into mine, seemingly piercing right into my soul. I had barely met him but my body reacted so differently around him. I was not experienced in this department at all. In high school, I was never really interested in boys; they were mostly delinquents, having a pea sized brain. So here I was, 24 years old, never having a boyfriend, never been kissed, never really having any social interaction with boys in general. Besides the men in my family of course.

My phone beeped. He replied. That was fast.

See you there, tesoro.

"Kara, hurry up will you, your guests are about to be here soon." My mother said as she hustled and bustled about, adding the finishing touches to the decorations.

Hannah and my parents did a marvellous job with the house, it was absolutely beautiful. The edges of the house were lined with fairy lights, rose gold shimmery streamers, falling against the walls like curtains. Champagne glasses were lined up nicely on the kitchen island which was covered in tiered centre pieces filled with intricately designed cupcakes, cookies, finger foods, etc.

"Kara! Your godfather's on the phone," my dad said as he tossed the phone into my hands, rushing off to calm my overly stressed mother.

"Hey uncle Stefano," I beamed.

"Hey snowflake, congratulations you little brainiac! I knew some of my intelligence must have rubbed off on you," He chuckled, "I'm sorry I couldn't make it there in time, I got held up in London. The conference is taking a lot longer than expected."

"Thanks uncle Stef, don't sweat it. Nothing interesting happened anyways."

Well I mean except the encounter with Alessandro. But he didn't need to know that. Let's just say my godfather is very stern when it comes to boys, being very overly protective. He always advised me to focus on my studies first, and that boys were a distraction I didn't need in my life. I also remember him saying that he would only let me start dating when I turned 40. A little bit over the top if I say so myself.

"I'll be back in a week, so don't cause any trouble till then," He warned, "we have a lot of pranks to make up for."

"How's my little Brookie?" He asked.

"Good. She's been a little rascal alright." I laughed, "there she is, Brooke, uncle Stefano's on the phone, you wanna say hi?"

She nodded her head vigorously, taking the phone from my hands, chattering away with her favourite granduncle. Well her only granduncle.

Not long after, our guests started arriving, filling the house with laughter and smiles. I had heard about a thousand "congratulations", "you smart cookie", as I thanked them, leading them into the house. My cheeks hurt so much from smiling by the time I politely excused myself from a group of my mother's friends.

"Kara! Finally I've caught you." Hannah said as she huffed, out of breath as she pulled me into her room, "you won't believe who I saw at your graduation ceremony."

I urged her to continue.

"My asshole boss. The one who owns the hospital."

I frowned, clearly confused, not knowing who she was talking about.

"It was the other guest of honour, the one who handed you your certificate," she explained as I remembered exactly who she was talking about.

"Mr Dante Valentino."

Oh my. I smirked at her.

"What did you do to get his attention on you?" I asked having an accusing look on my face.

"I didn't do anything I swear." She replied in mock surrender.

"Maybe I lashed out at him for cutting in front of me when I was getting lunch in the hospital cafeteria and I may have used a lot of colourful words to expressed myself." She squeaked, running her mouth.

"What?"

She repeated it slower, as I laughed at her expense. Of course she would do that. Hannah's mouth had absolutely no filter, she always said what was exactly on her mind. It can be a good thing and bad thing. But this time, she messed up. Bad. Real bad.

"You really did it this time chica." I patted her back in sympathy.

"Mummy mummy, he's here." Brooke yelled in happiness, as she dragged me out of the room and towards the front door.

As I looked out of the window, I saw a sleek, fiery red Ferrari and a black matte Bugatti roll up into our driveway. It's definitely him. Alessandro stepped out of his Bugatti, adjusting his suit jacket, running his hand through his hair.

I felt a tingle in my lower region. Hot tamale, he's drop dead gorgeous alright. Walking out of the Ferrari and towards Alessandro was Dante Valentino himself. I smirked to myself. Hannah was so fucked. I can't wait for the drama to unfold.

I helped Brooke twist the handle of the door as she swung it open, running up to Alessandro, crashing into his legs once again.

"Hello there piccolo," he greeted as he picked her up, kissing her on the cheek, leaving her in a fit of giggles.

"Hi Alessy."

Mr Valentino's jaw dropped as he watched the exchange between little one and Alessandro.

"Please come in Mr De Luca and Mr Valentino." I said politely, feeling the need to be professional, inviting them in.

"Tesoro, call me Alessandro." He replied, as his hand lightly caressed the small of my back making me shiver in delight.

