Ana
Unbridled excitement is bubbling up inside of me as I step inside the brickstone building, hearing the familiar sounds of children laughing and playing. Pulling Cassio behind me by the hand, I eagerly approach the front desk of St. Mary’s, smiling as I lock eyes with a friendly face.
“Ana!” Heather squeaks happily, her kind brown eyes lighting up. “I can’t believe you’re here, I just heard about your donation.” Rounding the counter, the petite woman wraps me in a friendly embrace. “It’s so good to see you, you look amazing.”
“It’s good to see you too.” I smile, as our hug ends. “How are you and Elliot?”
“Same old, same old. He’s growing too fast and I’m trying to keep up.” She rocks on her heels happily, taking note of the man next to me, her brows lift. “And who might this be?”
“Cassio Moretti,” he introduces himself before I can, holding out his hand for a shake. “Ana is my wife.”
Heather’s eyes go round, dropping his hand mid-shake. “Wife?” Blinking at me she stammers, “You got married? To a… to a Moretti?”
I giggle at the way she whispers the name, as if Cassio isn’t right next to me to hear it. “I sure did,” I tell her proudly. “You really need to get on social media, love. You miss everything.”
“I guess so!” She laughs. “Congratulations. You look stunning together. Does he know that he’s absolutely blessed to be with a woman such as yourself?”
“He’s well aware,” Cassio drawls, tucking me into his side.
Both Heather and I chuckle at his possessive move.
“So, tell me, what’s new here? I’ve missed it so much.”
“We have a new boy today,” Heather says, her smile dimming slightly. “He hasn’t spoken a word, and we’re still waiting for more information on him. He’s three-years-old from what we know, and so adorable, but he seems so sad.”
My heart gives a sad ache. “Oh no.”
“It breaks my heart. His big eyes are so full of confusion and it’s like he doesn’t hear a word we say. He can physically hear just fine but he won’t respond or even try to speak on his own without prompting.”
“Well, we’re here to volunteer for a few hours. Maybe we can get him to open up. Is there anything you all need help with today or is it just activities and free time?”
“Oh girl, we got the boring stuff covered. Since the donation in your mom’s name—I’m so sorry about your loss, by the way. And the donation you just sent, we’ve been able to keep more staff around and it’s been a huge help. A lot of the money is going directly to the kids as well, of course. We’re replacing some older beds and getting higher priority supplies for them. Gifts, too. It’s been high spirits around here for weeks.”
I soak up the good news, and silently thank Heather for not dwelling on my loss. She knows me well enough to know that I want to focus on the children while I’m here. All of my problems get checked at the door. These kids don’t need sad adults moping around. They need encouragement, love, and fun.
“That’s so good to hear.”
Heather waves us back, allowing us access to one of the main common areas. Children of all ages hang out here during the day. They can play games, explore instruments, make arts and crafts, or just relax while watching movies. There are staff around, keeping a close eye on the youngest of the bunch, and directing any games that others want to play.
I feel instantly fulfilled just walking into the room, witnessing the controlled chaos with a blissful grin.
“Miss. Ana!” a little voice cheers, and my heart soars.
Hearing my name, a little gaggle of precious faces swarm in my direction. I crouch down and greet each and every one of them by name, offering a quick cuddle to the ones who ask and listening to their rapid chatter as they talk over one another, vying for attention.
Once they’ve calmed down, I look up at my husband with a fond smile. “Everyone, this is my husband. Can you all say hi to Mr. Cassio?”
“Hiiiii, Mr. Cassi,” they echo, slurring his unfamiliar name.
“Close enough,” he returns, smiling softly.
“Mr. Cassi, are you a lawyer?” Brennon asks, blinking up at my husband while craning his neck like Cassio is a tower. “You dress like one.”
My hand covers my lips to smother a giggle. Cassio is so far from a lawyer, and I can see the same thought bringing amusement to his eyes.
“I’m a businessman,” he replies, fibbing.
“Ohhhh,” a few voices sound.
A tiny hand fists into his pant leg. “Play?”
“Yeah! Play with us?”
“Okay,” Cassio agrees without hesitation. “What do you want to do?”
For the next two hours, Cassio and I are pulled in every direction. Boys asking him to help build blocks, little girls lining up to have me braid their hair. An older girl asks Cassio to fix her tablet, and somehow he does. We help make crafts, and my husband doesn’t complain when a four-year-old spills blue glitter all over his lap.
It’s absolutely magical.
But one child has my smile dimming every time I see him. He’s been sitting by himself, staring aimlessly around the room, even when I try to approach him to join us. He looks so lost, and I wish I could just jump inside his mind to find out how to help.
Deciding I need to try harder, I excuse myself from a group playing board games and make my way over to his corner.
“Hello,” I say quietly, sitting in the bean bag chair next to him. “Are you okay, little love?”
