33.2 Katerina

The night went by quickly and before I knew it, I was already getting Savannah ready for bed and Hayden had gone to his room to do homework while Alex stayed downstairs with Marcus talking and learning more about his parents. Once I had laid Savannah down after giving her her bottle and she had fallen asleep, I headed back towards the stairs where I heard Marcus saying.

"Don't ever think of yourself as anything else than perfect because to your parents and to those who love you" he looked in my direction and Alex followed his eyes I smiled as I leaned against the wall giving him a small smile before Marcus continued with, "to your family you are perfect."

"God I wish my parents were alive." I heard Alex whisper and the older male gave his cheek a gentle tap before he pulled his hand away.

"Don't we all? If they were alive they'd be teasing me about becoming a realtor since they knew it wasn't something I would ever do" he said with a chuckle as he sat back against the headrest of the sofa and from here I could tell that he was becoming field and Alex noticed too as he stood up and grabbed the empty wine glasses and bottle before handing them to me once I had reached them before taking the items away to the kitchen and placing them in the sink for the morning.

"Easy does it, "I heard Alex say as I walked back into the living room to see him helping Marcus to his feet making the older male stumble as he helped him towards the stairs.

"I already got the guest room ready," I said when I joined Alex in helping Marcus up the stairs and Alex gave me a grateful smile.

"Alessandro and Valentina would have loved you," Marcus muttered looking at me with a small sad smile which she returned.

"I would've loved them too" I replied as we struggled to carry a very drunk realtor down the hall towards his room. As we made our way down the dimly lit hall, I could see light coming from Hayden's room but it was to be expected since that kid doesn't go to bed until 3 in the morning on the weekends.

"You got him?" I asked when we entered the first room that was three doors away from ours before walking in and pulling the blankets back before I helped Alex lay Marcus down on the bed.

"Why does God always take the good ones?" He asked as he stared at the ceiling and Alex looked over at me who gave a small smile.

"We don't know, Marcus" He murmured, "get some rest."

"You're just like your father, Alexander" he commented looking at me with a smile though I could see the pain in his eyes as he said those words, "always looking after his friends" He fell asleep as soon as those words left his lips and I swallowed the knot in my throat as I helped take his shoes off before pulling the covers over him. He muttered something under his breath but it wasn't clear so Kat and I decided to head to bed since it was now past midnight already. We looked inside the nursery and smiled as Savanah was fast asleep in her crib then tapped on Hayden's door and he opened it poking his head out.

"Bed, now," I said giving him a pointed look and he gave me a kiss on the cheek while he gave Alex a small wave before going back into the room and closing the door behind him.

"Did you learn anything new about your parents?" I asked as I climbed into the bed while Alex made his way into the closet before he came out with a pair of checkered pants and a gray t-shirt before changing out of his suit and tie. 

"My dad used a cheesy pick-up line to woo my mother," He said and I smiled resting my head on his chest once he had climbed in beside me and pressed a kiss to my temple.

"Yeah what kind of pick-up line did he use?"I asked making him chuckle.

"He said and I quote 'You must be an interior decorator because when you walked in the room was suddenly beautiful and perfect!'"

"Awe that's actually so sweet" I awed making Alex chuckle.

"It sure is since he got the girl," he said and I hummed.

"And a perfect son as well" I added and looked up and when he looked down he leaned forward pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

"And you are their daughter-in-law" he whispered making me smile.

"Love you" I whispered as I pressed a kiss to the center of his chest where his heart rested.

"I love you too" he murmured holding me impossibly close and I knew he was afraid that we would go through the same as his parents had gone through and so I wrapped my arm around his waist in a silent promise that I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I felt his lips on my head as I let sleep take over.