Protettore.

Chapter 15.

Nora's POV

Fiero set things up so the passenger seat was pushed all the way back, that way Tank could sit up front with me. I was tugging at the sleeves of my sweater. I logically knew there was no reason for me to be afraid of Fiero, but I couldn't help but be a bit nervous. I've never been around him without Enzo. Enzo had yelled at me today. He'd never done that before. Maybe some space was a good thing.

Before I knew it, we were at his home and Rosie was waiting for us at the front door.

"Oh, my sweet girl!" she cried out pulling me into her ample chest. "We're going to have such a fun day today! We're going to bake a cake and open presents and it's going to be so much fun!"

"That sounds nice Rosie." I smiled in spite of myself. Her energy was infectious.

"It'll be a much nicer visit than your last one anyways." She continued. I supposed she was referring to the time I got shot and she had to stitch me back up. I wouldn't call it a visit, but I wasn't going to say anything.

"Go easy on her babe." Fiero chuckled ruffling my hair and pressing a kiss to Rosie's forehead.

She led me through the house into the kitchen where she had set out bowls, whisks and ingredients for the cake.

"Fiero, go get started on decorating the dining room!" she said bossily. Fiero gave a sarcastic salute and she shoved at him playfully. I watched them closely as he caught her around the waist and pulled her body close to his for a kiss.

It was a simple kiss. It wasn't full of passion or fire. It was short and sweet and full of love. When the kiss ended, Rosie pushed Fiero from the room then rounded on me with her hands on her hips. "Now let's get to work. There's lots to be done missy." She beamed at me.

Tank stayed glued to my side the whole time we moved around the kitchen, following a recipe for a browned butter peach cake with cream cheese cinnamon frosting. She promised I would like it.

"How did you two meet each other?" I asked, nodding towards the door that led to the dining room where Fiero was. The smile that bloomed across her face made her so beautiful. There was no hiding the love they had for each other.

"I was a physician's assistant once upon a time." She began. "I was young and fresh out of school. I was so eager to start working and start taking care of real patients. On my very first day, Fiero came in with a gunshot wound to the stomach. He was so pale and cold." She grimaced at the memory.

"That sounds like a rough first day." I commented, imagining poor Rosie young and unexperienced, flustered on her first day on the job.

"Yeah, no kidding." She snorted. "Anyways, we got him all patched up. I stayed late that night because I wanted to make sure he was okay. He was my first patient and I felt responsible for him. When he woke up, mine was the first face he saw, and he said I was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen." I smiled at that. You'd have to be blind to not see Rosie's beauty.

"So, was it love at first sight?" I questioned. Even though most of my childhood memories were in my uncle's home, I still remembered my parents. My father used to whisk my mother up and twirl her around the kitchen. I remembered how she would laugh, and I could still hear the sound of their shoes as they waltzed across the linoleum floors. Even through all of my issues, I had no doubt in my mind that love was real because I had witnessed it first-hand in them.

She put the two cake pans in the over and set the timer on the microwave. "I wouldn't say love at first sight, but if you asked Fiero I'm sure he would say he fell in love right away." She rolled her eyes. "When we met, I was dating someone. That wouldn't stop him though. He would come into the office with fake injuries like a sprained ankle or heart ache." She and I shared a laugh over this.

"I knew there was a connection between us, but I wasn't in a position to leave my boyfriend at the time. He wasn't a good man." The kitchen's warmth was replaced tension now.

"Did he hurt you?" I asked quietly. She nodded and I knew all too well what kind of hurt she went through.

"How did you get away?" I was breathless. I knew the story had a happy ending, but Rosie was such a vibrant and happy person, I never would have thought she had gone through something so dark.

"I was trapped with that man for so long, it felt like I wouldn't ever get away." She admitted. "It wasn't until Fiero had come back into the office with another fake injury, but I wasn't there to see him. That had never happened before. He got worried and did some digging around. He found out where I lived and thank God my boyfriend had been at work when he showed up on my doorstep. I had called in sick to work because I didn't want anyone to see my black eye."

I placed my hand over Rosie's where it laid on the counter and she squeezed it gratefully.

"Fiero was so angry, and at first I was frightened of him, but he promised me I always had a safe place with him. He told me he loved me, and he could take me away from all of the hurt. We packed my bags up and moved me out of the house that same day."

"How could you trust him so easily?" I had been living with Enzo for months now and I still struggled with trusting him fully. Rosie had only known Fiero through his fake doctor's appointments.

"I just knew in my heart that Fiero was something special. When he said he loved me, I knew he meant it and I when he said he'd keep me safe, I knew he meant that too." She said so simply, it made sense.

"I'm not saying we didn't have bad days, and I'm not saying I was able to overcome the abuse right away, but when I let him in fully, he helped me become stronger. He helped me realize I was more than what my abuser made me feel I was...and so are you." Her gaze was so intense I had to look away. The kitchen timer went off and Rosie took the pans out of the oven and placed them on the cooling rack.

"I'm working on it." I muttered. I knew she didn't mean to be hurtful, but sometimes I felt like no one saw how much I had to push myself to be around anyone at all.

"I know you are honey." She gave my shoulders a little squeeze. "Trust me, I know."