"Hey, neighbor!" Annalisa stands on the front steps of our new home, smiling ear to ear. Well, it's new to me, Lucy, Miles, and Kai, but the other kids are happy to be back in the home they lived in before moving into JP's Villa.

I look behind her and see Joey is climbing out of the car with a scowl on his face.

"At least wait until I park the damn car, Anna!" He yells over to her.

She waves him off before engulfing me in a big hug as I laugh. "Annalisa, you did not get out of a moving car, did you?" I scold her with a smile on my face.

"It wasn't 'moving'; it was more like slowly creeping to a stop," She tells me with a chuckle. "I couldn't help it! I was too excited. Can you believe we're neighbors? We can have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, whenever we want!"

"Yes, because we don't do that enough as it is," Joey rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, well, now it can just be us gals," Annalisa taps his nose before kissing him. She turns back to me, "Are you all unpacked? I want a tour of the house!" She jumps up and down.

"We literally just walked in," I laugh, "So, the tour will be just as new to me as it is to you."

Marco and Carmen take us around the huge home. It's not massive like the Villa, but it's just as big as Timo's old house. However, the style is decorated more like a home versus Timo's museum-like fortress. I assume it has a lot of Melanie's or Isabella's touch involved.

A large deck extends to the whole back of the house that leads into a pool area with a bar that sits against the pool itself. There's a waterslide and a hot tub. The vast backyard overlooks out into part of the city. And there's a small pond near the edge of the property.

The kids have their own rooms, including Miles, Kai, and Lucy. The bigger kids' rooms each have their bathrooms as well.

Lucy, Miles, and Kai talk excitedly about their rooms as we walk throughout the house. Then Marco show's me where Melanie's room was. "I don't want to take your mom's room. I'm sure there are other rooms to choose from."

"You can take JP's old room. Since he won't be living here," Marco says and leads us down the hall to the other master suite. I stop when I walk in and see an enlarged portrait of me, well, a few of them, that are hanging on one wall. I'm either laughing or smiling in them, taken while I was in bed, tangled in the sheets.

"Wow, these are beautiful, Stella," Annalisa says as she walks towards them.

I walk over to a tall dresser, and my eyes fill with tears when I see a framed photo of one of the ultrasound pictures of my baby. The charm bracelet JP had given me with the word "Sempre" is hanging off one of the frame's corners.

I pick it up carefully and run my finger over the lettering. I wipe my face and tuck the bracelet in my pocket.

The picture board I had hanging in my room in Timo's house is also in here and sits on another wall near the massive walk-in closet. As I look over the pictures, I see several are taped back together. I run my fingers over them, remembering I had torn and ripped so many the night I left Timo's house.

JP took the time to put them back together.

Sean whistles when he walks in, and I hurriedly wipe my eyes. "This room has a killer view." He walks in further, then stops when he sees the pictures of me on the wall.

"Obsessive much," he mutters, walking towards the balcony doors opening them; the room looks over the back part of the house.

I walk into the closet and see many of my old clothes and shoes are hanging or stored in there. I run my fingers through many dresses and shirts I remember buying and wearing. On the other side are several of JP's clothes, suits and then I see his old Columbia sweatshirt.

"Do you want to look at the other rooms?" Marco asks from the bedroom, and I rush out to answer him.

"Maybe later; what is everyone else doing?" I walk out of the room, trying to focus instead of being stuck in the memories of the past.

"Kai and Miles wanted to check out the gym, Lucy and Carmen are probably outside, and Lola and Toby are with Isabella," Marco tells me.

"Well, the house is gorgeous." Annalisa comments, "How long did you guys live here before you moved into the Villa."

"Only for about six months, it took JP a year a half to get it finished because he had to travel back and forth from Italy. Mom didn't want to move in at first because the home was meant for you; when he found you," Marco looks over at me, "but JP told mom you would have loved living together," he smiles.

"JP built this?" I ask, shocked as we make it down to the main floor again.

"Yeah, he took a long time designing it and started the construction alone, but he had help towards the end," Marco ruffles his air. "He wanted to do most of it himself but then realized it'd take him too long, so he outsourced some of it to get it done faster in the end."

"Sounds like JP, trying to take on too much," Joey says to himself as he looks around the house and focuses on the ceiling and different structures of the house.

The doorbell rings and Marco walks to open the door.

"Honey, I'm home!" Enzo announces as he walks in with a bag and Mateo and Topo follow behind; Nicky and a few other men come behind them, too.

"My room better have its bathroom, 'cause I ain't sharing," Enzo tells me.

I laugh, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?" I ask them.