He turns, blinking at me with confused eyes, but doesn’t answer.
I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to remain calm. I could burst into tears, seeing how downcast he looks.
Seeking out my husband in the crowd, he meets my eye, like he could feel me searching. He begins to approach when he stalls, sighing. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he looks around and decides to answer the call he’s apparently getting.
“I’ll be quick,” he mouths to me, looking regretful.
I smile reassuringly, I won’t be mad if he picks up the phone to make sure whoever is calling isn’t having some kind of emergency. Lives depend on him sometimes, that’s just a fact of his life.
I turn back to my quiet new companion as soft Italian words spill from my husband’s mouth. I’m not sure whether he switched to his second language for privacy or necessity, but I’m too shocked by what comes next to contemplate his reasoning.
The little boy’s head snaps up, his dark, curly hair bouncing with the swift movement. He immediately staggers out of the bean bag to his feet, wobbling in an unsteady stride, heading straight for Cassio.
Slightly worried but curious, I let the shy child make his way over to my husband. I follow the short path, watching in amazement as he reaches for Cassio’s pant leg. He tugs on the fabric urgently to get his attention.
“Aiuto, aiuto,” he babbles to Cassio. “Mio mama, aiuto, aiuto.” His voice is cracked and his words come out slightly slurred, but it’s like a weight immediately lifts from my shoulders.
He hasn’t spoken since arriving because he doesn’t speak English. He overheard Cassio on the phone speaking Italian and he rushed to his side without a second thought. My heart clenches in my chest as I watch Cassio completely disregard his phone call. He immediately kneels to tend to the boy, concern furrowing his brow.
“Come ti chiami?” he asks in the softest tone.
The boy sniffles, overwhelmed with emotion. “L-leeeo.”
“Leo,” Cassio repeats to him. He must have asked for the boy’s name. “Stai bene, Leo?”
“Adesso,” Leo babbles, sniffling. Without caution, Leo throws himself against Cassio, tucking into his chest for comfort.
My husband stiffens, but quickly recovers, offering the boy an embrace in return. “Va tutto bene, shhh,” Cassio coos softly. “Va tutto bene, Leo.”
Only a few minutes into calming him, Heather finds us.
“He’s asking for help for his mother,” Cassio tells her, holding an emotional Leo close. “His name is Leo, and he doesn’t speak English.”
Biting her lip with emotion swimming in her eyes, Heather nods. “We just got a call about him. He can’t understand me, right?”
“Not a word,” Cassio confirms. “What’s happened?”
“His mother abandoned him at a hospital two days ago, and instead of bringing him to the cops and getting him shucked into foster care, he was brought here. One of The Kings’ wives is a nurse there and she risked her job to do it. But now I’m not sure how to help him.” She knits her brows in contemplation.
“That call about him was from our lawyer, she overdosed the day after she left him. Apparently Leo’s father died a week ago in a car accident, and she couldn’t handle it. The lawyer confirmed that Leo has no other family. But if we inform the state about him, he could be taken somewhere so much worse for god knows how long until we can get him back—”
“Don’t call anyone about him,” Cassio interrupts. “We’ll take it from here.”
Eyes widening, my mouth pops open. “What? We will?”
“Tell your lawyer that The Moretti Family will take care of him. If anyone here sees fit to report this, I assure you, we have friends in higher places than they do. Leo will have a home tonight.”
“I… are you certain?” Heather hesitates. “That would be incredible.”
“I have a place in mind, and a backup if that doesn’t work out. I’ll make a call and handle it.”
“I’ll go shred the paperwork we have started for him,” Heather declares with a look of determination.
“See if you can find out what nurse brought him here,” Cassio requests, pulling his phone off the floor.
“What for?”
“I’m going to make sure she gets a bonus for her quick thinking, and that the hospital doesn’t find out and fire her.”
Is it possible to fall in love all over again?
Grabbing a stray plastic truck off the floor for Leo, my sweet husband encourages the boy to explore it. Shyly, he does, using the wheels to roll it around Cassio’s body rather than the floor.
I take a seat next to them, not minding the hard floor one bit, seeing the immense change in Leo. Somehow, Cassio is able to be attentive toward the small child and make his phone call. I can hear the line ringing shortly until someone picks up on the other side.
“Leon, hey,” he says, letting Leo continue to roll his toy truck up and down his legs. “Any chance you and Cleo are ready for another kid sooner than expected?”
A pause, and then:
“St. Mary’s, yeah. Come quick.”
My lips spread into such a wide smile that my cheeks ache.
I’m a small part of such a large, wonderful family.
A half hour later, Cassio’s brother arrives with an absolute bombshell on his arm.
I met Leon briefly at my wedding, but it’s still surprising to see how little he looks like the rest of his brothers. With dirty brown hair, darker blue eyes, a smaller nose, and a slimmer face shape, he apparently takes after his mother—the only one of the Moretti boys to do so.