Dante coughed, indicating his presence in our "intimate" moment.

"Tesoro, this is Dante Valentino, my best friend." He said, gesturing to the man next to him, "Fratello, this is Kara Coleman."

"Nice to meet you Mr Valentino." I shook Dante's hand as he gave me a wink.

"Dante is just fine sweetheart."

"Guardalo fratello," Alessandro hissed in a foreign language. (Watch it brother.)

Leading the two men into the room, I noticed all the women in the room eyeing them like fresh meat, their eyes following their every moment. I giggled to myself, coming to the realisation that I had two very powerful men standing in my house.

"Sweetie, who do we have here?" My mother asked, eyeing the two men up and down shamelessly.

She saw Brooke curled up in Alessandro's arms, giving me a questionable "we'll talk about this later" look.

"Mum, this is Alessandro and Dante, the guest of honour from the graduation ceremony." I replied, "This is my mother, Emilia and my father, James."

"Nice to meet you ma'am," They greeted.

Alessandro and Dante nodded at my dad in recognition as he did the same. I wonder how they knew each other? That'll be a question to ask later.

"We'll leave you be sweetie," My mum said, winking at me as she hooked her arms with my dad's whisking him away.

"Piccolo," Alessandro said to which she perked up straight away, looking at him intently, "why don't you show Dante your room while I talk to your mum?"

Brooke nodded excitedly, kissing his cheek as he placed her back on her feet. She walked up to Dante, putting her hands up, for him to carry her, as she said, "Let's go uncle Dan-te."

Dante picked her up with ease, placing a kiss on her head, saying, "You and me shorty. Show me the way."

With the two leaving us, I led Alessandro to the backyard, settling myself on the swing as he leaned against the tree trunk.

"Tell me something about yourself." I initiated boldly as I swung lightly, maintaining eye contact with him.

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything."

"Well, I'm 28 years old, I'm the ceo and founder of De Luca Industries and I grew up in Italy."

"Oh that explains the slight accent you have." I said in having an 'O' face, "were you speaking Italian to Dante when you walked in?"

"Yes."

As the music played in the house changed to a slower song, he held out his hand to me.

"Dance with me tesoro," He stated.

I placed my hand gingerly in his, allowing him to pull me up to my feet. He placed his hand on my waist, his thumbs stroking my skin softly. Being the short woman that I was, I barely reached his shoulders, straining my neck to look up at him. God he was way too tall.

"You look beautiful tonight tesoro," He whispered into my ears huskily, as I blushed, unconsciously tightening my hand around his.

Feeling a wave of confidence flow through my veins, I replied, "You look handsome too."

He smiled down at me as we swayed from side to side following the beat of the music. I felt so safe in his arms, as I leaned my head against his hard solid chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. Bliss, absolute bliss. I wished this moment would never end.

Spoken too soon, I heard a screech. It sounded like Hannah. I lifted myself off Alessandro, apologising as I wanted to check on my best friend. However, just as I walked away from him, he held my hand, slipping his fingers through mine. Boy my hand was tiny compared to his.

We walked hand in hand as we approach the corridor between Hannah and Brooke's room. Standing outside both their doors, I saw Hannah on one side, Dante on the other and Brooke standing innocently in the middle, eating a cookie. Hannah was too busy glaring at Dante's smug face to notice our presence.

Brooke looked up after finishing her cookie, looking towards me with a guilty expression. Busted. Yet again, she ran into Alessandro's arms, hiding into his embrace. He can only save you so many times, little one.

I narrowed my eyes teasingly at her as Alessandro wiped the crumbs off her face, playing with the curls of her hair.

"What's going on Hannah?" I asked, totally confused.

"Why is he here?" She sneered.

"He's Alessandro's best friend." I replied, hoping that would clear the air.

"Didn't you miss me cupcake?" Dante added, adding fuel to the fire. Hannah's eyes narrowed, shooting daggers at him, steam puffing out of her ears.

"Shut your trap asshole." Hannah replied.

I covered Brooke's ears.

"Bad word Aunt Han Han. Swear jar." Brooke said whisking her finger out.

"Sorry sweet pea.""

Dante and Hannah continued to bicker, back and forth, back and forth until my ears started to ring. Alessandro noticed my discomfort, wrapping his arms around me, placing a kiss on my head.

"Stop it both of you," He bellowed, "Dante stop acting like a fucking child."

"Bad word Alessy." Brooke said, placing her hand out.

