Scorpia and Logan walk back inside again and look at all the items displayed in the open cupboard. Bart and Manon come back in too and Scorpia senses that he would like to ask something. "Ask away Bart."

"Well, there are items in that cupboard..."

Scorpia says: "Yes. Items that are connected to me personally."

Bart says: "Yes, Lexy said the same but..."

Scorpia smiles and says: "Come closer. You too Manon." She picks up the bottle of Scorpion Vodka and says: "My name is Scorpia of course. But I used to drink this in my favorite cafe. Logan's cafe."

She points at the boxing gloves and says: "I've been boxing for ten years now. My big brother Bruno is my trainer." She points at the miniature Harley and says: "Bruno gave me that when I was a little girl. And when I was old enough, he bought me a real Harley."

She points at the glass apple ornament and says: "This apple represents the time that I was a kindergarten teacher." She takes her bracelet off and puts that in the cupboard too as she says: "This represents the moment I... the moment Salvatore went to hell."

She quickly makes her way over to the pictures and starts telling them who everyone is.

Bart asks: "Is that Matteo? Is his arm in a cast?"

"Yes, that's Matteo. His arm is broken in three different places. He lives with my mom now."

Bart softly says: "Thank god. He's safe."

Manon says: "And Mia!"

Scorpia says: "Yes, Mia is named Pia now and became part of Lexy and Bruno's family. And she has two older brothers." She points at the picture and says: "Enzo and Lucas."

Manon says: "How cute. Three totally different kids."

Logan says: "Yes, in our family blood doesn't matter much. Love does."

Bart looks at the pictures on Scorpia's desk and tries to figure out what he's looking at. Scorpia says: "Tattoos. Mine and Logan's." Manon blushes and drops her gaze to the floor.

Logan says: "You probably wondered about that already. Bonnie is my nickname for Scorpia. It's also the name of my cafe."

Scorpia looks at the two young people and says: "You've just learned a lot about me in a very short period of time. Which is fine by me, because I trust you both. If there's ever anything you need to talk about, anything you need help with, tell me. And now I'm taking this handsome man with me to introduce him to some more people and show him around."

Scorpia is about to walk out of the office when Bart checks his phone and says: "Hold on! I need to do something first." He rushes out of the office and Logan peeks into the lobby to see what Bart is up to. Bart walks over to Ciro, who is standing in front of the reception desk and sends him back into his office.

Logan chuckles and pulls Scorpia with him into the lobby. He looks at Bart and gives him a grateful nod.

They walk towards the restaurant together and run into Esperanza, who is filling a cart with cleaning supplies. A young girl is standing next to her with a concentrated expression on her face. Esperanza looks up and into Scorpia's eyes. She smiles wide and says: "Good morning mi-" Scorpia gives her a stern look and Esperanza corrects herself: "Good morning Scorpia."

"Good morning Esperanza. May I introduce you to Logan? Logan, this is Esperanza, Ricardo's mother, and a very experienced cleaning lady."

The woman shakes Logan's hand and says: "So you're the one."

Logan blinks a few times and says: "Err yes? Nice to meet you."

Esperanza stares deep into his eyes, before looking at Scorpia. Scorpia smiles at her and Esperanza says: "I get it. I still think it's a shame, but I can clearly see it." She pushes the cart forward and calls the girl over to her.

Scorpia chuckles and says: "Have a good day ladies!"

Logan's face clearly shows how confused he is from that exchange and Scorpia says: "I think she was hoping that Ricardo and I... But apparently he also told his mom that you are the one."

Logan looks into her eyes, trying to find answers to his doubts as he softly says: "I have to admit that I was afraid that you and Ricardo..."

Scorpia says: "I even said out loud that I thought it would be easier if I could do that. Leaving everything behind and moving on with Ricardo. I talked about it with him, in detail. But he said that he wasn't going to risk our friendship or my mental health for something temporary. He is convinced we belong together."

Logan strokes her cheek and sighs.

"Deep down I've always known that you are the only one for me, Logan. But Ricardo does have a special place in my heart. He is a beautiful human being."

Logan says: "He sure is. He gave me hope when he visited me in the cafe. I'm grateful you had him when I couldn't be there for you."

Scorpia kisses him softly and says: "Come with me. I'll show you the restaurant."