"Well, I--we--" he gestures to himself, Topo, and Mateo. "are here on behalf of Cristian's orders and because I was already coming."

"These bozo's think they're here to protect you," Enzo says, "according to JP's orders." He uses air quotes to talk about the men JP sent over as security details. Nicky scowls at Enzo as he shakes his head.

Enzo sees Sean and greets him, "Hey, Wyclef Sean!" I burst out laughing at the look of annoyance on Sean's face.

"Oh, come on, you should be more than used to it by now," I tell Sean.

"So, what is the plan tonight?" Enzo says, "I was thinking, barbecue out by the pool? And I volunteer Topo as grillmaster since Mateo burns everything," Mateo rolls his eyes while Topo nods his head smiling.

"Sounds good to me!" I chuckle. "The kids will love it."

"We're staying then!" Annalisa claps enthusiastically, "what can I bring or help with?"

We head to the kitchen while Marco shows them where the bedrooms are. Then, Annalisa, Sean, and I start working on different sides to have at the barbecue.

After the guys put away their things, Mateo, Joey, and Topo head to the store to get the different meats, they'll be cooking. Enzo walks in, and I smack his hand away as he attempts to grab one of the deviled eggs I just finished making.

He frowns at me, making me laugh. "Not yet, Mr."

"But I'm starving!" He whines. "Just one, please?"

"Fine, but if I see you take more than one. I'm going to throw you in the pool," I warn him.

Enzo laughs, "yeah right," He reaches for one but then swipes three and runs out onto the terrace, laughing his head off.

Isabella walks in with Toby, and the rest of the kids follow. Everyone is dressed in a swimsuit and have towels in hand.

"I guess that's my cue; I better go home and get changed," Annalisa says as she dries her hands. I tell her to take one of the guys with her since Joey isn't here.

"We weren't sure if you were staying but here are some extra swim trunks," Kai holds out a swimsuit to Sean.

"Thanks, Kai," He fist bumps him before taking them and heads out to change.

I head to get dressed, and I wonder if JP happened to pack up my old swimsuits by chance. So I make my way back up to his bedroom and start going through some of the drawers. The first dresser is full of his clothes. I found some of my underclothes in the second tall dresser, and then I come to a drawer with my swimsuits.

I change out of my clothes, and then I head to the closet before I head back downstairs. I hear music coming from the back patio and see Topo, Mateo, and Joey have returned now, too.

Topo is setting up the grill while the kids are already in the pool playing and splashing each other.

"I have to say this color looks amazing on you, Stels," Sean says from behind me.

I'm wearing a bright coral color; I never got to wear it, but it was one that Annalisa had picked out when we went to California.

"Thank you."

Sean leans in and kisses me softly. "Sean, this is the opposite of the whole space thing."

"I can't help it, but fine, last one," He kisses me again.

"There are children present," Enzo's voice interrupts us.

"Yes, you being one of them," Sean mutters as he moves away from me.

"Let's get this party started!" Enzo picks me up, and I scream as he throws me into the pool. I come out of the water to see Enzo and Sean wrestling each other. I laugh as I see them both fall into the pool.

We spend some time in the pool before Mateo announces the food is ready. Then, Annalisa and I hop out of the pool and dry off to get the rest of the food to set out, and the kids come and help bring drinks and plates.

I'm glad I brought something to cover up since the breeze makes it chilly with a now wet swimming suit.

"Something from your college days?" Sean questions looking at the sweater as I sit next to him; I nod, chewing through my food even though it's JP's and still smells like him.

"Mmm, see, I told you, Topo is the grill master," Enzo says around a mouthful of his burger. He gestures a chef's kiss complimenting Topo's barbecuing skills.

"Your tiny baby bump is freaking adorable, Annalisa!" I gush as she walks by me. She laughs as she sits on Joey's lap.

"More like the sexiest thing ever," Joey wraps his arms around her and caresses the small bump on her lower abdomen.

"You say that now until I get so big, I won't be able to tie my shoes," She responds as she feeds Joey some fruit.

"I'm sure Joey won't mind helping you get dressed. That's what a good husband should do, in my opinion," Enzo says, taking a long drink of his beer. "It is his fault anyway."

I laugh loudly. "I think it was a two-way thing, Enzo."

Enzo shrugs, "I wouldn't put it past Joey to poke holes in his condoms, to trap Anna into marrying him." He winks at Annalisa while Joey scowls back at him, and we all laugh.

Joey picks up a piece of watermelon and throws it at Enzo, who catches it in his mouth, laughing. "Thanks; how about some cantaloupe next, Joe."

