Hannah raised her hand in the air and took in the ring Nero had bought her. The past few days had been crazy, Nero gave her a sparkling diamond ring and confessed to her. The ring was a nice touch, but what really moved her was the effort he made to tell her about his feelings. It was a romantic gesture, it had been a while since he did something like that. Lowering her hand she went through her work day with a genuine smile upon her face. Since Maria had been helping out a lot she let the woman leave early today, she'd lock up and wait for Nero to come pick her up.
As it was nearing closing time Hannah started cleaning up, there was no one around so she softly hummed to the background music. Putting away the glasses she spun around and faced the door, a smile spreading across her face when she met her fiancé's gaze. Nero carefully approached the counter, a small smile spread across his face while his eyes were gleaming warmly.
"A slow evening?"
"Yes, but it's okay." Hannah made sure she put everything away and faced Nero again, "I'm just going to grab my things, then we can head home."
"I'll be here." Nero told her jokingly.
Hannah quickly made her way to the staff room and shrugged on her jacket. She placed a hand on her stomach, trying to calm her restless baby. He or she was moving like crazy tonight, the little kicks were powerful and at the same time, painful. Breathing through it, she pushed through the door and walked around the counter, stopping right in front of her fiancé to kiss him. She titled her head back and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. It took him by surprise but he quickly covered it up with a smirk. He brushed his thumb over her lower lip.
"I need to get used to that."
She raised an eyebrow at him, "Getting used to kissing me?"
He chuckled, "No, I need to get used to you always making the first move."
She grabbed onto his jacket, gently holding onto him, "I don't always make the first move." She mumbled, "We're in this together."
"You're right." He cupped her cheek, brushing his lips firmly against hers.
Pulling away Hannah responded to him with a smile and then moved to the door, grabbing her keys out of her bag, watching as Nero exited the shop first. She closed up and followed Nero to their awaiting car. He helped her climb into the backseat and took a seat beside her.
"We still have some leftovers." Nero told her, his hazel eyes fixated on his phone, "We're signing our marriage license in a few days. You should ask your mom to keep her schedule free that day. We should have a family dinner after we get married."
"Are you cooking?" She asked curiously.
Nero had a hidden talent, he was actually pretty decent in the kitchen. She seriously enjoyed his meals, eating in together with the family sounded better than having dinner at some fancy restaurant. Just laidback, enjoying each other's company while celebrating their marriage.
"We could do dinner at the family house." Nero pocketed his phone and placed his hand upon her knee, "It actually sounds better than eating out."
"Right!" Hannah agreed, "Like I mentioned before, you've mad skills in the kitchen."
He brushed her compliment off, the look on his face told her he didn't quite believe her. She wasn't exaggerating though. When Nero took his time he actually whipped up something amazing. The mushroom and chicken casserole which awaited them was a great example.
"Maybe after dinner we can finish decorated the baby's room."
They had started decorated it over the weekend, but never finished it. They had other things to do like moving Hannah's things to Nero's room because they were sharing a bed again. They weren't intimate, just sleeping in the same bed. It gave her piece of mind having Nero close to her. It wasn't like he was a stranger, she felt comfortable around him.
"We probably should do that." Nero agreed, "If you're not too tired we'll tackle that little project after dinner."
"I'm sure I'll be fine."
Nero threw her a knowing look. Last time she said that she fell asleep and he had to move her to his bed and organize her clothes and accessories himself. He more or less organized everything based on color. The next day she moved a few things around, the guilt eating away at her. Nero kept telling her that it was fine, that he didn't mind taking care of her. But she minded. She wanted to do things together, yet lately she was so bloody exhausted she fell asleep right after dinner. She promised herself she'd power through this, it was a great opportunity to bond together with Nero.
***
Hannah was seated on the comfy navy armchair by the window while she bossed Nero around. It was fun and he played along nicely. She knew he was doing it to entertain her. What got her the most was the warmth in his eyes. He might be playing along for her sake, but he looked genuinely happy. Nero was holding a stack of neutral colored onesies and turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow at her when he noticed the look on her face.
