Saturday, July 1st, 2023

Kam's POV

I almost choked on my water when my dad said he wants to start dating.

"Noeli and Kami, I know you are surprised. But, no one I date will ever replace your mom. I thought the company of a woman would be nice."

"Dad, we can't fault you for wanting companionship. So, since you are going to start dating, do Noeli and I get to grill your dates?" Cris and Marco started snickering. Noeli and I arched our eyebrows while throwing our hands on our hips.

Noeli added, "Yeah dad. We want to make sure whoever you date is good enough."

My dad sat quietly, pondering his answer. The kids were chuckling because of Cris and Marco.

"Okay, okay. But, don't be too hard, especially you Kami."

"And, why not? Dad, you made Cris stutter and nervous."

"Hey, I certainly was......"

I cut Cris off, "You certainly were. I saw it when you took me to that diabetic-friendly restaurant. And, I saw it on the day you asked me to be your girlfriend. Marco wasn't nervous."

"Okay, okay. You got me. I had every reason to be nervous, but I got who I wanted, didn't I?"

"You sure did. And, so did I. I'm sure Trevor doesn't want to hear about our love lives, so let's talk about something else."

Cris' POV

"Sorry about that."

"That's okay, Mr. Fiore. How often would you like me to guard your wife?"

"Please, call me Cris. For now, Monday - Friday while she is at the daycare center, we have next door to us. I'm sure you have a family, so I don't want to take away your time from that."

"I'm a single father, but my parents help me raise my daughter while I am away from her."

"Mr. Trevor, you have a daughter?" Isabella asked.

"I sure do. She is as pretty as you. Her name is Sydney. She is 5 years old."

"Just like me," Isabella added.

"Trevor, if you would like to, Sydney is welcome to come to the center. We have plenty of activities for the kids. Just let Kamea know about any allergies she may have or any medicines she may take."

"We would love to have Sydney join us. It's not a problem at all. You can bring her over Monday," Kamea added too.

"Thank you, Mr. & Mrs. Fiore. I appreciate that very much. There are not many kids her age in my neighborhood. This will be a great opportunity for her to make friends."

"You're welcome. And, please call me Kam. Bella baby, let's go join the other kids." Kamea and Isabella walked away.

"Now that Kamea walked away, I wanted to ask for your help in surprising her. I want to have a belated 5th-anniversary party."

"Cris, that is an excellent idea. But you know how hard it is to surprise Kam."

"Noeli, I sure do. But we have to try."

"Okay, where are you planning to hold the party?" Kalani asked.

"I definitely want to wait until after Bliss gives birth to the twins, so sometime in December. Kamea and Bliss are definitely going to want to dance together."

"Cris, how about at a hotel?" Marco suggested.

"Okay, is it going to be family only?" Noeli asked.

"That's what I was thinking."

"So, how about the back yard. You can give a company an idea of how you want the yard set up. And, don't forget a dance floor."

"That's an idea."

"Don't worry about Kami, Cris. Noeli, Bliss, Layla and I will take care of her."

"Okay. I'll start on a layout and call companies now. As for food, I was thinking Italian and Hawaiian."

"The restaurant can take care of the Hawaiian. I'll go ahead and put your name on the catering calendar. Just let me know the date."

"Thank you, Kalani. Here come Kamea and the kids out of the pool."

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Narrator's POV

Everyone enjoyed the rest of the evening. Once Kamea went to take the kids to bed, Cris and the gang continued to plan the anniversary party. They picked a date of November 25th.

Cris, Kalani, and Marco cleaned off the patio table, then made their way inside.

Meanwhile, Trevor made it home to spend time with his daughter. He told her, along with his parents about Sydney going to daycare. His parents were sad but knew this would be a perfect opportunity for Sydney to make friends. She was really excited and couldn't wait.

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Monday, July 3rd, 2023

Kam's POV

Cris put Dia, Rocco, and Devin in day camp - they spend the day at camp but come home in the evening. Gabby, Angelo, Bella, and Kekoa are with me at the daycare. Come September, it will just be me, Gabby, and Angelo. It's going to be sad, but my babies are growing up.

The kids are eating breakfast. I heard the doorbell ring. So, I went to answer it. I looked through the peephole and saw Trevor with his daughter.

"Hi, come on in. If you guys haven't had breakfast yet, help yourself. We have plenty."

"Thank you. This is my daughter, Sydney."

"Hi, Sydney. You are very pretty."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kam."

"You're welcome, sweetie. I have a daughter your age and she couldn't wait to meet you."

We then made our way to the kitchen.

"Bella and Kekoa, I want you guys to meet Sydney. Sydney, I want to introduce you to Bella and Kekoa."

"Hi, Sydney. It's nice to meet you. You can sit next to me," Bella says to Sydney.

"Hi, Sydney," Kekoa then says.

"Sydney, the little ones in the highchairs are Gabby and Angelo."

"Hi, Bella, Kekoa, Gabby, and Angelo," Sydney says as she sits next to Bella. Trevor sat next to Cris.

"We have strawberry pancakes, eggs, bacon, and orange juice. What would you guys like?"

"May I have pancakes and orange juice, Mrs. Kam?" Sydney is adorable.

