vulnerable

55.

a/n: another filler chap I'm sorry guys lol. I haven't been in a big mood for writing lately but I hope you guys will still enjoy! I'm thinking after Gio's book is finished, I might start a Reece James one! If you guys have any suggestions let me know lol. Thank you!

Stella stood in the kitchen with Carolina. The youngest Reyna perched herself on the granite countertop. Her growing legs dangled close to the lower cabinets. The dark brown hair that was almost identical to Gio's, was starting to fade into a soft caramel.

She was already dressed for the day with a pair of light-washed skinny jeans, a black tee shirt that had a tie dye peace sign printed on it, and a pair of white converse. She was scrolling through TikTok on her phone. She had an older model iPhone, probably passed down from Joah.

Stella was dressed too- in a summery dress that cascaded over her curves. It was a beautiful yellow, like a sunflower, with small white flowers for design down the fabric. The sleeves made her feel like royalty. The way they fluttered like a butterfly. Stella had made sure to straighten her hair, so the frizz was at a minimum. She put a touch of makeup on to brighten her features.

The boys had yet to come out of the master bedroom. They were either still sleeping or barely awake for interaction. Stella didn't mind though. She enjoyed her time with Carolina. The two of them had decided to make breakfast- though Stella was cooking, but the youngest Reyna was good moral support.

"How much longer until Hannah's wedding?" Carolina suddenly asked, looking up from her phone.

Stella glanced into her doe eyes, still multitasking with the pancake batter. The skillet sizzled as she poured some on. "It's about a month away."

"Still!?" Carolina groaned. She set her phone screen down on the counter. "What's taking so long?"

Stella chuckled, flipping over the golden pancake. "It takes awhile to plan weddings, you know. And your cousin did it so fast! But, she still has to wait for the venue. Other people tend to get married in the summertime too."

Carolina cocked her head to the side. "Is she in Hawaii?"

"Mhm." Stella added the perfect pancake to the stack of ten. She just needed to make two more and they'd be set for three cakes each. "She got there yesterday."

"Hunter too?"

"Yep. Hunter too." Stella noticed her comment came out more like a sigh. She quickly threw on a smile for the girl watching and nodded towards the fridge. "Can you bring me the strawberries?"

Carolina hopped off the counter with a thud and made her way to the fridge. In a matter of seconds, she was back with the bright red berries. They were Stella's favorite. Carolina got back into her position and crossed her arms. "Am I allowed to go to the bachelorette party?"

"Do you know what a bachelorette party is?" Stella tried not to giggle.

Carolina smacked Stella on the shoulder. "I'm not thaaaat young anymore! I know what it is!"

"Tell me."

"It's when the soon-to-be-bride goes out with her friends and they drink a lot of alcohol and sit on random guy's laps."

Stella nearly dropped the plastic container of fruit on the floor. She stared at the youngest Reyna with her mouth agape. She was sure her face was the same color as the strawberries. "Caro! How do you know that? Not that it's true..."

Carolina shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "I asked Joah."

Stella deadpanned, mentally reminding herself to grab Joah by the neck, like Katniss did to Peeta. She rolled her coffee brown eyes, carefully placing the strawberries on the cutting board. "First of all, I think you answered your own question. Second of all, Joah shouldn't of told you that. And third, technically it isn't always the case."