"You okay?" She could hear the concern in his voice, "You tired? We've done enough for tonight, we can continue things tomorrow."
"I'm fine." She assured him, "I've been sitting in this chair the entire time, you've been doing all the work." She reminded him.
"You're on your feet most of the day." He shot back at her, "I'll put this away and then we'll move things to the bedroom-"
"How straightforward of you!" Hannah giggled.
She liked the flustered look on his face, making that cheesy joke was worth it to her.
"It's not what I meant." He sighed, putting away the stack of onesies and closing the drawer of the baby's gray antique looking dresser, "But you already knew that." He added, "These colors by the way, Hannah-" He faced her and gestured around the baby's room, "It's so unlike you."
She smiled and leaned forward, her eyes gleaming excitingly, "It's more you, isn't it?"
He narrowed his eyes on her, "What are you trying to say?"
"Nothing in particular." Her voice picking up and sounding more cheerful, "Keeping the room neutral like this will give us opportunity to alter it later. We can add any color to it and the room would still look great."
He pointed at her, his hazel eyes gleaming with amusement, "So you're saying your presence brightened up my rather average life?"
She raised her hand, showing him the sparkling diamond around her finger, "I have the ring to prove it."
Laughing Nero shook his head at her. He held out his hand to her and helped her to her feet. With a smile plastered on her face Hannah left the room, heading to their bedroom. She could hear Nero moving around behind her, but she didn't look back.
"I'll make you some tea." He called after her
"Thank you!"
While she got ready for bed Nero made her tea and turned off all the lights in their hotel room. It was much more like an apartment, but since it was part of the hotel she couldn't quite see it as their place. She was looking forward to moving into Nero's family house. She knew Valerio was excited about that as well. He had been lonely in that big house, their little boy or girl would not only add color to their lives, but also the lives of the people around them.
After her shower Hannah slipped into an old dress shirt she borrowed from Nero, but had no intention of returning to him and shrugged on some fluffy white socks with pastel colored dots covering it. The fabric of the shirt she was wearing was soft to the touch, it was like it softly hugged her body. It also gave her the freedom of moving around at night, she'd keep it. She was sure Nero didn't mind since it was rather old. When it came to his business attire everything looked brand new.
"What are you doing?" Nero asked as he stepped into the room, leaving the door ajar.
She dropped her arms to the side, trying to cover up her blush. She might have been hugging herself, loving the feel of the soft fabric. She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Nero though. Instead she grinned at him as she took the cup of tea he made for her.
"Nothing." She murmured, "This smells great."
"It's caramelized pear with cinnamon." He told her, moving to the bed while he shrugged off his shirt and carelessly tossed it on the bed, "You were deep in thought, something bothering you?"
She took a seat on the edge of the bed, watching as Nero undressed. He didn't mind, she noticed it when she moved into his room. He tossed all his clothes on the pile he made on the bed, standing next to her while only wearing his boxers. She let her eyes wander, taking him all in. When she trailed her eyes back up to his face she noticed the knowing smirk.
"I was just thinking that I'm keeping this shirt forever." She muttered, trying to break the awkward tension between them.
"Sure, keep it."
She let out a sigh when he moved to the bathroom. Getting to her feet she put her cup of tea on her bedside table and started to clean up the pile of clothes Nero had left. Once everything was back in its place she crawled into bed, propped her pillows behind her and leaned against the headboard. She sipped her tea and scrolled through her Social Media on her phone. Nero took his sweet time taking a shower, it gave her time to think about the list of names they've come up with. The list was rather long and they didn't know if they were going to have a girl or a boy, but they needed to make up their mind soon.
"Emilia D'Amore." She whispered the first name on their list of girl names.
"Sounds good, right?"
She shifted her eyes to Nero who strolled out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel around his waist. He made a beeline for the closet, getting dressed for bed.
