Kara's POV:

My eyes fluttered open as they adjusted to the light in the room. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, feeling something heavy weighing down on my stomach as I turned my head to the side. I gasped. When did Alessandro get here?

Alessandro looked so peaceful with his eyes closed, his arms swung across Brooke and I, keeping us in a protective hold. I couldn't help but smile by his gesture, my heart swelling in my chest. As I continued to stare at his figure, my finger unconsciously reached out, moving a strand of hair that covered his eyes away from his face. My fingers gently weaving through his hair.

"Take a picture," He said, with his eyes closed, making me jump in fright, removing my hand instantly, "it'll last longer."

His eyes fluttered open as I blushed profusely, staring into each others eyes. Thank goodness Brooke decided wake up right at that very second, saving me from embarrassment. God bless my child.

"Mummy?" She asked, reaching out for me.

"Yes little one," I answered, scooping her into my arms, kissing her head.

I continued to rub her back, humming sweetly to lure her back to sleep. Alessandro moved into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard, deep in thought. He looked at Brooke in my arms, an unknown emotion swirling in his eyes. He leaned down to Brooke, kissing her on her forehead. This man wants to kill me alright. My heart was about to burst.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said, getting up from bed.

As he got up, I noticed he was shirtless, with his dress pants hanging low on his hips. With his back turned against me, my eyes roamed his muscular form greedily. His shoulders were broad and firm, his muscles flexing as he moved, making my eyes dilate. He had the perfect Dorito shape, not too ripped yet he seemed to have been sculpted from the Gods themselves. My body started heating up, I let out a much needed breath as he disappeared from my vision into the bathroom.

"Get it together Kara," I mumbled to myself, "he's your business partner."

"You like him mummy," Brooke said cheekily, sitting up from my lap.

My eyes widened. I've been caught, by a three year old at that. Lord have mercy.

"N-no, I do not," I denied.

"Yes you do mummy," she continued in a high sing-song voice, not giving up.

"Do me a favour and stay three years old okay," I stated. She knew way too much for a toddler.

"Okay." She giggled as she jumped off the bed and ran off into the other bathroom which was adjacent to the one Alessandro was in.

Once she left, I flopped back onto the pillow face flat. My daughter was way too smart for her own good. I laid back down for a while, just relaxing, relishing in the peace and quiet I had. Over the past few years, my life has been really hectic and I haven't really spent quality time by myself. I've always had something to focus on, to stress over.

Brooke was taking a little long in the bathroom, I thought. I better go check on her. As I removed the covers over my head, getting up from bed and heading towards the bathroom. Not paying attention to where I was going, I bumped into a large figure. A strong arm snaked around my back, steadying me as I regained my balance.

My hands automatically placed themselves on his slightly damp chest, still looking down as I tried to catch my breath. The only thing that was in my vision was a towel that was tightly wrapped around his waist. Mighty mighty Lord. My eyes trailed up from his waist, his entire torso on display. He was definitely toned, not a flab in sight. From his defined v-line to his six pack right up to his perfectly sculpted arms.

My body was in overdrive, as I blushed and internally groaned, wishing the ground would swallow me whole. Alessandro made all my self-control fly out of the window, not to be found ever again. He brought out another side of me, one that I've never seen before.

"I-" I began, before hearing a crash from the bathroom Brooke was in. Snapping myself out from his trance, I broke away from his hold and rushed into the bathroom.

"Little one? Are you okay?" I asked, worry laced in my tone, shaking my head, getting all the thoughts from earlier out of my head.

"Oops," Brooke said with a guilty expression, "sorry mummy." I looked at her position, the floor around her covered in toiletries and all the other stuff on the counter top.

"I wanted to do it myself," She said, "like a big girl."

"Oh my sweet girl," I said in understanding, reassuring her it was alright as we picked up all the stuff on the floor, placing them neatly back on the counter top.

After Brooke and I cleaned ourselves up in the bathroom, I dressed her in a brown little dress with a dark brown circled patterns on it, pairing them with classic white sneakers. Adorable. For myself, I stuck to an everyday look; white v-neck tee-shirt with blue denim jeans with black sneakers. Brooke passed me her brush as I combed through her hair, getting rid of all the knots, tying her hair up into a simple ponytail, pulling out her baby hair for some volume.

"All done little one," I kissed her cheek, "you look beautiful."

"Thanks mummy," she replied cheerfully.

I watched with a smile on my face as I followed her little figure out from the bathroom and back into the room. Brooke saw Alessandro on the phone, standing by the folding glass doors as she hugged his leg, looking up to him. I stood by the entrance of the room, leaning against the wall as I watched the exchange between them. Alessandro looked down at her lovingly, picking her up with his free arm, kissing her on her cheeks, making her giggle in delight.

Not wanting to disturb his phone call, I waited till he ended the call before making my presence known.

"When are we having the business meeting?" I asked.

"Actually," he said as he turned to face me, "I was just on the phone with him. Unfortunately he had a family emergency so we'll be meeting with him back in Australia next week."

"Oh, so are we heading back home now?" I asked, slightly disappointed.

"No," he said to my surprise, "since we are already here, we might as well enjoy the break."

"I have a lunch planned for us today anyways." He continued, "are you ready to go?"