They walk into the restaurant and are escorted to a table by a young girl. She runs off to get the chef, who rushes over to Scorpia with a huge smile on his face. Scorpia asks: "How are things in the kitchen? And before I forget, the muffin was delicious."

The chef says: "Things are amazing. It's so much fun to work with all these young people. And I'm qualified to give them certificates now when they've completed something successfully. I just need to find a cafe to collaborate with."

Logan asks: "Why?"

The chef says: "Well, one of the girls wants to learn how to make coffee with the espresso machine and two of the boys want to learn how to draft beer. And we have all the required material here, but I can't do either myself."

Logan holds his hand out to the chef and says: "Logan, owner of cafe Bonnie, and I can do both. Just tell me what you need."

The chef looks from Logan to Scorpia and she explains: "This man is the love of my life and I suggest you introduce him to the young people that need his help."

The chef reacts quickly and says: "Please follow me into the kitchen." Logan gets up and follows.

A few minutes later a nervous girl comes up to Scorpia's table with a cappuccino. "Miss? I made this cappuccino for you."

Scorpia smiles at her and says: "Wow. Thank you! I really needed one." She lays her teaspoon on the foam and the girl smiles shyly. Scorpia tastes the foam, before taking a sip. "Oh my. Very yummy. It's better than Logan's. But you can't tell him that, okay?" The girl giggles and Logan saunters over to them.

He looks at the girl and says: "I'll see you on Saturday. And if you need a ride, call me. Okay?" The girl nods and thanks him before running back into the kitchen.

Logan sits down at the table again and asks: "Don't tell him?"

Scorpia chuckles and says: "But seriously, this is very good coffee."

"She basically knows everything already. She knows the theory of it and has watched a ton of online videos. She just needs to gain a bit more confidence. She'll be in the cafe every Saturday to make coffee. And the boys will be there a few nights a week to draft beers."

Scorpia leans over the table to kiss him and says: "Ti amo."

"I love you too Bonnie. And I love to help. They all deserve a shot at happiness."

She finishes her coffee and Logan stares deep into her eyes. "Bonnie? What about Ciro? Are you going to ignore and avoid him forever?"

Scorpia shakes her head. "No. But what he did was worse than what Dino did. Dino wanted to make sure a certain lawyer focused her attention on someone else. And he had the decency to not do it in this building. But Ciro..."

"I am sure he deeply regrets it, Bonnie. And he loves you, I'm sure of that. And I know how much it hurts to lose your love. Or at least how it feels to think you've lost it."

Scorpia sighs. "But in my office Logan!"

Logan mumbles: "I was in our kitchen."

Scorpia runs a hand over her face and takes a deep breath. "And now the image is back in my head. Thanks, Logan. I know you mean well, but until now the only image left in there was her bent over the desk."

Logan drops his gaze to the table and whispers: "I'm sorry."

Scorpia gets up and rushes out of the restaurant.

Loga chases after her. "Bonnie? Scorpia!"

"Leave me alone Logan! I'm pissed now and it's better if you stay away from me!"

She runs into her office and yells at Bart: "Keys to the Charger!" She grabs her briefcase and Bart tosses the keys at her. "I'm out for a bit. Because someone pissed me off and I need to get rid of this anger." She runs out through the french doors and jumps into the Charger. The tires squeal as she speeds off, leaving a defeated Logan behind.

Ciro opens the door of the office a tiny bit and sees Logan. "Logan?" Logan looks at him and sighs. "Come in Logan. What happened?" Logan debates it for a second, before walking into the office and sinking into one of the chairs there.

"I tried to stand up for you and fucked it up of course."

Ciro stares at him in shock and asks: "You did what?"

─────

Scorpia obviously drives to the one place that can help her get rid of her anger; the gym. She storms in and catches a glimpse of Bruno and Lexy kissing.

Bruno chases her and yells: "Hold it! Into my office. Right now! You're not boxing like this!" He drags her into his office and Lexy closes the door. Bruno pushes Scorpia onto the chair and leans against the desk. "Talk sorellina. Because if I let you box like this, you will injure yourself."

Scorpia growls and avoids his gaze.

Lexy nervously asks: "Do you want me to go? Do you want to talk to Bruno alone?"

"No... I'm sorry..." Scorpia breathes out slowly and pinches the bridge of her nose.

Lexy asks: "What happened sister? You were so happy."

