"Rain? Rain!"
Rain awoke with a start and squinted up at Adam who was gently shaking her by the shoulder. "What?"
"Wake up, tesoro mio."
"Why?" she groaned, rolling onto her side. "It's too early."
"I thought you might like to go into the village with me."
She sat up quickly at that, accidentally bumping heads with Adam.
"Ouch! Sorry," she said, rubbing her forehead. "The village? Like we'd actually leave the manor?"
Adam was still scowling at being knocked in the head but nodded. "I thought we could pick up some more Christmas decorations."
"Yes! Absolutely!"
"Great!" he grinned. "I'll go get the kids ready."
The smile on Rain's face dimmed a bit. "Oh, the kids are coming?"
"Yes, and my mother and sister. I thought we could make it a family affair. Unless you are opposed?"
"No, no. That sounds lovely. I'll just hop into the shower."
An hour later, they were all bundled up and seated comfortably in the back of a limousine on the way into the small village near the manor. The first snow of the season had fallen the night before and everything was coated in a thick layer of it. It made the already picturesque village even more quaint.
The village was nestled at the bottom of two mountains and straddled the border of Andalia and Italy.
Sunny's face was pressed to the glass the entire ride and she burst out of the car as soon as it came to a stop in the town square.
"Sunny! Come back here!" Rain shouted, scrambling out of the limo behind her daughter.
"I've got her!" Emily called, grabbing Sunny by the back of her puffy winter coat and swinging her up into a tight embrace. "Where do you think you're going, little girl?" She tickled the giggling child.
"I want to go play!"
"How about some hot chocolate first?" Adam suggested. The cheerful brood made their way into a cozy bakery and settled in for a treat.
"Daddy?" Sunny asked, climbing into Adam's lap.
"Yes?"
"What's there to do here?"
"Well, there's plenty to do. We can go sledding or ice skating or--"
"Ice skating! Ice skating!" Sunny shrieked, causing several other patrons to smile in their direction.
Adam laughed. "Okay, okay. Let's enjoy the hot chocolate first!"
"And after?" Sunny questioned excitedly.
"We'll go ice skating."
A short while later, they all emerged from the bakery feeling warm and full with Sunny and Alexander leading the way, dragging Adam behind them.
Emily looped her arm through Rain's with a smile. "Do you know how to ice skate?"
"Technically, yes," Rain replied with a laugh. "But it's been a long time."
"Well, my brother is an excellent skater. He was on an ice hockey team when we were younger."
"That's nice, although I have no idea what it has to do with me."
"There's no way he'll let you fall, if you get what I mean," Emily said, winking at Rain.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Emily rolled her eyes and tossed her curly blonde hair over her shoulder. "Don't play dumb with me! I know there's something going on with you two."
Rain blushed. "That's ridiculous! I work for him."
"You can cut the crap, Rain," Emily said as they arrived at the rink. "Noah told me."
Rain inhaled sharply and frowned. "I hate him."
Emily laughed. "It's not entirely his fault. I harassed him for the truth, although it's pretty obvious to anyone with eyes that you guys are in love. And Adam himself told my mother that you were dating. What size skates should I grab for you?"
"7, please," Rain replied, only halfway aware of what Emily had asked. She was still stuck on the first part. How could Emily know how she felt about Adam when she didn't even know herself?!
"Rain? Are you alright?" Adam's voice came from above as Rain finished lacing up her skates, startling her.
"What? Oh, yes, I'm fine. Where are the kids?"
"With my mother and Emily. I thought we could have a few minutes to ourselves."
"Sunny has never been ice skating before. I should be watching her."
"Have I done something to upset you?"
Rain looked up at him sharply. He was gazing at her with concern etched into his face, his eyebrows furrowed and his pink lips in a frown.
"No, what makes you say that?"
"You've been jumpy all day and you've been avoiding me."
"I'm not avoiding--"
"Rain."
"What? I'm not. Let's go skate. It looks like the kids are having fun."
Adam pinched his nose in frustration as Rain hobbled toward the ice. "We have to talk about it at some point."
She stepped carefully onto the ice, holding onto the rail for stability. "Talk about what?"
"I know you heard me last night."
Rain loosened her grip on the rail and yelped as she slipped, tipping backward. Adam's arm shot out and grabbed her before she could hit the ice.
"Are you okay?" he asked, setting her upright again.
"Yes, I'm fine--"
Rain was interrupted by a loud smacking sound followed by a piercing shriek that sounded a lot like...
"Sunny!" Adam took off skating in the direction of his mother and Emily. Rain did her best to keep up with him but he was already cradling Sunny in his arms by the time she caught up.
"What happened?!"
"I, she--" Emily stammered, clearly mortified at the situation. "She pulled away from me and slipped! And there was this terrible crunching noise when she hit the ice."
Sunny was wailing in pain as Adam tried to assess her injury.
"Her arm looks like it might be broken," he said calmly. "Emily did she hit her head?"
"I don't think so!"
"Let's get her to the hospital. Noah!"
"Already on it boss!" Noah called from the side of the rink. "The car is ready."
"Emily, help Rain off of the ice. Mother, can you look after the boys while we take Sunny?"
"Of course dear! Don't worry about us. We'll meet you there."
He nodded and skated away. Emily guided Rain as quickly as she could back to the edge of the rink, apologizing the entire way. "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!"
"It will be okay, Emily. It's not your fault," Rain assured her, with a quick hug. "We'll call when we have more information."
Sunny sobbed in Adam's arms the entire ride to the hospital. He held her closely, whispering words of comfort in a futile effort to calm her down.
"Daddy it hurts!"
"I know, tesoro mio. We're almost there."
Rain watched the two of them in disbelief and supposed she should be offended. Not once had Sunny reached for or called out for her mother.
They pulled up to the small local hospital and rushed inside. Since Noah had called ahead, they were quickly taken back where the doctor began to assess Sunny's arm.
Once they had given her some pain medication, she finally calmed down and started to drift off to sleep. Adam slipped his arm around Rain as they watched Sunny resting. "Are you okay?"
"What? Yeah, I guess. I'm still in shock I think. One minute, everything was fine and now we're in a hospital."
"I'm just glad it was her arm and not her head."
Rain nodded. "Me too." She turned toward the door where the doctor was standing.
"Signor Canmore, posso parlare con lei?"
Adam nodded and walked over to the door, taking Rain by the hand. "The doctor wants to talk to us."
Rain stood there silently while Adam and the doctor conversed in rapid Italian. She scowled to herself, making a mental note to sit in on Sunny's Italian lessons.
The doctor smiled at Rain and left the room a few moments later.
"Well? What did he say? Is her arm okay?"
Adam ran his fingers through his hair and walked over to Sunny's bed. "They're going to need to take an x-ray to make sure the bone isn't broken. If it is, she'll probably need a cast for a while."
"She'll hate that."
"Yeah, she will."
A long moment of silence passed before Rain spoke again. Thank you, Adam."
He slowly tore his gaze from the sleeping child to look at her. "For what?"
"For caring for Sunny the way that you do." That was as much as she could say without choking on the sob she was holding back.
Adam nodded. "It's not just Sunny I care for, amore."
"Can we not do this right now?"
"Do what?"
"Have that conversation," Rain replied with a sigh, chewing on her bottom lip. "You were right. I did hear what you said last night but, but..." she trailed off.
Adam stared at her, his expression torn. At last, he walked over to her and kissed her gently. "I understand. You'll say it when you're ready. I'll be patiently waiting for you to realize what I already know."
"And what's that?" She replied, slowly bringing her eyes to meet his.
"That you are mine, and I am yours. And whatever challenges we face, we will conquer them together."