Page 54 of My Unexpected Surprise
We step inside. The air carries the faint scent of fresh linen and pine. Large windows flood the space with natural light.
Nico immediately explores, sneakers thudding softly on the hardwood floors. Livia sets her bag down near the couch and watches me with careful eyes. I remove my jacket and roll up my sleeves.
I begin unpacking the groceries Sofia arranged for delivery. Milk, fresh fruit, pasta, and the specific snacks Nico prefers. I move through the kitchen with quiet efficiency, placing items in cabinets and the refrigerator.
Next I check every window lock, testing the mechanisms and noting the reinforced glass.
I test the terrace doors next.
Steel-core construction hidden beneath polished wood. Smart.
The Aurelius Consortium does not believe in obvious protection. They believe in invisible control.
I step back inside just as Nico skids into the kitchen holding his toy car over his head.
“Mom said we can see the lake later.”
His excitement arrives in sharp contrast to the tension quietly coiling beneath my skin.
“We can,” I tell him.
He beams like I’ve handed him ownership of the entire property.
Livia watches the exchange from across the room, arms folded loosely over her chest.
In Nico’s bedroom I adjust the bed rail on the larger bed provided for him, securing it firmly against the frame.
I scan for potential hazards, moving a floor lamp slightly and ensuring electrical cords stay out of reach. The actions come naturally. Making the house safer requires no request. It’s simply what must be done.
Livia stands in the doorway watching me. She doesn’t speak, but her eyes follow every movement of my hands.
The sight of her there, sleeves pushed up and hair loosely tied back, stirs an unfamiliar pull in my chest. This feels too domestic for people bound by a ten-day lie.
Nico runs back into the room carrying his backpack. He stops beside me and looks up. “Are you sleeping over because you are going to marry Mommy?”
A pin could drop right now and you'd hear it with how quiet it immediately gets. Livia freezes near the kitchen island and I pause with a box of cereal still in my hands. For a full second neither of us moves.
The boy waits with innocent patience, his curls slightly messy from the car ride.
I set the cereal down and crouch to his level. “We’re here together for the retreat. Your mother and I have work to do, and this cottage is where we stay.”
Nico considers this. “Okay. But you get the big room with Mommy?”
Livia clears her throat. “Nico, sweetheart, there are two bedrooms. Valentino has his own.”
The boy nods but looks between us with that watchful intelligence again. “Can we have pasta tonight? The kind with the little meatballs.”
Relief flickers across Livia’s face at the change of subject. “Yes, we can, baby. Let me find the pots.”
We slip into a certain ease after that. Livia moves around the kitchen, filling a pot with water while I locate the ingredients.
Her nervous laughter breaks the tension when she drops a wooden spoon and it clatters loudly. The sound triggers something deep in my memory. That same light laugh from years ago, breathless and surprised. Venice.
From the masked woman in a moonlit library who had looked at me with wide eyes after I pinned her against the wall.Her voice had hitched the same way when she begged me later that night.
I force my attention back to the present and hand her the package of pasta. Our fingers brush, and the contact sends heat straight through me.
We prepare the meal together while Nico tries his best to set the small table, giving up after nearly throwing his cup on the ground.
