But Ana’s crying wouldn’t stop and I could tell it was worrying Rose.
“Let me see her,” she said.
“I’ve got this. You just sit back.”
“Camillo, let me—”
“Daddy,” Ana said.
My ears perked up the moment the word fell from Ana’s lips. Rose whipped her head over with wide eyes and even the boys looked up from their gaming systems to take in what had just happened.
“What was that, princess?” I asked.
“Daddy, look at the clouds.”
Ana was pointing out the window while her small little hands clung to me. Rose’s eyes were filling with tears while the boys had massive smiles on their faces. My heart soared with joy at the word that had just come from my daughter’s beautiful lips. I opened my window shade to show her everything outside while Rose kept her eyes trained on us.
But just as soon as the beautiful moment happened, it faded away as Ana’s sniffling and crying began once again.
“She’s tired,” Rose said.
“Then I’ve got the perfect remedy for that.”
I stood up and made my way to the back of the jet. I opened the door leading into the bedroom. Rose craned her neck back, taking in the sheer size of everything as I lay down on the bed. Ana wiggled underneath the covers and quickly moved toward me, her small body sinking into the crook of my arm while her head rested on my bicep.
Suddenly, I felt a presence at my back. I felt a warm pair of lips press a kiss to my neck before the figure rounded the bed and slid in. Rose’s eyes glistened with tears as she slid in next to our daughter, her arm wrapping around the small girl’s frame while Ana slipped off into her beautiful little slumber.
I lay there, my eyes studying how tired Rose looked, and held them both while they slowly drifted off to sleep.
I watched them, taking in the beauty of it all as their light snores slowly filled the room. Ana turned and gravitated toward her mother while my fingertips ran through Rose’s soft curls. I watched my beautiful songbird wrap her entire body around her daughter, protecting her even in sleep, and pride welled in my chest.
Not only was the mother of my child beautiful, innocent, and sweet; she was also devoted, protective, and fierce.
Suddenly, a sound pulled me from my reverie. There was a loud thump and the boys called out. Then, I heard the rush of footsteps falling quickly in the main part of the airplane. I jumped up and strode out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind me and closing off the bedroom in order to save Rose and Ana in their vulnerable states.
But the moment my eyes landed on Cassie, with her arms around both the boys, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m sorry, but knowing my family’s in danger, I can’t just go to New York,” she said.
I saw Cassie through a different set of eyes in that moment and I nodded my head while the boys continued to hug her tightly.
“Very well,” I said. “Does Crystal know?”
“She’ll figure it out.”
“Make yourself comfortable,” I said. “Rose and Ana are sleeping, and we should be taking off any second.”
“Any chance I can know where we’re heading?” she asked.
“In time,” I said.
“You’re a pretty cryptic dude,” she said.
“I try my best.”
“What’ll happen when we land?” she asked as she sat down.
“There’s a helicopter that’ll take us to our final destination,” I said.
“Any chance there’ll be wine at this final destination?”
“As much as you want,” I said, grinning.
I picked up her suitcase and tossed it into the overhead compartment as she buckled herself in. The pilot came aboard and talked to me for a few seconds, letting me know the jet was ready for takeoff. I gave the go ahead and got the boys buckled in before I went into the room to keep an eye on Rose and Ana.
The ascent would jostle them quite a bit and I wanted to make sure they stayed asleep.
Once we reached cruising altitude, the stewardess came in and distributed a menu. Cassie was excited about the prospect of enjoying champagne on this plane ride, but I could tell the boys were confused by the menu. Almost everything was in Italian, so I knelt down and translated everything for them. They crinkled their noses at most of the food descriptions I was giving.
“I’ll have a glass of champagne and the linguini with clam sauce,” Cassie said.
“Wonderful choice. I’ll get it cooking. For you, Mr. Moretti?”
“Just some water and a small helping of carbonara, please,” I said. “Boys, how do you feel about cheese, crackers, grapes, and juice?”
“Is there apple juice?” Kevin asked.
“Yes, there is,” the stewardess said, smiling.
“Then that sounds awesome!” Kevin exclaimed.
“Junior?” I asked.
“Orange juice?” he asked.
“We’ve got that, too,” the stewardess said. “I’ll get to work on everything.”