Page 53 of Stolen Moments with a Bad Boy

When he looked back at me, adoration was pronounced in his eyes.

“You just wait until tonight, and I’ll show you what else my vocals can do,” I stated naughtily.

Ro kissed me so deeply it made me speechless. He swiftly picked me up afterward.

“Why wait for tonight?”

He picked me up bridal style and raced out the lounge, leaving behind a trail of boisterous laughter and camera flashes.

Seven Years Later

Erie

“Lorenzo and Alessia!” I yelled for my son and daughter. Lorenzo was the oldest triplet, and Alessia was the second oldest. They tried tiptoeing behind me, but they walked too damn heavy for it to work. I heard the quiet chatter before they walked in. Those two always conspired together. I assumed they tried to come up with a story before I let loose on them.

They appeared in the doorway of our huge kitchen. I continued to roll the cookie dough for their school bake sale. I never thought in a million years I’d be rolling dough for a school bake sale. Hell, I didn’t even expect to have three kids at the same time, but I did. Lorenzo and Alessia damn near parasailed out of me, but little Enzo crowned, so they had to do an emergency C-section to remove him.

“Yes, ma’am,” they whispered in unison.

“Oh, so y’all can speak at a lower tone. It’s funny how the baby voices only appear when bad behavior has taken place. What’s this I hear about you two yelling at the math teacher today?”

Silence greeted me like a long-lost friend.

“Well, don’t all speak at once. If I ask one more time, I will call y’all daddy.”

Like clockwork, they spoke over each other.

“One at a time please.”

Alessia cleared her throat. As usual, I knew my little social butterfly would speak first because she was so fierce and a leader by nature.

“Mommy, before you go bringing in reinforcements, we have a perfectly good explanation.”

“I’m listening, Alessia.”

“Renzo and I yelled at the teacher because he’s always allowing the kids to pick on Enzo. No matter how many times we tell him what’s going on, he still does absolutely nothing. He’s the adult. He’s supposed to have each of our best interests at heart, yet he doesn’t. It was during recess that Byron kept teasing Enzo about his eyes. I told him to lay off, but he didn’t stop.

“I warned him what would happen next if he didn’t let up. So since he didn’t listen, I ignored his cries from the blows I gave him. I pinned his arm behind his back like daddy taught me until he cried harder. I admit, Mommy, I may have gotten a little carried away, but he shouldn’t have messed with my brother.” She let out a sigh of relief.

I placed my rolling pin to the side and cut out the cookies.

“Lorenzo, how did you get involved?” I asked him calmly.

There was some light shuffling behind me before he responded.

“I got involved when Byron’s fourth grade brother tried to hit Alessia, Mommy.”

I sighed. “What did you do, Lorenzo?”

I continued to cut out the different shaped cookies.

“I pieced him up. I taught him a very valuable lesson about trying to put his hands on a girl, my sister on top of that. I bet he won’t do it again.”

They snickered together.

“Why do you guys think this is funny? Does it look like I’m cracking jokes!” I snapped and turned around to them.

“Come on, Mommy. You know it’s best that we took care of them and not Enzo. When pushed too far, he would have unleashed a world of hurt on them. Dad is the only one who can reach him during his Hulk phase,” Alessia replied.

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