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"I didn't realize it takes you hours to shower." Bianca arches an eyebrow when we finally emerge from the bathroom.

"There was a lot of blood," Sisi shrugs, her expression so genuine you wouldn't think to contradict her.

"Whatever." B shrugs, her eyes suddenly narrowing behind us. "Diana, no! Not the knife," she yells before running toward her daughter.

"Happy Birthday, B," I call out from behind, wanting to ensure we don't forget the reason we're here.

She doesn't seem to hear, and while she oversees the children, we start mingling with the other guests.

We end up bumping into Allegra and Catalina, both currently very pregnant and in the middle of a discussion on child rearing.

"Did you guys plan on giving birth at the same time?" Sisi asks, leaning into me.

"No, but somehow it happened," Allegra chuckles. "At least they will have someone close in age to play with."

"I can't believe you're not going crazy with so many children."

"You get used to it," Lina says before scrunching her nose, "eventually."

"Any plans for you, Sisi?" Allegra asks suggestively, and I note the slight blush on Sisi's cheeks.

"At some point. We're still in the honeymoon phase." She winks, gazing up at me for confirmation.

"What Sisi wants, she gets," I reply, squeezing her hand.

We'd had lengthy discussions on the topic, and we'd both agreed that if we do have children, it's going to be later.

I'd told her that I'm ready to have one whenever she desires, but she'd replied that she wants to have more time to ourselves. Deep down, I think she's scared of having another miscarriage like last time, and I know it was one of the darkest periods in her life. If that's the case, then I can only be there for her and support her decision when the time comes.

Fuck knows, I love having her all to myself,allof the time. But maybe a little Sisi running around the house wouldn't be so bad.

At some point.

"For now, he's enough," she says softly, raising on her tip-toes to give me a kiss.

"When you do, you'll have us to help. I'm sure we know all the tricks by now," Lina mentions, amused.

"Oh, especially when it comes to raising them." Allegra purses her lips, shaking her head. "They're all cute little monsters until they grow up. That's when the real nightmare begins."

"Tell me about it," Lina sighs, "Claudia is going through puberty and I don't think we've ever had worse disagreements than now."

"Come on, Lina. She's a great kid."

"I think she's been learning from Venezia and her teenage rebellion. Now that's another issue Marcello and I have been dealing with," she sighs. "She's gotten it into her head that she wants to finish high school at a public school."

"Would it be so bad? She needs some sort of normality, Lina. You know she's never had any outside friends," Sisi comments.

"I don't know… That's what I'm afraid of. She's young and too naïve to let her go out in the world by herself."

"She needs to experience the world at some point. Think of this as easing her into it."

I can tell that Sisi's a little peeved about their reluctance with Venezia.

Since we'd redone the house in Brighton Beach, Venezia had become a permanent fixture, visiting almost weekly. She and Sisi had developed a very close bond and Sisi's been trying to convince Lina and Marcello to give her a little freedom for a while now. Even with no danger looming in the horizon, Marcello hadn't been too enthusiastic about sending his baby sister to a public school.

"Why don't you let her try it for a semester at least? Who knows, she might not like it. But at least let her experience it on her own," Sisi continues.

"We'll think about it," Lina replies, the most she's probably willing to acquiesce. "That's right, did you hear about Raf?" She quickly changes the topic.