"You know what we need? A rematch of the chicken fight between Stella and Annalisa," Joey announces.

"Is that a good idea?" I raise my eyebrows.

"I won't let anything happen to her," Joey assures me.

"I want in, so Carmen, you're with me, girl," Enzo stands up, and Carmen's eyes widen. "We can go against Lucy and Marco."

"I don't know how to play," Carmen tries to resist.

"I'll do it!" Lola jumps from her chair. "You just have to try to knock the other person down, right?"

"You're too, little," Carmen tells her, then turns to Enzo, "I'll do it."

We get in the pool, and Miles and Kai officiate the chicken fight between us. I can hear Carmen squealing and Lucy laughing as they try to get each other off of either Marco or Enzo's shoulders. Annalisa and I struggle and end up laughing as we both end up falling into the water.

"That was so fun; let's do it again!" Carmen exclaims, and Enzo lifts her on his shoulders, and they begin fighting against Marco and Lucy again.

"I thought you almost had Annalisa at the end, Stels," Sean says as he lifts me on the edge of the pool.

"I always end up laughing, that's my weakness, and she knows it." My mom hands me Toby, and I play with him the shallow end of the pool until he tells me he's too cold.

After I dry him off, I hold him on my lap and feed him some of the food we still have out. I look over the scene and smile as I watch everyone interacting, laughing, and enjoying the night together, but I can't help feeling like we are missing someone, and I know it's JP.

Toby starts nodding off on me, and my mom tells me she'll take him to bed; then, I begin to clean up around the tables.

"Stels, come back in the pool," Sean says as I walk by him.

"Nah, I think I'm done getting wet."

"Come one, don't be a Debbie downer," Sean says as he climbs out of the pool.

"I'm not; I just want to hang out and relax."

Sean grabs my wrist, and I see the mischievous look in his eyes. "Don't you dare, Sean."

His smirk breaks into a full-blown grin.

"No, Sean, at least let me take the sweatshirt off; I don't want to ruin it---"

I'm cut off as he lifts me quickly and throws me in the pool.

I come out sputtering, gasping for air, and furious. I climb out and shove Sean, who's laughing.

"Dammit, Sean! You could have let me take it off first!"

He looks at me for a moment, realizing I'm mad, "What's the big deal? It's just a sweater, Stels."

"No, it's not just a sweater, Sean." I look down and see the chlorine is already affecting the color, but what upsets me more is knowing his scent is gone.

"I'm sorry, alright," Sean says as he reaches out for my arm, but I shove him away.

"You never listen, Sean!" The chlorine is burning my eyes, but maybe it's tears, "I told you I need space, and you ignore me, I told you I didn't want to get in the pool or at least let me take the hoodie off, and you ruined my favorite sweater; you always do what you want!" And then I hear Lola squeal.

"JP! You're here!" Lola screams, and I turn and see John Paul, Adonis, and Santino standing at the deck entrance, talking with Mateo and Topo. Even though his aviators are dark, I know JP's eyes are on Sean and me.

"Come get in the pool with me, JP," Lola runs up to him, and he picks her up. I wring out as much of the excess water as I can before walking over to them.

"Another time, Lolabug. I just picked up a few of my things, but I'll see you tomorrow," JP tells her as he kisses her cheek, then sets her down.

"You guys can join us; there's plenty of food," I tell them, gesturing to the table. Santino heads over to the food table and starts making himself a plate while I excuse myself to change out of the wet clothes.

When I walk into JP's room, I pull the sweater off and set it in the sink in the bathroom, and walk out to grab some clothes to change into, but I notice the enlarged photos of me are gone now. I look over at the dresser, and the ultrasound picture is not sitting on top anymore.

I walk to the closet, and all of his things are gone, too. And I begin crying; I wrap my arms around myself and sit down on the floor of the closet, and sob.

I don't know how long I laid there crying, but then I hear my name. "Stella?"

I sit up and wipe my eyes. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" Annalisa asks.

"Yeah, I'm just going to jump into the shower, and I'll be out soon," I tell her.

"Okay, I'll let everyone know. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Thanks, Anna."

When I head back out to the terrace, JP and Sean are gone. The kids are making smores with Enzo and Santino around a fire pit. Anna and Joey are on the hammock that Kai and Miles had set up earlier.

"Are you okay, Stellina mia?" My mom wraps her arm around my shoulders and pulls me in close.

"No, but I will be," I smile at her.

I know what I want.

Even though I'm still scared, I know I can't be without JP. If I know nothing else, it's that I love him.

I always have, and I always will.