Rocco ended up at the office for much longer than he wanted. He sent Dani a text not to start dinner. He'd just take them out before the movie. Dante was so far behind that Rocco would need to return to the office tomorrow instead of Thursday. He was confident Dani could handle herself fine, though.

Alyssa, who was supposed to be back on Friday, called and left him a voicemail on his cellphone, which she knew was broken, telling him it'd be Monday now. He just rolled his eyes. He was in a good mood and didn't want to ruin it by calling her back. He had managed to get out before Dante started in on him about how Alyssa disrespected him again.

He pulled up to the house and found Dani and Gavin on the front porch; he was happy to finally see it being used. They were playing with the blocks he had brought home for Gavin.  Gavin sprinted towards Rocco as soon as he heard the car door open.

"Daddy!"

"Hey, champ," Rocco picked him up quickly and started walking to the porch.

He stopped at the steps as Dani stood up and smiled at him; she had changed into jean shorts and her long legs were on full display in them.  He gulped hard and carefully forced his eyes to stay on her face as he scooped up Gavin to hug him. 

"Sorry, it took me so long. My brother's really in the weeds on some stuff at the office," he said, as Gavin set back down, who returned to his blocks.

"That's cool; we had a good day. Lexi came by," she mentioned.

"She did?" he cringed, "I should have known she'd go and do that; I'm sorry."

"Don't be; she was really cool." Dani smiled. "I would have spied too."

"You're something else, Valentine," he smirked.

She just laughed it off, averting those eyes from his. He could see her cheeks darken a little. She was so bashful it was refreshing.

"You two ready?"

"Ready," Dani confirmed with a smile. "I already locked up."

"Yeah, movie time!" Gavin cheered.

"All right, let's go." He picked Gavin back up and gestured for Dani to follow them to the car.

Dani relaxed in her seat, looking out the window in awe of the purple and pink sunsets. Those shorts had slid a few more inches on her smooth thighs in the car. One peek nearly killed him. He was probably white knuckle gripping the steering wheel at one point.

He would just have to get used to being around such a beautiful girl all the time. He lived in Sun City, and there were temptations everywhere, yet he'd never been affected like this before.  

As Rocco pulled up to the theater and they chatted about which movies were playing and other mundane things, he was finally able to put those thoughts aside, far aside.

He had no right to steal glances at Dani; she was family. He was married. End of story.

Gavin nearly ran into the movie theater holding tight to Dani's hand. They opted for the latest Disney movie and got in line. Rocco laughed when he noticed Gavin was clutching onto that teddy bear.

"You brought Kiki?" Rocco asked.

"You said him come," Gavin said.

"I think you did," Dani agreed with a small smile.

"Good afternoon," the woman behind the glass smiled her eyes raking over him. She looked to be in her mid to late forties with dark red hair and a lot of makeup. He instinctively took a step back, putting himself right in front of Dani.

"Two adults, one kid, and one stuffed animal," Rocco gestured, picking Gavin and Kiki up. Dani giggled behind him, and the woman behind the glass smiled as she looked past him at her for a moment.

"Well, you're lucky because stuffed animals get in for free today," she winked at Rocco.

"Alright, you hear that, buddy?" Rocco asked Gavin, who smiled and squeezed Kiki.

"Tell her thank you," Dani whispered into Gavin's ear, her hair briefly tickled Rocco's arm when she leaned in.

"Thank you, lady. Kiki is my best friend!"

Rocco heard some girls oohing behind them, and Dani was laughing softly.

"Well, you and Kiki are welcome." The lady said as she handed Rocco the tickets.

"That'll be $35.00," she said.

Rocco set Gavin down to reach for his wallet, and he started racing for the food stands.

"Wait up, Tiger," Dani was behind him in seconds. He was distracted watching her pick him up and start over to the stands, he almost missed it when the lady gave him the change.

"Thanks," he grabbed the change and offered the woman a brief smile before walking on.

"Oh my god, that was the cutest family I have ever seen." He heard some girly voice behind him gush.

"Yeah, she's a lucky girl," the clerk's voice replied.

Rocco nearly scoffed as if in any scenario where Dani was with him, she'd be the lucky one. He watched his son's face light up into a happy grin as they chatted in the food line. He mentally scolded himself for even entertaining the thoughts.

"Stupid nosy girls and their stupid nosy comments," he muttered under his breath before approaching them.

