Page 26 of Melody’s Little Secret

We laughed so hard that I snorted. Standing up, I hugged my bestie and padded toward the hallway. “Okay, okay. I’ll be right back.” Glancing over my shoulder at Laney, I was suddenly so happy that she was here with me. It had been entirely too long since we spent time together in person, watching movies, hanging out, letting our Littles play.

“What’s wrong? Do you need help?” Laney frowned.

“No, no. It’s just still sinking in that you’re really here. I hate all the nonsense that happened yesterday because of me throwing a tantrum, but I think Hopevale is going to be our Little happily ever after.”

Laney grinned the biggest, cheesiest grin. “Yeah, Mel. I think so too. Now pajamas and then couch!”

Laughing as I slowly made my way up the hallway, I shook my head, marveling over how quickly things had changed. Bosco and I were officially together. Laney and I lived under the same roof. She seemed to have found at least a new friend in Enzio, and they might like each other enough to start a relationship. Now if I could keep the disasters to a minimum, no more wild tantrums that resulted in injury, we could work in my shop together.

Bosco

“Did you have a good time with Delaney last night,bello?” I asked Zio who had been gliding through the dining room all morning as if he had wings on his shoes.

“Laney,” he corrected me, waggling his eyebrows. “She’s something special,fratello. Her ex-boyfriend treated her like trash.” Zio’s eyes darkened, and I hated that I ruined his good mood with the topic. “It took all of my composure for me not to demand his information, track him down, and show him what a real man is made of.”

“Sorry,bello. I was only curious about how your night went.”

“After I got a proper meal for her, she opened up about some of the things that she’s been dealing with back home. I think she is happy to be here, but it sounds like she feels guilty for moving out here and becoming a burden on your Melody.”

“MyMelody?”

“She is yours now,sì?”

Chuckling despite the seriousness of our conversation, I nodded. Of course he would know without my telling him; twin telepathy was a real thing. “Yes, we are in a relationship but we’re taking one step at a time.”

“Since when do you take anything one step at a time?”

“This is how it has to be for now. I helped her work through some of the guilt that’s been riding around in her head as well.”

“So, you took our sassy little neighbor over your knee?” He winked.

“Of course,” I answered with a cocky grin. “You were right as usual. Melody has a sweet Little side who was begging for an adjustment. We sorted it out.”

“Ben fatto! And she’s got a fucking adorable friend.”

I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Melody and I connected last night. Even though I wished it was under better circumstances, her injury had given me the perfect excuse to reveal my Daddy side and for us to discover that her needs and wants seemed to fall right in line with mine. “Melody mentioned how eager she was to have her friend nearby, but she didn’t think logistically about the apartment they share.”

“Aha!” Zio clapped his hands together.

I cocked an eyebrow wondering what sort of hair-brained idea had struck him. “What are you thinking and how much will it cost me?”

“Shh,goffo.” Zio waved his hand in front of my face. “I think this could work. Give me just a moment.”

Since there was no getting him to share until he ran through all of the possibilities in his head, I went and poured us each a fresh cup of coffee. He accepted the mug without losing the look of concentration on his face. Luckily, we still had two hours until the restaurant opened because he was deep in thought and there was no fighting it. I continued prepping ingredients for the day.

“We can fix our apartment up for Laney,” Zio announced a few minutes later. “The one above the restaurant. It’s full of random stuff we can move out or throw away, but it’s probably the same size as Melody’s. It will be great! We’ll ask Melody for Laney’s favorite things. We’ve got connections all throughout town, and we’ve collected more than a few favors we can cash in. We’ll create a special little oasis just for Laney so she feels more welcome, but she’ll still be near Melody. It will also give them their own space, which seems important for more than one reason.” He winked, and I picked up on his unspoken train of thought.

“You’re a genius,fratello!” The apartment has only been vacant a few months and it was previously occupied by a middle-aged woman who took very good care of it. It wasn’t bringing in any income at the moment, and it would mean so much to Laney and Melody. We could let her live there for whatever she could afford, or for nothing. It didn’t change anything for Zio and I to have her up there. “A fun project would be perfect for Melody to focus on. She’s on limited hours while her wrist heals and will likely need a distraction.”

“Limited hours, huh? If she is running a one man show in her shop, I can’t see that going over well.”

“Seth gave us a list of things she needs to do or things she needs to avoid for the next few weeks. If she doesn’t abide by them, she could cause further injury.”

“Did she listen to them when he spoke?”

My twin was so smart and was probably the only person I knew who had better brat-taming skills than me. “I doubt she listened to much of anything. She seemed to be very much in her Little space last night. I told her that I’d write down his recommendations.”

“Uh-huh. So, you’re going to add a few of your own,sì?”

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