26. HANDLE
NIGHT FELL QUICKLY AND BEFORE Kalani knew it, she was walking down the steps of the castle, Angelo nowhere to be seen considering she told him to take a break.
She approaches the kitchen only to hear somebody shuffling around it, the familiar sound of the freezer being opened and closed.
She walks in only to see Sofia ━ who she hadn't seen since the day Giovanni left for Greece. She was dipping her spoon into a pint of Rocky Road ice cream.
"Well, damn, is you good?" Kalani greets in her very southern way as she makes her way to the island, across from Sofia. "I haven't seen you in a while, Sof."
When she looks up from the ice cream, Kalani's smile drops. Her eyes and cheeks were puffy and rosy.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Kalani's tone softens as she cross the island to rub her shoulder. "Talk to me."
"I'm sorry I haven't been out and about these past few days, but I've just been trying to get a handle on things." Sofia's voice was hoarse as if she'd been crying nonstop.
"Handle on what, hun?" Kalani asks.
Sofia takes a moment to run her hands through her hair, the stress evident in her eyes. She releases a shaky breath as she avoids Kalani's stare, "I'm pregnant."
Kalani was shocked, to say the least. Her eyes widen before she leans forward subconsciously. She wasn't even sure if she really wanted to know this information. All it did was make her more attached to this life.
"Does Dante know?" She questions.
Sofia shakes her head, her chest now heaving, "He's been so busy these past few days and everytime I see him, I keep chickening out."
"Hey, it's okay." Kalani reassures the Italian woman, "Tell him when you're ready."
Sofia nods to her words before reaching over and grabbing another spoon from the drawer. She hands it to Kalani, silently, who takes it and digs in.
Around five minutes of silence passes before Kalani speaks, "When did you find out?"
"I had a suspicion before I came to Italy ━ it was one of the main reasons I came back... And then I took the test the night he left for Greece and ━" She doesn't finish her statement before she chokes up. Before Kalani can pull her into a hug, she clears her throat and shoves a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, "I've been avoiding him since then."
Kalani has no idea how she's feeling so she can't say her regular reassurances.
"Are you excited?" She questions, not really knowing what else to say.
Sofia shrugs, stabbing the spoon into the ice cream, creating crescents, "One part of me is jumping off the walls, and then the other part of me is scared, Lani." She leans forward on the island, "My brother is literally a Don. We're in the middle of a war ━ this is all just... crazy, ya know?"
Kalani nods in understanding.
"I just ━" Sofia doesn't have the chance to finish her thought before Giovanni turns the corner and enters the kitchen.
Kalani's gaze drifts to his shirtless figure, a pair of gray joggers hanging off his hips.
She licks the ice cream off her spoon subconsciously. Sofia takes notice of her friend's face and tries to fight off her laugh.
"Voi ragazze state bene?" You girls okay? He questions them as he moves towards the fridge. Kalani's gaze is stuck on his ass.
"Sì, stiamo bene." Yeah, we're fine. Sofia answers him, trying to push the sadness out of her tone. She wasn't ready for her brother to know her secret just yet.
Kalani looks down and starts to puts her spoon in the sink, "I'll give you guys some sibling time."
"No, it's fine," Sofia stops her, "I'm heading up right now anyway." She gives Kalani a small smile before giving her brother a kiss on the cheek and exiting the kitchen.
With Sofia gone, the 'couple' stood in the kitchen, silence crowding the room. It wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest.
Their eyes were set on each other as Kalani washes the spoon she dropped in the sink before holding it out to the Italian man. Surprisingly, he takes it. She washes Sofia's spoon before leaning over the ice cream with Giovanni beside her.
"So, what is going on with my sister?" He asks her, his shoulder bumping hers as he scoots closer.
"Not my secret to tell." Kalani smiles up at him after putting a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.
Looking at her, he wipes a drop of ice cream from her lip and sucks it off. She smirks before leaning into him for a kiss.
It deepens only slightly before he pulls away and pecks her forehead.
"Let's play twenty-one questions." She suggests, running her tongue across her bottom lip.
"Is that an American thing?" He jokes.
She scoffs, "Ha. Ha. Ha. So funny."
so next chapter, they'll get to know each other more
im exciteddddddddddd
and y'all, bbyg sofia is preggers 😊 how y'all think gio gon react? 😂