"Sorry piccolo." He replied, kissing her head, placing a ten dollar note into her hand.

"No no that's too much." I said, trying to return the money back to Alessandro.

Alessandro dismissed my concern, placing the note back into Brooke's palm.

"Score!" she yelled as everyone laughed.

The party had come to an end as everyone began to take their leave. I thanked everyone for coming as I walked them out the door, waving as they drove off. Walking back into the house, I saw Brooke laying against his chest as she watched television. Alessandro looked down at her with such love and care, it made my heart burst in happiness. He drummed his fingers against her belly, tickling her now and then. I stood by the door, watching them for a while longer.

Notice a presence in the room, he looked up, beckoning me over, wrapping his arms around me, holding the both of us for a while. I relaxed in his embrace, enjoying the moment we had.

"Sorry tesoro, I have to leave now, I have to get up bright and early tomorrow, to catch a flight," he said, moving off the couch.

"Dante, dobbiamo partire ora." He yelled out. (Dante, we need to leave now.)

"Where are you going?" I asked, slightly disappointed.

"To London for a week," he replied, "I'll be back before you know it tesoro."

He gave Brooke a kiss on her head.

"Goodbye piccolo," he said, "go find Dante for me, will you?"

She nodded her head, going off to find Dante.

His attention was back on me as he placed his hands on my waist, pulling me closer to him. One of his hand moved to my cheek, rubbing his thumb back and forth. I hooked my arms around his lower back as I look into his mesmerising eyes, hypnotised by his brown pools. Is he going to kiss me? I don't know if I'm ready for that.

He kissed the top of my head, pausing for a moment. He held my face in both of his hands, kissing my nose lightly.

"I'll see you soon tesoro."

With that, he left, with Dante in tow.

I turned back seeing an audience had gathered, witnessing our moment. I blushed, seeing the similar flushed look on Hannah's face, mirroring mine.

Once we cleaned up the house, I managed to convince my mum that nothing was going on between Alessandro and I, ushering her and dad out of the house.

"I love you guys! Bye," I said, hurrying them along so I could get Hannah to spill the beans.

Closing the front door, I picked up my sweet baby, tickling her tummy as I bounced her on the bed.

"Get ready for bed munchkin." She giggled, going into her closet to get changed. I placed her on the bathroom counter, giving her her baby toothbrush. Once she was all ready for bed, I tucked her in, singing her favourite song and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight little one," I switched off the lights, "sweet dreams."

I opened Hannah's door with an oomph.

"Spill the beans sister," I semi-yelled, a curious glint in my eyes.

"There's nothing to spill," she said innocently.

"Nothing my ass," I pointed accusingly, "I saw your flushed face, something definitely happened."

She gave in, chuckling to herself.

"At first, I continued glaring at him as he came up to me. One thing led to another and I didn't hate him anymore in the end." She answered.

"He was so charming. He knew exactly what to say. And his smirk. I wanted to rip it off his face but at the same time, I wondered how soft they were," she admitted, "I'm so confused."

I grinned, I think Hannah has finally met her match. I've never seen her like this before. Usually, she was always the dominant one in the relationship, controlling the situation most of the time. This was new for her.

"You like him," I stated as she denied.

"You do. Otherwise, you would have handed his ass to him already."

"Alsowemayhavekissed." She blurted.

"What?"

"We kissed." I screamed, grabbing her shoulders, shaking her in excitement, yelling "OH MY GOD".

Once we were out of breath, she leaned her chin against her palm, staring at me.

"What about you chica," she teased, "I caught a glimpse of you and Alessandro dancing in the backyard."

"Honestly, I don't know Hannah. I've never had this feeling before." I sighed, flopping on my back, "I'm new to the dating game."

"Plus Brooke seems to be attached to him already. What if it doesn't work out? I don't want her to get hurt? What if he leaves and doesn't contact me back or anything? It'll break her heart." I started hyperventilating, worrying about the outcome of this so-called "relationship".

"Relax Kara. Take it one day at a time. Trust the process, you deserve to be happy too, hun." She replied, comforting me.

"Okay thanks Hannah," I hugged her, "better head to bed, I'm sure you're tired after all that kissing."

I teased, making smooching sounds and actions. I dodged the pillow heading towards my head, ducking behind the door and headed to my room.

A certain man entered my thoughts. His rough calloused hands holding my waist, brushing my cheek gently with his thumb, gazing at me with his dark, hypnotic eyes, melting my insides into a heap of mush. What was this man doing to me?

*****

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