"She slipped outside about a minute ago when she thought no one was watching," Charlotte said, cleaning her glasses. "I think we might have broken her brain."
"Entirely possible," Cosimo replied and dried off his hands with a kitchen towel. After revealing their dragon nature, they ended up telling Marcella a summary about the return of magic and their involvement in it. They may have left out crucial details because there was only so far Cosimo could trust her.
Valentine's theory that Maria was also fighting her dragon side in her trapped state was another argument they had for finding her as soon as possible. The last thing the family needed was an international incident with Italy because a dragon had suddenly appeared in their countryside, confused and afraid. The lectures the Italian government would dish out would be nothing compared to the ass kicking Kian would give them.
Cosimo also felt like a bit of a bastard for threatening Marcella the way he had. He was so shocked that she had figured out they were shifters that he hadn't had time to rally himself.The overprotective beast inside of him had reared up before he could stop it. The dragon had spoken through him, and he still wasn't sure what he had said.
He came back to himself when he smelled her fear mixed in with that damn alluring perfume, and he hated it. It wasn't like him to go around scaring women, and it didn't sit well with him.
"Do you think I should go and talk to her? Or let her process?" Cosimo asked, needing advice.
"You know, I'm really starting to see where you Greatdrakes get your awkward dating skills from," Lachlan teased. Apollo pinched him, making him squeak, and then he pulled Apollo into his lap to tickle in retaliation.
"You definitely should go and talk to her," Bridget weighed in. "I mean, you went all dragon on her and called hertesoro mioin your scary voice. She probably doesn't know what the fuck is going on."
"Iwhat? I didn't call her that, did I?" Cosimo stammered.
Valentine's grin was almost evil in its delight. "You most certainly did."
"What does it mean?" Yelena asked.
"My treasure."
Her blue eyes lit up with glee. "Ohhhh, I see. How interesting."
"It's not. If anything, it's my dragon being a dick because it likes the way she smells," Cosimo grumbled, which set them off giggling. "You are all ridiculous, and if you don't stop, I'll disown the lot of you."
Reeve rolled his eyes. "You're so full of shit. You love us too much. It's okay that you're attracted to her, you know."
"Anything with a heartbeat would be attracted to her, so it hardly matters, does it?" Cosimo said stubbornly.
"Whatever you say, Dad. Go talk to her and bring her back in. Tiramisu waits for no one." Bas gently pushed him out ofthe kitchen and towards the French doors. "Go on. You have ten minutes."
Cosimo ran a hand through his hair and stepped out into the cool night. There was still a damp chill, being early spring, but it was nice to get away from the heat of the kitchen for a minute.
Cosimo followed the scent of Marcella's perfume down a stone path covered with a trellis laden with green vines. She stood in the moonlight, gazing up at the stars. Cosimo could see Bas and the others through the glass windows of the kitchen and couldn't help but smile with love for them and their constant nonsense.
"I wanted to see that we hadn't scared you away yet," Cosimo said softly, trying not to startle the witch in his garden.
Marcella turned to face him. "You haven't. I just wanted to get my thoughts together. Your children..."
Cosimo's eyes drifted back to where said children were watching them through the glass. Marcella had her back to them, so she missed Apollo breathing on the glass and writing, KISS HER, and making smoochy faces. Reeve did the same but decided to just draw a dick on the misted glass.
"My children are loud? Interfering? Pushy?" Cosimo said to Marcella. "Immature despite all of them being grown bloody adults?"
Marcella shook her head. "I was going to saylovely, actually. Your children are lovely."
"Huh. One I haven't heard before," he admitted. "How much wine did you drink?"
Marcella smiled. "They are good people, Cosimo. I haven't been around a big family like this in a long time."
She sounded so sad, Cosimo couldn't mind his own business.
"Can I ask why? Italians all seem to have big families. Do you have no one still in Forli?"
Marcella laughed bitterly. "No. I can't even go back to my family's villa in the country there."
"Let me guess, it has something to do with thestronzoex-husband?"
