Page 26 of Room Twenty-Four: Under Their Hands

“I think it might be slightly less scary if you didn’t look like you were strangling the damn thing.”

He glances down and grimaces. “Oh, sorry.” He switches his grip so that he’s holding it around its ginormous belly.

“I think it’s too big for a baby girl the size of our little peanut.”

“I think she deserves something even bigger,” Bruno growls. “She’s a special little girl.”

“She’s a mob princess. Of course she’s special,” Marco snaps. “A bear doesn’t change that at all.”

“Fine. But it’s her second birthday. I’m giving it to her. I can’t wait because I bet she fucking loves it and I’m going to tell her that you guys didn’t want her to have it.”

“Stop being a douche.”

“I will if you will,” Marco snarls.

I grin at the two of them. “You guys need to take a chill pill. It’s her birthday. Watch out. Time is going to fly by and before you know it she’ll be bringing some boy home. Some little sucker that thinks that he’s going to get cozy with out little girl.”

Bruno snarls and looks like he’s about ready to strangle the bear again. “Settle down, man. You’re gonna have stuffing flying all over the hall and then Vi is going to kick your ass.”

I glance out the window in the door when I hear a car pulling up. “They’re here! You guys get ready!”

We all duck behind doors and furniture, Bruno trying to hide a huge bear and himself behind a Renaissance chair in gold leaf in the hall.

“Are you kidding me?” I hiss, pointing at the curtains over on the side of the hall.

He drags the bear out and hides behind the curtain. Just in time as Vi opens the door and slips inside, our littlest princess babbling in her arms as she carries her inside, giggling at her chatter.

“Surprise!” We jump out and Sophie screams and hides in her mom’s shoulder.

Bruno runs to hug her and groans. “I’m so sorry, baby. We weren’t trying to scare you. Just got excited that you’re here. What do you think?” He holds up the bear and waggles it at her, making a grumpy face. “Hello, Sophie. What’s wrong? It’s your birthday. I’m here to say happy birthday, Sophie!”

Marco grins and reaches out to lift her out of Vi’s arms. “Hey, little princess. Happy birthday! Wait until you see the cake that we got for you, sweetheart! It’s got flowers and unicorns on it and it’s perfectly pink.”

“Whoa. You guys need to slow down. We just walked in the door,” Violet giggles. Lord, she looks stunning. She’s still running her own company and those idiots, Jeremy and his dad, Connor are both sitting in jail for kidnapping and a host of other charges.

Her public offering went amazing and her company has gone from her being a millionaire to her being a billionaire. She’s done so much good for New Orleans with that. She’s volunteered her time and money to help build a Children’s Hospital. And it’s doing so well in cancer research for children. She’s well on her way to making sure that no child ever dies from the dreaded disease.

She’s also opening a home for women and children to help them overcome homelessness and become everything that they can be. It’s opening two weeks before Christmas. We’ve got all of the rooms already full as soon as the last rooms are finished.

I can’t believe how great she is. I knew that she was a goddess, of course. Knew that she could do anything that she wanted to. But I also knew that she needed someone to help lift her up and stay loose, happy.

That’s what we are for her. In return, she’s more than that for us. We’ve gotten rid of the dead weight that was messing with the business and trimmed it down. As to the strip clubs we used to run, we’ve now got girls that have health care and are well on their way to making investments that will help them live very comfortable lives.

She helps everyone she meets. And she loves us. Her people are very loyal. Because she is.

I smile and hold my hands out to Vi. “Hello, beautiful.” I kiss her sweet red lips and hold her close. “I love you, sweetheart, but you have got to slow down. You’re doing too much.”

She cocks her head. “You know me.”

“I do. And I know that I will tie your ass down if you don’t stop it. I’ll make you take the time to relax if you won’t.

I curve my hand around her swollen belly. “The twins take a lot out of you. You need to rest. I’ve already told work that you’re going to be off for the next month.” I hold up my hand. “Your doctor agreed that it would be best. The holidays can really stress people out. I’m not having you hurt yourself or the kiddos with the way you’re running around. We’ll take care of the opening in a couple of weeks but that’s it. And before you ask, Alexia is watching over the office. If anything really important comes up…she’ll call. But she can handle most everything else.”

“You’re damn bossy, Seth,” she mutters. But since she’s smiling I don’t worry about it.

“I’m going to take our little princess in to dinner. You go get ready for a party. We’ve got so much to celebrate.”

“Let’s party, sweetheart!” Marco growls to our little princess and they take her in to the dining room as I watch our girl go upstairs to change.

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