Page 176 of The Devil's Fire

“I’ve missed you too, piccola.” Damiano said against my lips, having my heart flutter every time he called me that.

“…It’s like I can’t get a break from your annoying ass. Why did you come?” Arianna scowled at Raffaele when we stepped into the dining room.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not here to see your stupid face.” Raffaele scoffed and snatched a hash brown off her plate.

That started a war.

They continued with their bickering, their voices growing louder and more animated, while the rest of us savored our breakfast. We watched them as if it was live entertainment.

“I can’t remember the last time I drank this much…” My mother groaned, almost stumbling in with her eyes closed as she held her head in her hands.

Just seeing that made me laugh. It was such a rare sight to see my mother like that. Her eyes fluttered open, and she immediately twisted her face into a frown directed at me. She then noticed everyone was present, until her gaze finally settled on Raffaele, who stood tall with a mischievous smile.

“Damn, Althaia! You didn’t tell me you had a sister.” Raffaele let out a low whistle as he approached my mother, his eyes scanning her up and down.

“I don’t. That’s my mom.”

“Who are you and what are you doing in my house?” My mother’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“It depends. Do you like young meat? If so, I can be your future baby daddy.” Raffaele winked.

I gaped. Was he seriously hitting on my mother?

My mother gave him a blank look.

“I don’t like you, whoever you are.”

“Don’t worry, la mia bella rosa. An hour with me and you will love me.” Raffaele’s low, flirtatious voice made my jaw drop again. My mother scoffed, clearly unimpressed, and gave him a scrutinizing look from head to toe.

“I bet you can’t even last for thirty seconds.” Turning around, she walked away, leaving Raffaele’s smug smile to drop.

“This is the best shit I have ever witnessed in my life!” Arianna exclaimed as we all laughed.

Raffaele’s scowl deepened as he crossed his arms over his chest, not finding it funny.

We ended up heading out since Arianna and Cara still hadn’t quenched their thirst for shopping. As soon as we hit the boutiques, ten minutes passed, and Arianna was already carrying five bags in her hands. I thought I had a shopping addiction, but Arianna’s obsession with shopping put mine to shame.

My mother joined us, hoping to spend more quality time with Cara, but Raffaele’s presence made it anything but joyful for her. For some reason, he wouldn’t leave her alone, and she was desperately trying to escape him and his shameless flirting.

I felt Damiano slow, and I looked at him, seeing him focused on something. Before I could ask if something was wrong, he gently tugged me in a different direction and came to a stop in front of a shop.

A baby shop.

A big smile spread across my face as I watched him pick up a pair of baby shoes he had seen in the display window. The tiniest shoes I have ever seen were covered in red roses with a big red bow in the middle.

“We don’t even know if it’s going to be a girl.” I chuckled.

“We’ll keep trying until we get a girl.” Damiano said in all seriousness.

“Even if we end up with five boys, would you still want to try for a girl?” I raised a brow and Damiano gave me a soft smile. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and rested his hand on my cheek, his thumb softly caressing me.

“I meant every word when I said we should have as many children as we can. My love, you have no idea how much I want this life with you.” Damiano spoke quietly and placed a sweet kiss on my forehead.

“We’ll see if you still want many children after we have this one.”

“I hope they will drive me crazy like you do.” He playfully winked at me, laughing as I called out a ‘hey’ after him while he went to buy the shoes.

“This is seriously so cute. Imagine tiny baby feet wearing these!” A beaming smile spread across my face as we exited the shop. I couldn’t stop looking at how small these shoes were.

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