The movie was cute and had just the right amount of adult humor hidden in it to keep him entertained. Dani was laughing along with Gavin through the whole thing. It was fun just watching them together. Gavin talked nonstop about all his favorite parts as they walked to the car, but the second he was secured into his car seat, and Rocco started driving, he was fast asleep. It was already past his usual bedtime.

"Would it be okay with you if I go back to work tomorrow?" Rocco asked, "I wanted one more day, but Dante is swamped, and he has a case on Friday he needs my help with."

"Of course, it's okay, Rocco," she said, "I told you that already, remember?"

"He might be kind of bummed," Rocco frowned.

"Don't worry; I'll think up a distraction."

"I don't doubt you will."

It was nice to have that peace of mind that Gavin was going to be cared for and happy, even when he was working. 

**

By Friday morning, those words were truer than ever. The week or the few days left in it had gone by better than Rocco could have imagined. Gavin did throw a fit when he left on Wednesday, but Dani assured him she had him calmed down quickly. She had texted him ten minutes after he left to tell him Gavin was okay. He hadn't asked her to do that and appreciated that she did. He didn't have to go to work worrying about how Gavin was doing like usual.

This morning went incredibly well; they had settled into an easy routine, Rocco would get up, and Dani already had coffee brewing. He'd get breakfast started just as Gavin got up. Dani would finish it with Gavin's 'help,' of course, while Rocco got ready for work.

After breakfast, he still had enough time to give Gavin his bath and get him dressed. Prior to Dani being here, he was usually stretched for time with all the morning chaos. It was nice having even that short father-son time before he started his long workday.

Dani always cleaned the kitchen by the time they came back down. This morning Gavin didn't even sniffle when Rocco went to hug him goodbye. Rocco told him he was proud of him for being a big boy, and Gavin said he had to get ready for work too.

Dani then explained that Gavin liked to pretend he was going to work, too, just like his dad. Even as he pulled into the parking lot, Rocco still smiled over that.

"Morning Elaine," he greeted the receptionist with a smile and left a Tupperware container of Dani's cookies on the desk for her.

"Wow, thanks!"

He was whistling as he stepped onto the elevator.

"Hold the door," Dante called behind him; Rocco stopped the door and stepped aside as his brother stepped in. The younger Romano was just an inch shorter than Rocco and a little stockier. He kept his inky hair cut short; otherwise, his natural curls got unruly.

Dante was dressed up since they had court today, as was Rocco. Rocco opted for a gray pin-striped suit, a solid gray shirt underneath, and a checkered tie. Dante donned a navy-blue suit with a crisp white shirt under it.

"Morning," Rocco smiled.

"Hey," Dante said tiredly; he followed Rocco into the large lobby leading to their offices.

Rocco left another cookie container on the lobby receptionist Linda's desk.

"Yum, more cookies; thank you, Rocco," the older woman smiled warmly; she'd worked for them since he and Dante were kids.

"Anything for you, Miss Linda," he smiled and winked at her before heading to the small fridge to put his lunch inside.

"You're awfully chipper today," Dante commented.

"He has been all week." Alana commented as she stepped off the elevator, "Italy must have done you some good?"

Alana was married to Rocco's long-time best friend, Breanna. She'd come to work for him right out of law school and had become as much of a best friend as her wife over the years. She usually hated dressing up; off work, you'd never find her in anything but jeans and a graphic tee. Since they had court today, she was dressed up in black slacks with a matching blazer and slicked her black curly hair back into a bun. She stopped and grabbed a handful of cookies before sitting at the lobby conference table.

"Nope, the wife being out of town is what's doing him some good," Dante snorted.

"Oh, shut it," Rocco commented as he set his lunch inside and snapped the fridge shut.

"Did you bring lunch again?" Alana raised an eyebrow with a smirk, "Since when do you pack lunches?"

"Dani made it for me," he muttered.

He reluctantly went to sit at the table where Dante was now setting files and stuff down.

"Funny, I don't recall Mary making your lunch," Dante chimed in.

"Well, she probably couldn't cook like this," Alana said while munching on one of Dani's cookies.

"I'll tell her you enjoyed them," Rocco said tersely.

"Could she make peanut butter next time?" Alana asked.

"Peanut butter, yum, Nana made the best ones, remember Dante?"

"Stop trying to change the subject," Dante chided. "You know why you're in a good mood. It's because Alyssa is gone. Don't you see how much happier you are without her toxic presence?"

"Are we ready for this case or what?" Rocco abruptly changed the subject.

"Just admit it, Rocco." Dante stood firm.

"Anyone is more relaxed when their wife isn't around for a few days, right, Alana?"

