The Rocchetti Queen - Bree Porter Page 0,73

us on the ground.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” I laughed, batting away his hands gently. “Do you want to help your mother?”

“No,” he said.

“I’ll help you, Mama,” Dante said, going to get the ingredients.

“Thank you, baby.”

As soon as he saw that his big brother was helping, Enzo decided he wanted to as well. I helped him down from the counter chair so he didn’t break his neck. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he ran off after Dante, disappearing into the pantry.

Caterina and Pia came around into the kitchen.

“Pancakes!” Pia sang, jumping like a frog over the tiles. “Pancakes!”

“What do you girls want on your pancakes?”

“Maple syrup,” Caterina replied.

Pia copied her sister, yelling “Syrup!” at the top of her lungs.

I smoothed down her curls, laughing. “That’s so unhealthy! You don’t want any fruit?”

“Nope!” Pia cried.

Caterina nodded. “Okay, Mama.”

Pia changed her attitude quickly. “Nana?”

“Yes, you can have banana.”

The boys came out of the pantry. Enzo was holding the flour, while Dante had everything else. Somehow, some flour had gotten onto Enzo’s face and hair.

“Oh, my boy, how did this happen?” I licked my thumb and wiped at his cheeks. He darted away, but not before Caterina quickly grabbed the flour from him.

“I don’t know, Mama,” Dante said. “I turned around and he was covered.”

“It’s not your fault, baby.” I smoothed down my eldest’s hair as well. I clasped my hands together, overseeing my four children. “Okay, my babies, who wants to help me with the batter?”

Dante and Caterina helped the most, while the two little ones grew bored eventually. They took off, giggling manically.

“Don’t wake up your father!” I called after them.

Enzo laughed in such a way that I knew they were beelining for our bedroom. It was him laughing back at me that stopped him from seeing his father’s legs, colliding straight into them.

“You’re awake,” I laughed.

Alessandro scooped Enzo up, swinging him around like a monkey. “It’s not even eight and my boy is already causing trouble!”

Enzo laughed in his father’s arms. Even as a newborn, he had loved being thrown around (gently) by Alessandro. None of my other children had cared for it.

Alessandro hooked him over his shoulder. “Oh, now, where has he gone?”

Enzo was laughing so hard it took him a minute to say, “Here, Daddy!”

My husband made a show of finding him, swinging him back around. When he put him back on the ground, Enzo whined.

“Lay the table and then I’ll swing you around some more,” Alessandro instructed.

Enzo ran off to me, searching for the plates.

“Morning, Daddy,” Caterina said.

Alessandro greeted our two eldest children, ruffling Dante’s hair and giving Caterina a kiss on her forehead. “Good job for helping your mother,” he told them both.

Both of them brightened at his approval.

I rolled my eyes but let Alessandro take me into his arms, kissing him softly on the lips.

“You didn’t wake me,” he said.

“I was trying to let you sleep in, but unfortunately, your children had other plans.”

Alessandro’s eyes gleamed. “Speaking of my children, I am missing one.”

Like she knew we were talking about her, Pia came giggling into the kitchen. She had on one shoe.

“Daddy!”

Alessandro scooped her up. “Oh, my girl! Why do you have on a shoe? Are you going somewhere?”

She laughed.

“Come on. Let’s help your brother lay the table.”

Soon, I was placing pancakes down into the middle of the dining table. All my children instantly dug in; their grabby fingers stretched out.

“There is enough for everybody,” I said when Enzo tried to take an entire pint of orange juice. “Don’t be greedy.”

When Enzo didn’t stop, Alessandro said his name warningly. Instantly, our four-year old froze.

“Incredible,” I muttered, taking my seat.

“What do you kids say?” Alessandro asked.

Instantly, all of them were saying, “Thank you, Mama.” Pia even blew me a kiss, making me laugh.

“Thank you, my babies. Now, what does everyone have planned for today?”

Dante looked to Alessandro. “Dad’s taking Raffaele, Adriano and I to the circuit.”

My husband nodded. “Until lunchtime.”

Then Alessandro had to go to work. There was a drug shipment coming in at 2, which Alessandro had to oversee. It was from a new supplier of ours, so my husband was being extra critical.

“Daddy,” Cat piped up, “can I go with Nonno to Evanston?”

Alessandro met my eyes across the table, eyebrows raised. I nodded. “That’s fine, darling.”

She brightened. “Thank you, Daddy.”

His features softened. Alessandro had a soft spot for both his daughters, especially his first daughter. Whereas I was a bit softer on the boys, Alessandro had always been more lenient on the