Unveiling Love

Chapter Six

The next morning, my not-so-loving niece decided to wake me up by climbing onto my bed, jumping up in the air, and landing on me with her elbow. 

I let out a loud grunt of pain while trying to roll to the side, away from the little monster. "Oh my Lord, Kayne. I think you broke my kidney!" 

She let out the girliest giggle. "Mommy said you have to wake up and Daddy said I should wake up up like I do to him."

"You do this to your father every morning?" I wheezed. 

"Yep! He's strong, though, so it doesn't hurt him. Maybe you should work out."

"I think you've been hanging out with you dad too much."

"Not possible," Ivy said from the doorway. I peeked at her through my hair. She was grinning. "Wake up, buttercup. Sandy said you and I are going shopping! Zane is keeping the kids, so it's just us girls!"

Ivy did a little dance as she left my room while Kayne followed behind, trying to mimic her every move. I laughed as I picked up my cell phone, but stopped when I saw I'd missed a call from my parents and two texts from Sandro. 

I called my parents back first, reassured them my first night with Ivy was as crazy as they likely expected it to be. We hung up quickly and I opened my messaged. 

S: Are you asleep or are you ignoring me?

S: I'm letting Ivy know you're going to go shopping tomorrow. 

I typed out a reply, explaining I'd fallen asleep, and hit send before getting out of bed and jumping in the shower. After checking the weather, I decided on a regular pair of cut-off jean shorts and a layered tank top. I threw on my black Nike tennis shoes and ran up the stairs to grab my sister. 

I froze in the kitchen when I spotted Sandro casually leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee in his hand. His black t-shirt was tight around the arms, showing off muscles that should have been illegal. 

"Good morning," I said. I moved to the coffee maker and poured myself a cup before adding sugar and milk. 

"What's the point of the coffee if you add all that junk?" he asked.

"Coffee is gross without it," I offered. "But I still need the caffeine."

"Hm. I drink mine black."

I scrunched my nose up in disgust. "Hard pass," I said. "So, are you helping Zane with the kids today?"

"Apparently. He called me freaking out because he's never been alone since Roman was born."

"Are you joking?" I asked, shocked. "Roman is two!"

"Speak of the little devil," Sandro said with a smile. He set his cup on the counter and reached down, coming back up with Roman in his arms. "Hey, buddy. Are you going to hang out with Uncle Sandy today?"

Roman nodded, refusing to take his fingers out of his mouth. He laid his head down on Sandro's shoulder and closed his eyes. I took a slow drink of my coffee as I watched Sandro do the same. Roman was already asleep. I'm pretty sure my heart exploded at that moment. 

"Are you ready?" Ivy asked from the foyer. Sandro walked to her so she could kiss Roman's head and then she leveled a huge grin at me. "This momma is ready for an entire day out of the house!"

"God, help us all," Zane muttered from the other room.