I nodded my head as we headed out of the hotel and into the car he arranged. Alessandro opened the door for us as we slid inside, with him in tow. Brooke wanted to sit by the window so as to look out at the views as we drove, leaving me to sit beside Alessandro himself. As we sat in silence, my mind couldn't help but rewind the events from earlier. I wish Hannah was here with me, I needed her to snap me out of this mentality. But then again she was the same with Dante anyways.

Speaking of Dante, I didn't see him on our floor today. Where is he?

"Alessandro,"

"Yes?" He answered, looking up from his phone.

"Where's Dante?"

"He flew back after the meeting. Urgent business." He said simply.

"Oh."

"Why?" He asked, his eyes darkened. Was he jealous?

"Oh nothing. I didn't see him in the suite this morning." I said rather quickly.

Once we reached our destination, we hopped out of the car. I looked around the area but found no restaurants in sight.

"Where are we having lunch?" I asked.

"Up there." He point as I turned around and came face to face with the 165 metre high Singapore Flyer. Holy moley.

I gasped in surprise, my jaw dropped as he smiled knowingly at me. Brooke was over the moon as she held both of our hands, walking with a skip in her step. We walked hand in hand towards the reception, as they greeted us respectfully.

"Good afternoon Sir, your reservation has been prepared," She bowed in greeting, "please, follow me."

Once we entered the carriage, there was a table setting fit for a king set up in the middle, with servers by the side, preparing to serve us the first meal. The carriage lined candles along the floor, making the room calm and relaxing with a fresh rosy scent. Brooke rushed to the glass, placing her palms on them, her face lit up in awe, taking in the view before her.

"Mummy, mummy," she exclaimed, "come look!"

I walked towards her, sharing her excitement as we gazed out at the city before us. We could see everything from up here.

"Piccolo, Kara, come. Let's have lunch." Alessandro said, steering us away from the magnificent view.

I placed Brooke in her seat before settling myself in my place. Throughout lunch, we had pleasant conversations about business, family, life and so on. It was really refreshing. I never thought it would be so easy to talk to someone I've known recently. His openness and kind gestures made me want to open up my whole life to him. He was really good with Brooke too; cutting her food into small bite size pieces, wiping her mouth with a napkin when she had food all over. I bet he'll be an amazing father.

After lunch was over, they converted the carriage into a comfortable fortress, filled with pillows, comforters and a movie projector. We snuggled ourselves in the piles of pillows, getting comfortable as we watched one of Brooke's favourite movies, Trolls. Alessandro played with the tips of Brooke's hair, smiling at her as she was too engrossed in the movie to notice.

"Do you want to head back to the hotel now?" He asked, once the movie was over.

"Actually, I wanted to show Brooke the house I grew up in," I said, quickly adding, "you should come with us too."

He nodded in reply as we exited the flyer, heading back into the car. I told the driver where to go, praying that the house was still there. On the ride there, I told Brooke some of my childhood stories of the mischief I got up to, the memories I had with friends and family and mostly, the history behind the house itself. The house was special to me since it was the very building that my grandfather built with his bare hands, displaying all the blood, sweat and tears that constituted the house.

As a red brick house filled my vision, I was filled with nostalgia. We stepped out of the car and walked up to the house hand in hand. It hadn't changed one bit. The bungalow was still in tact, the gates were still maintained in the way my grandfather loved it and the plants in the garden were flourishing.

"This is where you grew up?" Alessandro asked.

I nodded. I took Brooke along with me as we explored the outside, showing her all the hidden bits of the house that used to be my favourite hiding spots while Alessandro excused himself to take a call. I tried to eavesdrop on his conversation however he spoke in Italian, leaving huge question marks in my head.

"What was the call about?" I asked once he returned.

"Nothing for you to worry about tesoro. Shall we head back?"

"Yes. Let's go." I said as we headed back into the car.

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Once I had gotten Brooke to sleep for the night, I headed out to the balcony. I wrapped myself in a shawl, placing my hands on the ledge, looking out on the horizon. The night life was eccentric. The city seemed to come to life at night, everything shone out brighter.

"Tesoro."

I turned around facing him as he handed me a glass of water, taking a seat next to him, facing the view once again.

"Thank you."

"Let's play 20 questions shall we?" He said.

"Are we teenagers again Mr De Luca?" I mocked as he gave me a stern look, "Okay fine. You start."

"What's your favourite colour?"

"Purple. Yours?"

"I don't have one." I gave him a 'you have to answer' look.

"Black I guess."

"Do you have boyfriend?" Wow, that escalated fast.

"No," I said, turning away from his gaze.

"Any past relationships?" He prodded.

"Hey, I haven't asked you once yet." I rebutted, as he urged me to continue.

"Do you have any siblings?" I asked.

"Nope. Only child." He said quickly, "so any past relationships?"

"N-no. Never had time for that."

"Good," I whipped my head towards him in surprise, frowning at his answer. What's that supposed to mean?

"Why do you think I asked you to come with me here?" He said, his eyes trained onto mine.

"Business of course," I replied, not correcting him yet again for asking a question before his turn.

He paused, looking away from me, not reacting at all, staring into space. Awkward tension filled the air, suffocating me. What did I say wrong? I wondered.

"If you think that's the only reason Ms Coleman," he said getting up from his seat as I held my breath, "you're a fool."

He shared a glance one last time before he left and went back into the suite, leaving me alone with my wandering thoughts.

*****

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