Lissy Romano

88| Stop with this cuteness.

Lissy Romano

"You know that you can talk to me, right?" I asked, looking at Giovanni.

"I know, princess. You can talk to me too," he said, smiling warmly at me.

I wasn't crying anymore; I was calm, and we just sat there, enjoying each other's company.

"I thought maybe we could go and get ice cream together?" I asked, biting my lower lip in hesitation.

"I would love to do that with you," Gio said, pinching my cheek.

"I'm not a kid," I said, giving him a confused look.

"I know you're not, why would you say that?" he asked, his brows furrowing.

"In movies, older people pinch little kids' cheeks," I explained. "I'm not a kid. Why did you pinch my cheek?"

"Haha, my princess, you are too cute. I can't with you," Gio said, smiling genuinely.

For the first time since the funeral, he smiled, and it made my heart swell with happiness.

"You are cute," I said, teasingly, and before I could add anything else, he quickly pinched my cheek again.

"I pinch your cheek like you're a cute teenager, not a kid," he explained.

I chuckled, and together we walked out of my room. Jax was trailing behind us.

We wasted no time in getting out of the house, eager to spend some time away from everything. We jumped into his car and sped off, the music blasting through the speakers as we sang along, both of us grinning ear to ear.

"Gio, let's stop here. You see what I see?" I asked excitedly, my eyes wide with wonder, while Jax licked his paw.

He pulled the car over to the side, and I was taken aback by the view—mountains, crystal-clear blue water stretching as far as the eye could see.

"I want to swim. You with me?" I asked, beaming at him.

"I don't have my swimming trunks, and you don't have your swimsuit," he said, though I saw the smile tug at the corner of his mouth.

"We can buy them! There are little shops, and we can get ice cream too," I said, my excitement growing.

He grinned, clearly amused by my energy. "Let's do it."

With that, we raced to buy swimming gear and towels, and even a dog safety vest for Jax so he could swim with us. After we changed, we rushed to the beach, laughing and splashing in the water. It was such a carefree, joyful moment.

"Stop!" I shouted, trying to escape from the water splashing toward me.

"You did the same to me, princess," Gio said, chasing after me.

We swam until we were exhausted, then climbed out of the water. Jax trotted alongside us as we changed into our clothes. We walked to a nearby beach café and grabbed ice cream—chocolate chip for me and vanilla with caramel syrup for Giovanni.

I mischievously dipped my finger in my ice cream and smeared it on his nose, giggling at his surprised expression.

"Hey! What did you do, little monkey?" he exclaimed, wiping his nose with a napkin.