"It sounds good." She agreed.
"And what about Valence?"
She put her phone away, her brows knitted together as she whispered that name over and over again. It just didn't feel right to her, but Nero liked it.
"I just don't know about that one." She admitted to him, "I mean does it sound right to you?" She asked, "Valence D'Amore." She said out loud, trying hard not to bash the name because there had to be a reason why her fiancé was stuck on it.
Nero stepped out of the closet wearing navy joggers and a light gray tee. She turned on her bedside table and watched as her fiancé turned off the light. He approached the bed and crawled in beside her, laying on her side as he quietly scanned her face.
"Do you know what my name means?"
She shook her head, she knew there had to be a deeper meaning to it considering it was a rather odd name.
"Strong one." He told her, his eyes full of pride as he continued, "Valence means strong."
"I see." She finished her tea, left the empty cup upon her bedside table and also laid down on her side, her eyes warming up when she felt Nero's big hand upon her stomach, "So we're going for cute when it comes to a girl and confident for when we have a boy?"
"Sounds about right."
She watched her fiancé closely, liking how Nero was focused on their baby who finally calmed down. He or she wasn't kicking away anymore, but occasionally still moved around. Letting them know he or she was awake.
"Your sister's name slightly resembles your father's name." She quietly told Nero, who obviously already knew, but she needed to have it confirmed.
Nero smirked, "Did you know Valerio means strong, the same goes for Valentina."
Hannah didn't believe that, "Seriously?"
"Yes, the names of his children resembles his."
She nodded, "I see, then we're more or less obligated to call our boy Valence, are we not?"
Nero chuckled, "We're not obligated to do anything, we can still consider other options."
Hannah brushed him off, "No, It's Emilia when we have a girl and Valence when it's a boy."
Nero glanced up, his eyes showing clearly just how surprised he was. He probably figured she'd be difficult about it. She liked Emilia quite a lot and she knew she could also live with Valence. Especially since she knew why Nero chose that name.
"Seriously?" He asked her quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Yes, seriously." She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Night Nero."
She smiled when she felt him gently place his hand upon her side. He let it rest there carefully, his eyes searching her face. She could feel it, but she didn't open her eyes. She was comfortable like that and if she was really honest with herself, she was beat. Maria did most of the physical work at the coffee shop yet she was still completely wiped. It was worth it to spend some time with Nero while they sorted the baby things. She felt closer and closer to him with each day that passed. Very soon she'd be Hannah D'Amore. Soon after she'd either give birth to Emilia or Valence. She actually couldn't wait. What awaited them was rather scary, but she knew together they'd be alright.
***
After their quiet weekend ended Hannah and Nero signed their wedding license together with their witnesses. It was over and done with before she knew it, yet she didn't mind it being that way at all. Nero reached for her hand, lacing their fingers together while they walked together to their awaiting car. Valerio and Lillian shared a car, she knew her mother wasn't opposed to that in the slightest. Lillian rather liked looking at Valerio, he was after all quite a handsome man. Nero helped her climb into the backseat of their car and quickly joined her. As he sat down beside her, Hannah took in his face. Nero was handsome as well and she knew he'd age well.
"Your mom looked at me as if she wanted to push me off a building."
"She is upset about the way we got married."
Nero met her gaze, his hazel eyes narrowing on her, "Are you okay with it?"
"I prefer it this way." Hannah admitted to him, "It's all a big show, inviting over a hundred people and going all out with food, drinks and music. It isn't about sharing an intimate moment with loved ones, those things are about pleasing your guests but also making a statement. I rather share this moment with people who mean everything to us than people who we'd probably see once a year."
"You sure?"
She smiled at him, "Yes, Nero. I'm sure."
They had dinner at Nero's family house, a quiet night in together with the family. They told their parents about the names they decided on. The night was fun, filled with laughter and warm smiles. Hannah took everything in, making sure she imprinted it in her brain. She never wanted to forget this moment.