Chapter Seventeen

Evangeline moaned as she woke up to her alarm a few hours after falling asleep. She slammed her hand on the dismiss button and rolled onto her back as she looked at the ceiling. She blew out a rough breath as she started thinking about what she and Jaxon had talked about the night before. She was hoping he was right about Alessandro but she just had to figure out how to tell him. She was thinking of just being blunt about it and just spitting it out. She knew that it would take a huge burden off of her shoulders and she knew that he wouldn't judge her or run away from her.

She sat up in bed and ran a hand through her hair. She cleared her throat as she stood up and went into her closet. She took out a nice outfit for work and laid it on her bed before making her way to her bathroom to start her morning routine. After her shower, she stared at her reflection in the mirror after brushing her teeth. She looked completely exhausted and knew it was going to be a long day.

She exhaled roughly as she went into her room and got changed. She made sure her hair was brushed and that she had all of her things before she made her way downstairs and out to her car. As she turned around from locking her door she stopped in her tracks. "Alessandro?" She questioned with a small smile. "What are you doing here?" She asked as she walked up to him.

He chuckled as he met her halfway and pulled her into his arms. "You didn't think that I would let my queen drive herself to work, did you?" He asked as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

She let out a small laugh as she looked up at him. "I don't mind driving myself, my love. I'm sure you have other things to do." She said softly.

He scoffed as he pulled away just a bit. "There is nothing more important than you, my little angel. I would stop everything if you asked me to."

She blushed as she looked down for a minute before looking back up into his eyes. "You're the sweetest man I've ever met."

He grinned and leaned his forehead against hers. "Only for you my angel."

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips before pulling away and opening the passenger door. "Shall we, my queen?" He asked with a wide grin.

She rolled her eyes with a silly smile on her face. "Yeah let's get going. Luca hates it when I'm late."

Alessandro chuckled. "I think he's going to have to get used to that." He said before closing her door and rushing to the driver's side.

"Why is that?" She questioned with a small smile as he got into the car.

He smirked and sent her a wink. "You'll find out soon enough."

She blushed and looked at her lap as he started driving. They drove in a comfortable silence as he held her hand with their fingers intertwined until they got to a small cafe not too far from Luca's office. "In we go angel." He gave her a stern playful look. "Coffee and food little angel."

Evangeline giggled as she got out of the car with Alessandro right behind her. They walked into the cafe and ordered once they got to the counter. Evangeline made sure to get something for Luca as well before they went to the side to wait for their order. "How did you sleep, my queen?" Alessandro asked her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close.

She sighed as she rested her head against his chest. "I slept alright. Not enough but I'm used to getting very little sleep." She cleared her throat. "How did you sleep, Alessandro?" She asked as she looked up at him.

He shrugged. "It was a restless night." He said quietly. "The only night that I have slept peacefully for more than a few hours was with you." He said softly as he looked into her eyes.

She smiled brightly as she gently caressed his face. "To be honest that has been the only peaceful night's sleep that I have had in a very long time."

He grinned as he leaned down and pressed a loving kiss to her lips. She kissed him back for a minute before they were pulled apart by someone calling her name. She grabbed their order and smiled at him as he held the door open for her. They climbed into his car and he drove to Luca's office. He parked out front like he always did and turned to face her. "So I will be here to pick you up later angel." He said with a smile. "I was thinking that we could do a movie night. Pick up some food, go to my place, and watch a movie or two." He took her hand in his. "What do you think, little angel?" He asked softly.

She grinned brightly. "I'd love that." She said as she intertwined her fingers with his.

He lifted their intertwined fingers and kissed her knuckles softly. "It's a date then." He said softly.

She smiled and leaned over the middle console to press a kiss on his lips. "I'll see you when I get off work then." She said as she sat back in her seat.

He chuckled. "I'll see you then, my queen."

She kissed him once more before climbing out of the car with all of her stuff. She made her way up to Luca's off and set her things down before grabbing his coffee and food. She walked to his office and walked in without knocking. "Hey, Luca." She said with a wide smile. "I brought you some coffee and food." She said as she set it on the desk in front of him.

Luca raised an eyebrow as he held his cell phone against his shoulder. "Since when do you eat breakfast?" He questioned with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes. "Alessandro made it clear that I had to get breakfast along with my coffee." She said as she folded her arms over her chest.

Luca laughed as he leaned back in his seat. "Alessandro is good for you." He said with a wide grin.

She rolled her eyes and spotted the cell phone that he was holding on his shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt a phone call?" She asked with a frown.

He chuckled. "I was just talking with Aurora."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said apologetically. "Tell her I said hi." She left his office and sat down at her desk.

She started her work as she ate her breakfast. She went through her day with only one incident. She had been thinking about how to tell Alessandro about her past when the memories had taken over. Thankfully she had only broken a coffee mug but she had a hard time focusing. That was until Alessandro stepped off the elevator with one arm hidden behind his back and a wide smile on his face. "Hi there, little angel." He said as he stood in front of her desk.

She grinned as she felt the darkness inside her slowly start to dissipate. "Hi, my love." She said softly with a small sigh of relief.

His smile matched hers as he brought his arm from behind his back, revealing a single white lily and a single blue orchid. "These are for you, my queen." He said as he held them out to her.

The smile that she gave him was officially his favorite smile as it made his heart race and his soul sing and shine brightly. "Thank you, Alessandro. They're beautiful." She said as she carefully took them from him.

He grinned as he sat down across from her. "I'm glad that you like them, my angel." He said softly.