Scorpia mumbles: "Logan... Ciro... Dani..." She swears and slams the desk with her fist.

Lexy angrily asks: "What? Dani again?"

Scorpia shakes her head and starts to explain what happened.

Lexy shoots Bruno a look that says that he can take this one, as soon as Scorpia is done talking.

Bruno says: "Sister. Think about this calmly. There's no reason why Ciro shouldn't do something like that."

Lexy takes a step back and holds her breath because she would've never dared to say something like that to Scorpia. Especially not while she's that angry.

Scorpia stares at Bruno, her eyes shooting with fire when she spits out: "You turned her down. And so did Ricardo."

Bruno laughs and says: "Yes, cause I'm with Lexy now. I would be a humongous idiot to fuck that up."

Scorpia angrily asks: "Are you trying to tell me that if you were single, you would have stuck it in her too?"

Bruno gives her a look that says it all. He stays quiet for a bit and says: "Sweetheart, you know I would have. You've seen the most of it. Around the boxing matches and when we were riding. You've even heard and seen a lot of it in the apartment. I wasn't picky."

Lexy tries not to chuckle at the rude and brutally honest way Bruno speaks to Scorpia. Bruno adds: "And Ricardo? He is very inexperienced with women. No wonder when you used to live in a small trailer with your mom and little sister. And he just isn't that kind of guy. But you know how I was. Ciro is even a tiny bit worse because as long as there's friction, he's into it. Always has been that way."

Scorpia stares at her brother without blinking.

"Sorellina, all three of your brothers are horny toads. Sex and love are not the same thing to us. Any hole is good enough. Dino might be a bit more decent, but that's because he's the youngest. And he had a picture of your hottest ass to look at."

Scorpia looks at Lexy and realizes how desperately she's trying to hold her laughter in. They make eye contact and burst out in laughter together.

Bruno laughs with them and when they've calmed down he says: "You know men are that way sis. So does Lexy. You've used it both to your advantage and earned a nice amount of money with it when you were younger. And if Magic Mike is on, you're not looking away either, are you?"

Scorpia looks into Lexy's eyes and says: "You served..."

Lexy finishes: "Topless too?"

Scorpia chuckles and says: "Yes. Does Logan know?"

"He does. Does he know about you?"

Scorpia shakes her head and asks how Logan felt about Lexy doing that. "He wasn't really bothered, but he didn't come over for a drink when I was working."

Bruno hides the word hypocrite in a cough and shoots his sister a challenging look.

"Yeah, yeah. You're right. Oh, how I hate it when you're right. It turns you into an annoying asshole." Bruno chuckles and Scorpia looks at Lexy again: "Would you let him go to a topless bar?"

Lexy nods and says: "Sure. I don't mind." Bruno looks at her with a happy grin on his face.

Scorpia says: "I'll go visit Frank. I think the four brothers should go there for a drink tonight. Guys night out. And they might discover something that only one brother knows. I'm betting the pictures are still there."

Bruno laughs and says: "Five. Ricardo is a brother too sorellina. And he could use a night like that. Are you paying?"

Scorpia says: "Yes, I'll pick up the tab and I'll keep the cafe running. Even though Logan has no clue I know how to draft a beer."

Bruno chuckles and says: "He'll find out soon enough."

Scorpia laughs and shakes her head. "Okay. Meet up at the cafe tonight. I'll send the guys a message and I'll ask Dino to bring the van. I'll go see Frank right now."

She hugs Bruno and Lexy and her eyes land on the baby monitor on the desk.

"I'm sorry. Continue your kissing before one of the little ones wake up."

She walks out of the office and hears Lexy squeal.

She smiles and types a message to send to the guys.

Bruno! Ciro! Dino! Logan! Ricardo! Guys night!
Meet in the cafe tonight at eight!
Dino, bring the van.
XX

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This chapter took me longer than I expected. My brain just wasn't having it yesterday.

And today it just came together. I love these 'sketching' chapters.

There's a lot of fun coming and I can't wait to share it with you.
But as always I let things flow.
Whatever feels right is what I go with.

I'm glad that Magic Mike joke is here though.
Kept it on the shelf forever. XD

I'm not promising anything when it comes to updates.
You will just have to keep an eye out for them.

Thanks for reading!
I appreciate you! So much!
XO Hankie.