Crossing Hearts- A Maidstone Love Story

Chapter 20

Jasper awoke to the soft light of dawn filtering through the curtains of Alessia's room. He blinked a few times, disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings until the events of the past week came flooding back. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he remembered where he was—on the floor of Alessia's room, bundled in blankets, with her still asleep beside him.

Careful not to wake her, Jasper slowly extricated himself from the cocoon of blankets. He took a moment to watch her sleep, her face peaceful and content. He hated the thought of waking her, but they had a long day ahead.

"Alessia," he whispered softly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She stirred slightly but didn't wake. Jasper chuckled and leaned in closer. "Hey, sleepyhead, time to wake up. We've got to pack and get ready to go."

Alessia mumbled something unintelligible and finally opened her eyes, squinting up at him. "Morning already?" she asked, her voice heavy with sleep.

"Yep," Jasper replied with a grin. "We need to get packed and ready to head home."

Alessia sighed, stretching her arms above her head. "I could sleep for another hour... or five."

Jasper laughed. "I know the feeling, but we've got to get going. Come on, I'll help you pack."

Together, they began gathering up her things. Jasper handed her clothes from the floor, and she folded them, trying to shake off the last remnants of sleep. As they worked, they talked about the trip.

"This was the best Christmas ever," Alessia said, placing a neatly folded sweater into her suitcase. "I'm going to miss being here."

"Yeah, it was pretty amazing," Jasper agreed, stuffing her toiletries into a small bag. "But hey, we've got the memories. And there's always next year."

Alessia smiled at that, though a hint of sadness lingered in her eyes. "I hope so."

Once Alessia's bags were packed, Jasper kissed her on the forehead. "I'm going to head back to my room to pack my stuff. Meet you downstairs?"

"Sure," she replied, returning the kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for helping me."

Jasper smiled at her and then headed to his room, where Casper was already awake, throwing clothes into his suitcase with all the finesse of a tornado.

"Morning," Jasper greeted, grabbing his own suitcase from the closet.

"Morning," Casper replied, barely looking up. "Ready to head back home?"

"Almost. Just need to pack everything up," Jasper said as he began gathering his clothes and other belongings scattered around the room.

As the twins packed, they chatted about their favourite moments of the trip.

"Definitely the karaoke," Jasper said with a grin, remembering how Casper's off-key singing had everyone in stitches.

Casper rolled his eyes but couldn't suppress a smile. "Yeah, yeah. But don't forget how awesome I was at charades."

"You mean how you almost broke a lamp trying to act out 'dancing reindeer'?" Jasper teased, earning a playful shove from Casper.

"Whatever, man. We still won," Casper shot back, tossing a pair of socks into his suitcase.

Once their bags were packed, the twins headed downstairs, where the rest of the house was already bustling with activity. The Russo family was in the living room, packing up the Christmas presents into bags. Carol and Mario were carefully wrapping the more fragile items, while Gio and Luca helped by gathering up anything that had been left lying around.