"You sure can, sweetie. Trevor, what would you like?"

"I'll take the same. Thank you."

I went to fix both of them a plate. Hey, I have no problem serving men their food. I do it for Cris, Marco, and my dad all of the time.

"Thank you, Mrs. Kam."

"You're welcome, sweetie," Trevor said thank you as well. I'm not going to ask what happened to Sydney's mom because it is none of my business. But I will treat her like I do my kids. Children deserve to have a father and mother figure.

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Narrator's POV

July went by drama-free for the Fiore Crew. No dates for Kalani yet.

Layla told the family that she is pregnant and due in February. September is when Layla finds out whether it is a boy or girl.

Bliss, Julian, and Andrea got some surprising news. Their parents are alive and well. Kalani took the news well. Over a short period, they even became friends. Kam loves that she will have an additional mother and father figure in her life.

The end of the month was just as exciting because of the baby shower for Bliss, which was a success.

Now, it's time to prepare the kids for back to school.

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Wednesday, August 9th, 2023

Kam's POV

Bliss gave birth to the twins. And guess what? Raquel was born on August 5th. And, Raeni was born on August 6th. Talk about special.

Today is an off day at the daycare center so Cris and I can take the kids shopping for school. Sydney and Trevor are coming with us. It just so happens that Sydney is going to the same school and is in the kid's class.

Speaking of, Sydney and Isabella have become best friends. I'm excited for both girls. They are too cute together. They have tea parties together and even had sleepovers together. I have the girls with me. And, Cris has the boys with him.

We found three parking spots together.

After helping the kids out of the SUVs, we walked towards the mall. I still have nightmares about this parking lot. Cris is there to help me overcome it.

"We'll meet after two hours to see how everything is going," Cris mentions.

"Let's meet at the food court. We'll see you all then."

The first store we went to was H & M. "Sydney sweetie, pick what you would like. Trevor, if it is okay with you, I would like to play for Sydney's things. She is a sweetheart. And, I love how Bella and Sydney have become best friends."

"It's okay with me. Thank you very much for your kindness."

"You're welcome." Bella and Sydney saw a few things they liked. So, we picked them up and went to try them on.

Isabella and Sydney were having fun shopping together.

"Now, let's go help Dia pick out what she wants." She picked up a couple of shirts, and a pair of jeans. After trying on her clothes, we made our way to pay for the items the girls' picked up.

We went to several other stores for shoes, jackets, and backpacks.

After two hours, we went to meet Cris. As we approached the food court, we saw Cris sitting with the boys. Isabella decides to take off.

"Isabella! Don't run!" In a flash, some creep came out of nowhere and grabbed her.

"Isabella!! Somenody help my child!!!"

Cris and Trevor took off. Sydney, Gabby, and Dia started to cry.

We walked over to the boys, who also started to cry.

"Mommy, they have to get Bella. They just have to!" Dia screams.

"They will get her, princess. Daddy and Trevor will get her."

Cris' POV

"DADDY!!!!!" Isabella screamed as she was dragged through the mall. Trevor and I furiously chased this perv through the mall for my baby girl.

"Cris stay on him. I have a feeling he will try to leave the mall." Trevor made a hasty retreat and we split up.

People were moving out of the way instead of stopping him. This mall is going out of business if I have my way. WE are NEVER coming back here.

The thug made it down the escalator and was about to make it out the door, until he was punched in the face, by Trevor. Isabella ran over to me while Trevor mercilessly punched the guy until security came. We heard police cars pulling up and saw them running inside the mall.

Now is not the time to chastise Isabella for running off like that. But we will be having a family chat about what happened. She cried her little eyes out.

The guy was hauled away by the police. Trevor, the security, and another police officer came over to us.

"Mr. Fiore, can you tell us what happened?" The officer asked.

"My wife and daughters were coming to meet us at the food court. My daughter, Isabella started to run towards me, but the pedophile came out of nowhere and grabbed her. My wife's bodyguard and I took off after them. Trevor and I split up, and he was able to stop him from leaving the mall."

"Do you need us to call for an ambulance for your daughter?"

"Isabella, baby are you hurt anywhere?"

She shook her head no.

"Physically, she is okay. If anything, she is shaken."

I gave the officer my information, Isabella's name, and whatever else they needed to make sure this thug stays behind bars. Then, they left.

"Cris, I'll go get Kam and the family so we can get out of here."

"Thanks, Trevor."

"I got you, baby. Daddy's got you, princess." I held on to Bella real tight. This was a scary moment for all of us. I'm grateful to Trevor, or else Isabella would have vanished from our lives.

About 10 minutes later, Trevor, Kamea, and the kids came from the food court. Each one of them had tears streaming from their eyes.

"I'm so glad you are safe, Bella," Kamea says as she grabs Isabella from me.

"I'm sorry, mommy."

"Ssh, daddy, and Trevor saved you sweetie. Cris, we are NEVER coming here again. I can't take any more of this place. I already have nightmares about what happened to me."

"I agree. Let's take the kids home."

As we made our way to the parking lot, Trevor says,

"Cris, before the thug was hauled off to jail, he said this is just the beginning of what is in store for your family. That guy was watching your family," Trevor says.

Who in their right mind is after my family?

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