She smiled as she held the flowers to her nose. "Not that I'm not overjoyed that you're here, but you're early. Why?" She asked as she started twining the stems of the flowers together.

He grinned widely. "I was thinking that I could steal you away earlier than originally planned." He said with bright eyes.

She giggled as she finished twining the flower stems together. "You're going to have to talk to Luca about that one." She said as she looked into his eyes.

Alessandro grinned mischievously as he stood up and adjusted his suit jacket. "I'll be right back, my angelic queen." He said with a wink.

She shook her head with an adoring smile as she grabbed a hairpin out of her purse. She easily and quickly pinned the flowers behind her ear before fixing her hair around them.

Alessandro barged into Luca's office with a wide grin. He let the door slam shut behind him as he strolled up to his desk. "Hey there, little bro." He said as he sat down in a comfortable armchair.

Luca stared at him with wide eyes. "Are you okay Alessandro?" He questioned as he set the novel that he had been reading down on his desk in front of him.

Alessandro's grin grew wider. "Never better." He said cheerfully.

Luca raised an eyebrow as he stared at his brother. He was ecstatic that he was more cheerful but he wasn't sure what was going on. "What's going on Alessandro?" He questioned as he relaxed in his chair.

Alessandro leaned forward and placed his forearms against the edge of Luca's desk. "I planned something for Evangeline." He said with bright eyes. "I'm hoping that she likes it." He said softly.

Luca looked at him with his head tilted slightly in confusion. "Okay." He said in uncertainty. "What does that have to do with you barging into my office like a mad man?" He demanded as he gestured to the door that Alessandro had slammed shut when he walked in.

"Oh." Alessandro chuckled as he jumped to his feet. "I want to take Evangeline home with me right now. This surprise that I have for her is sort of a big thing that'll pretty much take up the rest of the day. It'll most likely go well into the night also." He explained.

Luca rolled his eyes as he picked up the novel that he had been reading when Alessandro had barged in. "Evangeline doesn't need my permission to leave. She's free to come and go as she pleases. As long as she keeps her phone on her and she takes her work along with her." He shrugged.

Alessandro chuckled as stood in front of his brother's desk. "Well, I'm not sure how much work she'll get done. Or if she'll even be paying attention to her phone. Which is why I am asking you if I can steal her away from work early." He explained as he folded his arms over his chest and sat back down.

Luca nodded in understanding. "Ah. I see now." Luca blew out a quick breath. "Hold on." He picked up the receiver of his office phone and called Evangeline. "Could you come in here please Evangeline?" He asked through the phone.

"Be right there." She said before hanging up.

Alessandro and Luca could both hear her heels clicking against the polished floors. After a minute she opened the door and walked inside. "You wanted to see me, Luca?" She asked as she moved to stand next to where Alessandro sat.

Alessandro wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap. She sent him a quick, bright smile before looking at Luca. "What's up Luca?" She asked again as she relaxed into Alessandro.

Luca leaned back in his seat as he watched the two of them with joy on his face. He pulled out his cell phone and took a quick photo of them together. "Did you just take a picture of us?" Alessandro questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Luca smirked. "Yes, I did. Aurora is never going to believe me without proof." He said with a wink at them.

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "Okay, Luca." She said as she stuck her tongue out at him.

He set his phone down and looked at her. "What do we have on the schedule for the rest of the day?" He finally asked her.

She pulled his calendar up on her phone and started looking through the schedule for the day. "Um. For today we don't have too many things scheduled." She mumbled as she scrolled through it. "There are no meetings except one teleconference in about two hours. Other than that it's just a bit of paperwork and then reading through some more novels." She said with a shrug.

"What about tomorrow?" Luca questioned.

She bit her lip as she looked through the schedule. "Tomorrow we have a couple of meetings but it's pretty much an easy day as well."

Luca nodded. "Okay then." He looked at Alessandro. "You can steal her away." He said with a wide smile. "You can also keep her for the day tomorrow."

Alessandro smiled brightly. "Thank you, Luca." He said as he stood up with Evangeline in his arms.

Evangeline giggled and swatted his shoulder lightly. "Put me down, Alessandro." She quietly said in his ear.

He gently set her on his feet with that same bright smile. "We'll see you later Luca," Alessandro said as he intertwined his fingers with Evangeline's and led her out of the office.

They grabbed her things and made their way to his car. "We're going to grab some food and then head to my place." He said as he started driving. "The rest of the day is a surprise." He said with a wink in her direction.

She laughed and sunk into her seat. "I usually don't like surprises but I suppose I could be okay with it for today." She said teasingly.

He chuckled as he drove to their favorite restaurant. They went inside and sat in his usual booth. "Could I at least have a hint as to what lies ahead for the day?" She asked with a playful smile.

He laughed as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his side. "You're just going to have to wait and see." He said as he kissed her temple.

They made small talk while they ate and enjoyed each other's company. Once they were done eating they made their way to his house. He parked out front and rushed to her side of the car. He opened her door for her and helped her out of the car. He intertwined their fingers as they made their way inside. "Good afternoon Alessandro. Good afternoon Evangeline." Samuel said as he seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Is there anything that I can do for you two?" He asked politely as he stood with his hands folded in front of him.

Alessandro held out his keys to him. "Just park the car for me, Samuel. Thank you. If we need anything else we'll let you know."

Samuel bowed slightly. "Of course. Please enjoy your afternoon." With that being said Samuel went outside to park Alessandro's car.