“Grace!” Rose screamed in the middle of a laugh, as her sister, holding her around the waist, pulled her onto the bed, making them bounce there just like when they were kids "Hey, I told you not to do that!" she elbowed her, though she was still laughing “The mattresses in this house must cost a fortune. We’re going to get in trouble if we screw one of them up.”
“I doubt that would happen even if we spent an entire day doing nothing but jumping.” Grace sighed happily, shifting in bed until the mattress was swaying a little “Wow, this is so comfortable. It even looks like a cloud. It's nothing like the old mattresses in our old rooms, which released a different spring every time we moved during the night. I could lay here forever…” she snuggled even closer, delighted “I bet the mattresses in my dorm are going to feel like they were made of stone next to this one.”"I don't doubt it..." she commented ab“Remember to go straight to the dorm after you enroll, will you?” Rose advised her sister as she wrapped a scarf around her neck, “And always remember to lock the door when you go to sleep. A lot of people will invite you to their seniors parties and, well, of course you can go if you want to have a good time, but remember to pay close attention to make sure no one spills any of your drink or accepts a ride from you. strangers...”“You sound exactly like Aaron when it came time to send me off to college.” Andy cackled behind her, “I know you worry Rose, but I'm sure Grace is old enough to be able to take care of herself. I don't understand the complex that makes you act as if you were a parent, just because you were born a few years earlier..."“What's wrong with worrying about security?” Aaron snorted and, to Rose's surprise, also turned to Grace, “Do everything as your sister advised. You can't be too careful wh
"Are you sure it wouldn't be better to call the store and have them rent this dress to us instead of selling it, Andy?" Rose asked for the millionth time, wringing her hands nervously "That's a lot of money for something I'll probably only use a few times while I'm married to your brother.""What are you talking about? You won't use this a few times. You won't use any more." Adele corrected her, getting up from the armchair she was sitting in to assess Rose's figure in the large mirror before them.“What my grandmother was trying to say is that you don't have to worry about values.” Andy explained, returning to speak at the moment when Rose had just opened her mouth to disagree “It was my brother who proposed to you that the contract between you two continue, wasn't it? So nothing fairer than him providing you with all the materials you need for this, which includes clothes.”“For the love of God, stop talking about that contract thing ou
“Have you really never melted chocolate before?” Rose laughed for the millionth time in just the last five minutes as she watched Aaron struggle to flip the small, still solid chocolate chunks with the spatula without them jumping out of the glass bowl into the pot filled with warm water.“Don't make fun of me, I had already warned you that at the bank we don't learn to do any of that.” Aaron snorted, looking almost on the verge of sweating as he gently stirred the chocolate, “Why don't we do this in the microwave, by the way? Wouldn't that be much more practical?"“Some people think so, but I particularly don't. In order to melt correctly, chocolate needs to be stirred properly and, by staying in the microwave, it is not always possible to do this correctly. And believe me, everything is much better when you eat chocolate that is smooth and creamy, rather than burned or lumpy.” she taught, feeling happier than she knew to have him by her side at a time that was normally reserved for h
"Violet" Aaron snarled, turning at the same time as Rose to face her cousin, who was standing before them with a glass of champagne in hand and a dark blue dress that left very little to the imagination.“Aaron.” she replied, pouting as if he was the one who had lied and mistreated everyone the last time they had seen each other “I thought the next time we saw each other would be the perfect opportunity for me to try to explain myself and work things out. among us. But it's pretty clear that you're still falling for this woman's lies...” Violet sniffed, staring at Rose like she was the plague.“If you know you blew your own cover the last time we saw each other, Violet, then why did you even bother to speak to us?” Rose complained, sharply "Or is it that she hasn't been in enough contact with Michael and Elisabeth lately to know what's happened lately?"Even though he didn't quite understand why, Aaron felt deeply satisfied to see h
"Oh Rose, I swear I could stay here all night talking to you." Beatrice commented and Aaron had to bite his tongue to say that he truly believed this, as they seemed to have been chatting away for ages “Too bad we still have a few guests to greet. But please leave some space on your calendar for the next few weeks so we can have afternoon tea together and talk more.”“Of course, Beatrice, I would love to.” Rose nodded and Aaron could see that her excitement was genuine.“I still can't understand how a curmudgeon like you managed to win over a young woman as nice as her, Aaron.” Alessandro teased, causing Rose and Aaron to instinctively exchange a look.“It is such a long story that we would certainly need to spend many, many nights here for me to tell it, I assure you.” Aaron forced a smile "Now, maybe it would be better..." he started to try to encourage them to pay attention to other guests, but a small noisy crowd nea
All his life, Aaron has been trained and taught to function under pressure, like every other Vamcap before him, so that there is no problem or unforeseen event that could rob him of his concentration and prevent him from working as hard as possible. However, at that moment, even knowing that his attention should be focused on the papers in his hands and the computer screen on his desk, he couldn't take his eyes away from the view that his office window provided at that moment.Outside, where the first flakes of snow had already managed to lay a white layer over the grass in the garden, were Rose and Alec, trying to gather as much snow as possible to make the base of what looked like a snowman. little crooked. And when he saw her realize that Alec had taken off his gloves and started to warm his hands between hers, while appearing to start a worried lecture, Aaron felt a sweet smile spread across his face, although he knew his little brother well enough to knowing that he had pr
I have to admit, this turned out better than I imagined...” Adele commented, tapping her finger against her chin slowly as she stared at the Christmas tree there in front of her, to which Rose and Andy were finishing adding the last details “ Of course, it could be a little bigger, as our ceiling allows it, but...”“But none of us could spend a week decorating a ten-foot-tall tree, Granny.” Andy chuckled, dangling one last colored ball from the lowest end of the pine tree “Besides, it's not like we left your favorite decorating company out of work this Christmas. They even decorated the rest of the house for us, but Rose had a great idea by suggesting we at least put up a tree ourselves this year. We haven't done this since…” she finished that thought, but just the way her expression fell and she bit her lip made Rose sure that Andy was thinking of her mother.“She would be very happy to see the good things this last y
With a weary sigh, Rose breathed in the cool breeze, standing on the small balcony off the Vamcaps' dining room, which was now completely empty and the long table clean, after Christmas dinner and the opening of presents. And although the day had been busy, as she needed to take care of Nick and also bake a few things, even though the Vamcaps had hired the entire state caterer to take care of supper, Rose was feeling more than satisfied with that perfect day, with the exception of Alec having been forced to visit his parents, of course.Outside, the snow had given a break, although everything around was covered in white and the lights of the city in the distance made up a very beautiful landscape, which Rose was now admiring alone. Alec, Grace and Adele had been in bed for a long time and Andy, Jullian and Aaron were probably about to go, although they had taken advantage of the occasion to drink some of the drinks from the Vamcaps' famous wine cellar, which Rose was a little s