"So... will you accept fully as your friend?" Leo asked, his deep voice low but carrying a strange seriousness, as if the words ant more than just friendship.
Bella, however, was too distracted. Her wide eyes sparkled as they road over the massive tree, the glowing lights, and the rows of plushies. Without missing a beat, she answered, "Of course, silly boy!!" Her tone was cheerful, careless, like she was answering a child asking for candy.
Leo’s brow twitched. He turned his face toward her, jaw tightening. "I am not a boy," he said, gritting his teeth, his gray eyes narrowing in a way that made the air feel denser.
Bella only tilted her head, not even looking at him as she muttered distractedly, "Okay... silly man," before she hurried closer to the shelves. Her soft hands reached out to touch one of the plushies, her lips curving in a dreamy smile as she whispered to herself about nas. "This one looks like Mr. Fluffy... that one... maybe Coco?"
Leo stood behind her, his frown deepening with every word she spoke to a stuffed toy instead of him. His gaze was sharp, his expression dark–he had brought her here to impress her, to earn her affection, yet here she was, falling in love with toys.
He shoved his hands into his pants pockets, watching her laugh softly to herself as she hugged a rabbit plush.
Perfect. Just perfect. he thought bitterly. He already had three rivals, oh what are those ugly plushes called, Moonbeam or Snowball or whatever, and now, because of his own foolish idea, he had given her an army of new rivals in the form of stuffed animals.
Bella climbed up the little staircase excitedly, her steps light as if she was a child discovering a secret hideout. She slipped into the hollow middle space of the tree, her small body curling up on the mound of pillows. Everything was so soft, so warm, so cozy that she almost wanted to close her eyes and drift into a dream right there.
"Leo!" she called out, her voice carrying that playful sweetness only she had.
Leo walked closer, his tall fra casting a shadow beneath the soft lights. He tilted his head up to look at her, his brows raised. "What?"
"Give both your hands," Bella said seriously from inside the hollow, her little face glowing with excitent.
He frowned slightly, confused, but still lifted his big hands toward her. Her tiny fingers reached out, wrapping around his much larger ones. Then, before he could ask anything, she leaned down and pressed the softest kisses on them, one after another, her lips warm and delicate against his skin.
"Thank you for such a pretty gift," she whispered, her doe eyes shimring like stars. "I love it."
Leo’s breath caught in his chest. He froze, staring up at her, lost completely. God. Was it even possible for a woman to be this cute? This gentle? His usually cold, guarded heart trembled as he watched her smile so purely at him.
A slow smile curved his lips. He gave a small nod, though his throat felt tight.
He didn’t even realize how much he had changed. Around her, he wasn’t the ruthless, feared Leo Moretti anymore. He was just a man...her man, who wanted to see her smile like this forever.
"Do you like it, or do you want to change sothing?" Leo asked, his deep voice calm but his eyes fixed on her, eager to see every flicker of her expression.
"No, no, it’s perfect!" Bella shook her head quickly, her curls bouncing, and then suddenly her eyes widened when she spotted sothing tucked neatly into the corner of the hollow space.
Her small hands grabbed it, and she tore the wrapping with the excitent of a child. "Cooool!!!" she gasped, hugging the little panda plushie to her chest. "Leo! Look, look, it’s sooo soft! Oh my god, it feels like a real baby panda!"
Leo’s lips curved upward, his chest warming as he watched her eyes sparkle. "You put more gifts?" she asked, her tone both accusing and thrilled at the sa ti, her cheeks puffed in disbelief.
He only gave a slow nod, his gray eyes drinking in the sight of her glowing face.
Bella squealed softly and scrambled out of the middle hollow, climbing like an eager squirrel to the upper space. Her skirt swished, and she almost slipped but quickly steadied herself with both hands. "WOW!" she exclaid, pulling another small wrapped box from the corner. She ripped it open with dramatic flair and gasped.
"Hairpins!! Fluffy, fluffy hairpins!!" she announced as if revealing treasure to the world. She clipped one onto her hair instantly, turning to show him with a grin. "Pretty, right? Am I pretty? Am I super pretty now??"
Leo huffed a laugh, shaking his head in disbelief, but his eyes softened as he murmured, "You’re already pretty without them."
Bella giggled, completely missing the heat in his voice, and hopped down again, landing with a little bounce. She poked around the lower hollow like a determined explorer.
"There has to be moooore—aha!" she sang, dragging out a third package. She tore it open and gasped so loudly Leo thought she might faint.
"Wow!!! A headset! A really, really pretty headset!!" she said, cradling it like it was made of diamonds. "Now I can listen to music while working, and no one will disturb , and maybe I will look like one of those cool people in movies... Leo, do you think I’ll look like that? Maybe I’ll look cooler than you!"
Leo raised a brow, leaning lazily against the tree as his lips curled into a dangerous smirk. "Little bunny, if you think you’ll ever look cooler than , then you really are dreaming."
Bella puffed her cheeks. "Hmph! Just you wait! With these fluffy pins and this headset, I’ll be unstoppable!!" she said dramatically, hugging the headset.
Leo’s deep chuckle rumbled in his chest, and for a mont, he couldn’t stop staring at her, his ridiculous, adorable little bunny.
He noticed how she looked more comfortable with him now, how her voice ca softer, super excited when she spoke to him. She was no longer shrinking away, no longer treating him like a stranger.
And it hit him with a rush he couldn’t ignore. A sense of achievent.
It felt too good.
Damn good.
The fact that she was opening up, that she was trusting him, made his chest burn with a dark satisfaction. She didn’t even realize what she was doing to him—how her smile, her softness, her little gestures pulled him deeper, chained him tighter.
He let his eyes drink in her glowing face. Yes, keep looking at like that, he thought, keep talking to as if I am the only one who matters. Maybe she liked him more now. Maybe she liked him more than Jay and even more than her precious best friend Scarlett. The thought slid through him like a fla. Satisfaction unfurled and spread, slow and consuming, filling every corner of his chest until he felt almost dazed with it.
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