Cleo, on the other hand, is entirely unfamiliar to me. I’ve never even seen photos on social media. Melani, Emilio’s wife, I’ve seen plenty of times in the press, but never Cleo. The illusive woman is gorgeous, though. She has perfectly blown out beachy waves of brunette hair with warm blonde highlights framing her face. Her hazel eyes are brushed with smokey eyeshadow and her plump lips slathered in clear gloss.
She’s holding their four-year-old son’s hand as the group of three approach the front desk. Bastian is an adorable combination of the two of them. He has shaggy blonde hair, the famous Moretti blue eyes, and Cleo’s button nose.
I’ve been waiting for them since Cassio got a text that they were almost here, wanting to give them a little rundown before they meet Leo. I wanted Cassio to stay in the room with him, trying to prevent any tears or confusion by his only source of comfort leaving the room.
“Hey, Ana,” Leon greets politely. “This is Cleo, and our son Bastian.”
“Hello, Aunt Ana,” Bastian says shyly, looking at his father for approval. When Leon dips his chin, the boy beams.
“Hello, young man,” I reply with a big smile. “I’m thrilled to meet you. Are you excited to see your Uncle Cassio?”
“Is he here?” Cleo asks anxiously, skipping right over the pleasantries. I can tell she isn’t asking about her brother-in-law. She wants to know about the child she’s here to meet.
Leon’s expression tightens, but I’m not offended. I can clearly see the motherly glint in her eyes, and I totally understand the hurry.
“His name is Leo,” I reply kindly. “He’s three, and he only speaks Italian. Cassio has noticed that he can pick up on some English words, but he won’t respond to them. He’s quite shy, but I’m sure if you speak with him in his language, he’ll latch right onto the both of you. Would you like to see him now?”
Cleo nods rapidly. “Please.”
Guiding them back into the room, I quickly add, “We suggest you spend a little while here, acclimating with him but as soon as you’re all comfortable, he’s all yours.”
“Thank you,” Leon says, voice deep and genuine.
I find Cassio exactly where I left him, reading books in the quiet corner of the room, translating the English stories into Italian seamlessly. Watching with hope swelling in my chest, I hold a hand over my heart as introductions are made. Within seconds, Leo is smiling. Within minutes, he’s hugging Cleo and bashfully speaking with Bastian.
Cassio and Leon have the task of explaining to the boy that he is going home with them. That his mum has gone away but that they’re going to take good care of him. I’m expecting tears, but the boy only seems relieved.
By the time they’re ready to leave, I feel twenty pounds lighter. We couldn’t have picked a better day to visit. Leo has a home today because of Cassio. He must feel as accomplished as I do, because once we’re in the car, he doesn’t want to head straight home.
“We should celebrate,” he suggests. “Let me take you to dinner?”
“Like on a date?” I ask, smirking. “Our first official date?”
“Our first date was our wedding,” he jokes. “But yeah, like a date. Can’t a man take his gorgeous wife out for a bite?”
“He certainly can.”
We aren’t dressed for anything too fancy, but Cassio takes us to a quaint Italian restaurant—fitting for the day we’ve had. I’m so excited to be out with him for the first time, but my mood is tested as soon as we meet the hostess. She looks at Cassio like he’s her next meal, but if she isn’t careful, I’ll have her heart on a platter and she’ll be mine instead.
“Mr. Moretti,” she purrs. “Table for two?”
“Yes,” he replies, firmly ignoring her flirtatious tone—if he notices it.
Gesturing to her side, she replies, “Right this way.”
I don’t miss the way she reaches for his arm with her grubby little hands, nor the way my husband steps to the side to avoid it. Once we are seated, she pushes further, setting her hand on top of his shoulder.
“Welcome back, Mr. Moretti.” Her suggestive tone and the way her nails lay against his suit jacket makes my skin crawl.
Cassio glares at her in response and she awkwardly retracts her fingers. I can tell he doesn’t actually know this woman, but she knows exactly who he is and thinks this is the way to shoot her shot.
Not on my fucking watch.
“Do you need anything else?” she asks.
“Yes, actually,” I chime, lips twisting into a devious smile as I slowly lift the small knife in my silverware bundle. The blade flashes under the fluorescent lights above our table. “If you touch my husband one more time, I’m going to put this through your palm and twist until you pass out screaming and crying. Understand?”
The woman goes pale. “I-I—”
“Yes or no?”
“Yes,” she rushes out, and rushes off.
Cassio’s hot gaze licks up and down my skin. “Are you trying to make me hard before we’ve even left?”
“Save that energy for later on,” I tell him, licking my lips. “I have plans for you tonight, Husband.”
He huffs like he’s hot, taking a gulp of the complimentary table water. “I’m the luckiest bastard in here.”