"Sorry, Rocco, but no. I hate it when Brea is gone for more than a day; I miss her like crazy. Plus, I never know where anything is when she's not there," Alana admitted. "If she left for a week, the house would fall apart."

"Rocco doesn't have that problem because he's got a new wife making him lunches and running the show," Dante said as he swiped a cookie from Alana, who stifled a laugh.

"She is a good cook," Dante added with a mouthful of cookie.

"Knock it off," Rocco muttered.

"Lunches, cookies, is she hot?" Alana joked, "I'm on team new wife too."

"Seriously, stop," Rocco clenched his fists, feeling his beck tighten with tension.

The conference phone rang. Linda brought it to the table, and Alana answered it was their client; she grimaced as he listened to the caller. Dante motioned to use the speakerphone, but Alana waved him off. She mumbled a bunch of stuff about understanding, and no problem, of course, they'd accommodate before ending the call.

"Case is delayed; it's going to be a late-night, boys," Alana said. "I'm going to call Brea to let her know."

"Yeah, I better call Dani," Rocco nodded to Dante before disappearing into his office. He sat down in his office chair and quickly dialed his home landline. His cell didn't get very good reception here, and Dani only had her cell phone when they were out.

"Hello?" she answered, sounding breathless.

"You, okay?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, we were just playing tag," she breathed.

He chuckled softly while he leaned back in his chair.

"Listen, this case got pushed to later in the day, and I won't be home until late. Probably past Gavin's bedtime," he cringed; he hated missing bedtime.

"It's okay, Rocco, he'll be fine. I'll do a story tonight," she promised.

"Can I talk to him?"

"Oh, course," she set the phone down and called for him.

"Hi, Daddy!" Gavin chirped.

"Hey, Chief, how you doing?" Rocco asked.

"Good, we played tag, and I won!" Gavin told him.

"All right, that's my boy," Rocco grinned.

"Yay!"

"Gavin, Daddy has to work late tonight, okay? Auntie Dani is going to put you to bed tonight," Rocco said quietly.

"I wait for Daddy?" Gavin asked.

"It might be late; can you please be a god boy and go to bed when Dani says?"

"But I want Daddy."

"What if you let Auntie Dani read you a story, I promise I will tuck you in when I get home." He added.

"Promise?"

"Promise," Rocco assured him. "Remember we're going to Uncle Dante's tomorrow for a barbeque, and Daddy's going to see you right away in the morning too."

"Auntie Dani and me gonna make a big salad," Gavin told him.

"Awesome buddy, you be a good boy for your auntie Dani, okay?"

"I will, Daddy."

"I love you, Gavin,"

"Love you," he said before he heard the phone drop.

"Hey," Dani picked it up.

"Hey," he said, his voice a little husky for a second; he shook his head clear.

"You don't have to make anything for tomorrow," he said in a more normal tone.

"I want to; besides, Gavin's excited to help."

"Alright then, I'll see you later if you're still up; thank you again."

"It's no problem, Rocco. Good luck with your case."

"Thanks," he said, his eyebrows rising in surprise; Alyssa never wished him luck or took any interest in his work at all.

"But I don't need luck," he added in a cockier tone with a little smirk.

"Yeah, yeah," he could see her rolling her eyes.

"Bye, Rocco."

"Bye, Dani. Have a good day," he said, feeling sort of lame suddenly.

"Yeah, you too," she said before the connection clicked off.

He walked back out to the table to plan for the case. Alana wasn't back yet, and Dante gave him a strange look.

"What?" Rocco asked.

"Nothing," Dante said with a little grin.

"Seriously, what?" Rocco groaned.

That's when he noticed the conference phone sitting closer to Dante. He had probably been listening in to his conversation. To be fair they did it to Alana all the time and mocked her for the mushy stuff she said to Breanna; Rocco, however, wasn't a big fan of the tables being turned on him.

"I was just wondering if your new wife knows you have a crush on her." Dante finally said, snorting with laughter.

"Not funny, Dante," Rocco slammed his hands on the table.

"Whoa, I was kidding," Dante held his hands up.

"Just drop it," Rocco said in a stern tone.

"Seriously, should I worry? I was playing around, but now that you're getting so defensive..." Dante trailed off.

"No, Dante, you shouldn't worry," he finally said in a rough tone. "She's Gavin's nanny, not to mention my sister-in-law, and she happens to be my friend too. I don't appreciate the jokes; it's disrespectful to her."

Dante raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. Rocco busied himself with the papers on the desk, anxious to get focused on work and steer far away from this entire topic.