Love Shot

Chapter 12: Birthday dinner

ASTRAEA'S POV

I pulled into the driveway at the DeLuca Estate and got out of the car. I saw Matteo rush out just as I climbed out of the driver's seat.

Matteo: *whistles* Nice ride Val! And happy birthday.
Astraea: Thanks Matteo. Uh, do you think you could get me some of the maids to help me take all my gifts to my room...please?
Matteo: Why not just ask them yourself? You're going to be Mrs DeLuca soon. You have the same amount of authority as Carlos.

I nodded hesitantly and then I saw Isabelle walking towards us. She had gardening tools in her hands, so I'm assuming that's what she was doing.

Astraea: Hey Isabelle. I have a lot of stuff in the back of my car and-
Isabelle: I'll get it all delivered to your room. You can go inside and rest. I'm sure you must have had a fun day today.
Astraea: Thank you. Please be sure to lock the car once everything is out.

I handed her my car key and she nodded. I took a few of the gift bags, the ones from Leo, Ian and Marcus as well as the gifts from Lorenzo and Mia. Matteo helped me carry the sweet basket and cupcakes.

Matteo and I put the things we carried on my bed and I thanked him. He left for a few minutes and then he returned to my room with Alexander and Lexi. They wished me and Lexi gave me a tight hug.

Lexi: This is for you, from all of us.

She put the package into my hands. It was 3 books held together by a red ribbon. There was a note that read: Feliz cumpleaños! (Happy birthday!)

I smiled and hugged them. I remembered Mia's cupcakes and I thought I'd give each of them one. I opened the box and gave them a cupcake.

Astraea: No questions, just take it.

They laughed and thanked me.

Lexi: Giovanni said to tell you that you'll be going for dinner with Carlos's family at 6.
Astraea: Okay, thank you.

We spoke for a while longer and then they left. When they left, Isabelle and a few other maids brought the gifts from my car. They set everything down on the floor at the bed, wished me and then left. I closed the door and turned to the hundreds of gifts surrounding the front of the bed. No I'm not exaggerating. Dad has over a lot of people in the mafia who work for him and they all got me something. I checked the time and saw it was 17:15/5:15pm. I have 45 minutes to go through all these gifts, and to get ready for dinner.

I chose to start with Leo's gift, which was a pair of stunning daggers which had my name engraved into the blade. I stared at it in awe, twisting a dagger carefully between my fingers and watching the light bounce off of the blade. Sharp, reflective and light weight. These must have cost A LOT and although he's paid well, these must have been really expensive to get. He did tell me that he's been saving up for it for a while. But he cares a lot and I appreciate it.

I moved onto a gift bag from Ian and Marcus. In the gift bag, was 6 necklaces as well as a bunch of rings.

Looking through the rest of the bags went rather quickly as it was all new books! And ones I haven't even read yet! Now I've got over a hundred new books and nowhere to put them.

An idea struck me and I went to the walk-in closet. While looking around for a space for my books, I noticed something new. There was a bookshelf on Carlos's side of the closet and it was filled with books. Across from his was also a bookshelf on my side. I never noticed it before.

I went back to the main room and put all the books in their gift bags. I took it all back to the closet and got to work arranging it all. I arranged the books based on the tropes, starting with my most favourite at the top and ending with my least favourite at the bottom.