Page 25 of Melody’s Little Secret

“Bestie, he made them fresh right there and paired it with the most delicious chicken parmesan I’ve ever tasted.”

“Mm.” My mouth watered. “I had some chicken and broccoli alfredo at Boz’s last night. I still haven’t sat in the restaurant to eat, but it’s on my list of things to do.”

“Enzio is hot. I mean hotter than any man I’ve ever seen!”

Giggling, I put my hands over my mouth. My laughter was infectious, and Laney joined in. “They give copy and paste a whole new meaning. So, did you have fun?”

“I did! It was strange. I totally opened up to Zio about stuff I’ve only previously shared with you, and even some things that I didn’t get a chance to tell you, yet. I had a lot on my mind, but he was so patient. That man literally let me babble on about my life for like forty-five minutes without interrupting. And he even asked questions that just made me keep talking.” Laney sighed.

“I’m not surprised.” I finished my coffee, carefully setting my bunny rabbit mug on the coaster nearest me. “He and Bosco give off serious Daddy vibes.”

“So many,” Laney agreed. “Speaking of Daddy vibes, let’s talk about you and Bosco.”

“Yeah, so… he’s totally a Daddy and now he is my Daddy.” My voice wobbled. It felt good to tell her since it was a dynamic I’d always wanted and never experienced firsthand, but it also brought back the butterflies. I thought she would be excited for me to finally have gotten what I’d been craving for so long, but her face fell.

“I’m happy for you! Really, but I’m worried about you getting hurt emotionally, especially if you’re already calling him a title.” She let out a long breath.

“I trust him, Laney. We were going to take things slow, but things just kind of fell into place. I’ve never felt this sort of connection before. Boz said almost the same thing in not so many words,” I assured her. She had every right to worry, hell I was worried. This was so new, and I could easily get used to his treatment of me and that would make losing him all that much harder. No, I wasn’t going to let my mind go down that path. I was going to stay positive and take everything in stride. It was the only way I would be able to open myself fully to him.

We sat side by side not speaking for a little while. I didn’t want her to be worried and I needed to get out of my own head before I called Boz and ended things right then and there. I wanted to get back to the silly excitement Laney and I had been sharing before things got heavy. I hadn’t even shared all of it yet.

“Bosco made love to me,” I blurted out.

Laney swung around to face me, nearly sloshing her coffee all over the place before setting her mug on the coffee table.

“Coaster,” I snipped as I picked up the mug and slid a puppy-dog-shaped coaster underneath it. I had a whole set of cute animal-shaped ones, and I hoped they would make her smile.

“You did?” She threw her arms around me and squeezed tight, erasing my silly frustration over the coaster thing. “I know I said I was worried, but I’m genuinely thrilled that you and Boz are a couple. You don’t go around hooking up with random dudes, so what you have must be really special. You deserve that.”

“We deserve it!” I cheered. “Us moving here is going to be the best thing ever! You’re going to fall for Zio and he’s gonna whisk you off your feet!”

“I’m not rushing anything. I’m not ready for another relationship, but he was fun to hang out with, and his mozzarella sticks are the yummiest!” She made a chef’s kiss with her hand.

“I know, I know, just keep an open mind, okay?” A random thought of a double wedding flitted through my mind, but it was too early to start planning. Still, it would be the icing on the cupcake if we married twins on the same day.

“Can we veg out on cartoons and eat snacks for the rest of the day? The bakery is closed, and I don’t have any orders due today.”

Her eyes lit up. “Yes! Except I want you to sit down and let me get all the snacks. I wonder if those cute Italian boys make deliveries,” she mused, and I laughed.

“You don’t have to wait on me hand and foot.”

“No arguing.” She shook her head back and forth. “Did Seth give you anything for the pain?”

“Not exactly. He can’t actually prescribe me anything because his patients are animals. But he may have motioned toward a bottle of ibuprofen along with instructions to take them every four hours. I need food in my system before I take them.”

“I’ve got a plan!” She grinned at me. “I’ll toast us some bagels, at least it’s more nutritious than anything else we put in our bellies. Then we’ll get you some medicine so you aren’t in pain. Next we’ll cuddle under all the fluffy blankets and watchPretty Magical Poniesand play some board games. Oh! I also have been thinking about mani-pedis since you told me about all the pretty glitter polish.” Laney held up a finger for each activity as she spoke.

“Yes! We can do all of those things. We both could use a day to Little-out, but let me help. I’ll get us plates and make more coffee.”

“Nope! I’m the boss today, and if you don’t like it, I’ll march to the restaurant and tell Boz that you’re not resting at all! I don’t think Daddies like it when their Little girls are hurt and not resting.”

“You’re such a brat,” I said lovingly and poked her arm. “I think you want me to act up just so you have a reason to see Zio today.”

“I’ll do it,” she threatened, waggling her eyebrows, but she collapsed into a fit of giggles when I fought not to laugh. “I’m not bossy enough, am I?”

“Not even a little bit,” I agreed. Laney was so silly but her attempt at being bossy showed me how badly she needed someone else taking some weight off her shoulders. Sure, we would help each other through stuff like we always had, but if Enzio was also a Daddy, which he sure seemed to be, and the two of them embarked into a relationship, we would all be in a better place. I wondered if I could entice Boz into pointing his twin in Laney’s direction. “Maybe we can try for dinner again at Topping Masters tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Mel. Go get fresh jammies on and then plant your butt on the couch.” She put her hands on her hips and tried the bossy act again, but it didn’t work.

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