For The Empire - Sempre

Chapter 16

STELLA

"Can you play with me, Stella?" Lola asks me sweetly.

"I need to meet with JP," I tell her. The corners of her mouth droop down into a frown.

"But guess what? Miles and Kai are experts at tea parties. They'd love to play with you."

"Really?" Lola squeals and smiles excitedly at Miles and Kai; they both scowl at me but quickly transform their frowns into smiles. I laugh as I walk out of the room and head to the kitchen, where Lucy talks with the girls.

"Hey, mom, do you think it's okay if I make some cookies for the kids?" She springs off of the stool she was sitting to walk towards me.

"I'm sure it's fine. Just don't make a big mess like you usually do." I smile at her.

"Can I help?"

We look towards the kitchen entry and see Marco walking in with JP.

JP is wearing a fitted black shirt and black suit with no tie. He glances at me briefly before turning his attention to Lucy and greets her.

Lucy smiles at them and shrugs, "Sure, Marco, the more, the merrier!" She pulls Marco with her towards the pantry to get the ingredients she needs.

"Damn, those clothes would look better on my bedroom floor." Letty attempts to whisper to Jessica as she stares at JP walking towards the fridge. Jessica snorts in response, and I shake my head at her.

"No, seriously, I know what I want for my birthday," Letty tells her as she keeps undressing JP with her eyes. "I could seriously watch him all day. And the way he walks with the shoulder swag; so hot!"

"Letty, you seriously need to get laid, girl." Jessica teases. "But I will say, it's hard to focus on anything else when John Paul is in the room. How in the world did you ever leave the bed when you guys were together?" She asks me, and I laugh at the serious look on her face.

But then memories of when JP and I would take our time getting out of bed in the mornings flash in my mind.

"You ready?" JP's startles me out of images I had going through my head.

I nod before I turn back to tell Lucy and the girls I'll see them later. Letty grins and wiggles her eyebrows at me while and Jessica shoves her off the stool playfully.

I follow JP out of the kitchen and down a long hallway; his shoes echo as he walks slightly ahead of me.

"Did you have a good time last night?" I immediately mentally facepalm myself for asking such a dumb question. But I can't stand the awkward silence and said the first thing that popped in my head.

"The best," He mutters without looking at me, and I frown, knowing his sarcastic tone.

"You and Sean have a good night?"

"The best," I repeat.

He mutters something under his breath and then stops to open the door to what I assume is his office.

To be honest, Sean and I left the club arguing; he thought I talked to JP about his dad's meeting with Cristian, and then the argument restarted earlier this morning when I asked again if I could go to his meeting with Cristian.

I walk through the office door and am impressed by its open layout, but I gasp when I look towards his desk. Hanging on the wall is an enlarged photo of me.

I vividly remember we drove to the clearing on his bike, and I was looking out into the sunset at the beautiful colors that were painting the sky that evening. There was a slight breeze, and I was tucking my hair behind my ear when he said my name, and I had looked over my shoulder at him when he took my picture.