Under Her Wing

Chapter 169

Danielle POV

"Guess what?"

I smiled, feeling Stefania's arms wrap around me from behind, her chin resting on my shoulder, her breath gently tickling my neck.

"What?" I asked, relaxing as she held me to her as I continued chopping up some fruit for a fruit salad.

"I've just upgraded our plane tickets to Paris so we're in business class," she informed me.

I put the knife down and turned around to face her, giving her my full attention.

"And why have you awarded us that privilege?" I asked, wrapping my own arms around her waist now too.

Stefania opened her mouth to reply but then paused, figuring out how to word whatever it was she was trying to say.

"For the bambina mostly," she finally said.

I waited for her to continue.

"I just thought that being in business class would give us that little bit more privacy, a bit more room,"

"I know she's not a little kid but nobody likes a crying child on a plane and if we can do something to minimise the risk of a meltdown, we should,"

"And we can lay back with her, have bigger seats, she can sleep on us. You remember last time, you spent hours cramped in a little seat with her trying to curl up like a cat on your lap,"

I listened to everything Stefania was saying and realised that she was right. Business class would make the flight easier in more ways than one.

"Well thank you my love, I appreciate that," I smiled, raising on my tiptoes slightly to kiss her.

She turned what was meant to be a peck on the lips into a much deeper kiss, her arms around my waist pulling me even closer to remove any gap between us.

She moved a hand behind my head, holding me to her. She parted her mouth slightly, allowing me to easily slip in.

We eventually broke apart when we heard movement from Amalia's bedroom. After a few moments, she appeared in the kitchen, still in pyjamas and her hair unbrushed.

"Good morning bubbas," I smiled.

"M-morning," she yawned, rubbing her eyes with her fists.

"Are we still half asleep bambina?" Stefania asked, moving from around the kitchen counter towards her.

Mali nodded, reaching her arms out towards her. Instead of picking her up, Stef took hold of her hand and guided her over towards the sofa. Sitting down, she brought Amalia across her lap, Mali's legs dangling over Stefania's knees, her arm securely around her.

Amalia leant her head down against Stef's shoulder and was about to reach for Stefania's boob when Stef took hold of her hand.

"Ahh bella, not now," I heard Stefania whisper gently.

"I'll sort breakfast," I announced, hoping I could get it ready quickly and use it as a distraction.

I heard Amalia whine tiredly and instinctively knew she was about to try and get to hold Stefania again.

"Tesoro, non adesso," Stefania said firmly.

I glanced over and saw Amalia turn her head further into Stefania's shoulder, hiding her  face away. I sped up my attempt to get breakfast ready, hoping to prevent a complete meltdown from happening.

"Shall mama sort your hair out hey? Let mama sort this sleepy mess out?" I heard Stefania suggest playfully, offering another distraction.

I left what I was doing in the kitchen and quickly went to get some hair ties and a brush from Amalia's bedroom, returning quickly to give them to Stef.