Page 9 of Nicoli

The dining room is empty, so we follow the sound of laughter and find Leandra and the kids on the patio. Although it’s much more than a patio. It is a luxurious dining experience with an outdoor chef’s kitchen, a ten-foot-tall stone fireplace, and a poolside bar.

Leandra looks up and smiles. “Good morning. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve arranged for us to have breakfast out here this morning.”

“Of course not.” I take a seat next to her. “I told you this a thousand times already. With Alexius’ mom gone, you are now the Del Rossa First Lady of this house.”

“Pfft. No, I’m not.” She tries to get Aria to eat a slice of papaya but ends up picking it off the floor. “You’re the one who was raised to be the perfect Del Rossa hostess.”

“Oh, please.” I pour myself some orange juice. “The only reason I got raised to be hostess is because, literally, no one in this household thought Alexius would get married, let alone marry a decent woman like yourself.”

“I heard that.” Alexius touches Leandra’s shoulder, leans down, and lays a long kiss on her eager lips. A really long kiss.

I clear my throat. “Ahem—get a room.”

Alexius pulls away half an inch and licks his lips like Leandra’s taste is his drug, and he just got a fix. God, I wish someone would kiss me like that.

He turns in my direction. “Good morning, Mira.” Then he narrows his eyes, and I know he knows what day it is. “How are you doing this morning?”

“I’m great,” I reply with a smile as he takes a seat across from me. “Your wife just agreed that instead of having a party here at the house as we always do for my birthday, we can go out instead.”

“I did?” Leandra frowns.

“Yup. We’re going to paint the town red, as they say.”

“We are?”

“Yes, we are.” I take a few spoonsful of fruit and place them in a bowl. “It’s my birthday in two weeks, and I feel like doing something different this year to celebrate by going out.”

“Out where?” Caelian reaches over my shoulder and grabs a piece of toast before rounding the table and sitting next to Alexius. It’s easy to spot that they’re brothers, apart from the sharp difference in eye color—Alexius and Nicoli with their piercing blue eyes, Caelian and Isaia with their smoldering dark chocolate irises.

I pop a strawberry into my mouth. “We’re going to that new place in town. After Dark.”

Alexius lifts a brow. “After Dark is a nightclub.”

“Um…thank you for clearing that up.” I lean my head to the side. “Here I thought After Dark is a late-night bingo club.”

Caelian chuckles and Alexius’ expression turns hard. “You’re not going to After Dark.”

“Who's going to After Dark?” Nicoli sits next to me, and I struggle to swallow my mouthful of fruit, which shouldn’t be this hard since I just chewed it into a puree. Instantly, it feels like all the air got sucked into an invisible vacuum, which says a lot since we’re sitting outside where there’s an abundance of air.

“Mirabella seems to think she and Leandra are going to After Dark for her birthday.”

Nicoli snorts. “What?” He looks at me. “No, you’re not.”

“Ooh. Drama.” Caelian has a huge-ass grin as he leans back in his chair like he’s about to watch a show.

I shift in my seat, steeling myself before I meet Nicoli’s blue-eyed gaze. “Yes. We are.”

“After Dark is a nightclub.”

“My God. Yes, I’m aware of that, thank you. We’re still going.” Without looking her way, I nudge my best friend with my elbow. “Leandra, back me up here.”

“Oh, no. I’m not getting involved. Besides, you’re Aria and Alessio’s babysitter. So, if you go, I can’t.”

“We’ll get Esther to watch them,” I chime back.

“Esther is—”

“An amazing and responsible woman who has worked for this family for years. It’ll work out,” I say without breaking eye contact with Nicoli, even though it feels like my heart is about to explode.

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