Yay, new chapter. Remember to review!

Lovina lost track of how long they stayed like that. Neither of them had any desire to move from their position. Lovina felt safer than she ever had before. But she didn't like the silence. Antonio was always chatty, so his sudden change of character was unsettling to her. "Antonio?" she said, breaking the silence. Antonio was glad she had finally spoken up. He was beginning to worry….

"Si?" She shifted slightly, avoiding his stare. "I'm sorry I smacked you…" Antonio laughed. She smiled as she felt his chest move up and down. "I probably deserved it." She rolled her eyes. "You did." She pulled away from his embrace. "Ho fame."

Antonio chuckled and set her on the ground. "Of course you are. I'll make you dinner." His eyes lit up as he stood. "But first come with me." She followed him tentatively out of the room. He led her down the hall to a room she'd never been in before. She never asked about it, and he never brought it up.

He opened the door and motioned for her to go in. It was a nice room, with pale blue walls and white furniture. There was a desk, a small bookshelf, and a dresser. "This was my mother's study. She'd come here and read, write, anything she wanted. After she died, I moved most of her stuff in here." He opened the dresser for her. "I think there are some dresses that should fit you." She peered in the drawer. The dresses looked nice, but seemed too plain to belong to a woman of higher status.

"Mama hated dressing up," Antonio said, answering her unasked question. "They're yours, if you want them…" Lovina nodded slowly. "Grazie…" Antonio smiled as he started to leave. "De nada." Lovina closed the door behind him. She sighed and walked to the dresser.

She picked up a soft green dress. It was simple and the fabric felt comfortable enough. She unwrapped her chest and slipped the dress on. She had never felt freer in her life. She liked the way the dress sit on her body. It was a little big, but that only made it more comfortable.

She slowly walked down the stairs. She suddenly felt nervous. Her heart fluttered as she headed toward the kitchen. She could hear Antonio cutting something and tinkering with various pots and pans. She opened the door and stepped in. "Did you find something?" he asked without turning around. "Si, they're all very nice…"

"I'm glad you like them." He turned to face her. His eyes widened as he looked her up and down. How he had concealed her extremely feminine body from him, he'll never know. The fabric sat on her body perfectly, accenting her finally exposed curves. Lovina crossed her arms as he continued to stare. "I won't hesitate to slap you again, bastardo."

He quickly turned around and resumed his cooking. "Lo siento. This will just…take some time to get used to…" He glanced back and smirked. "And you know, a lady should not be using that kind of language. " Lovina rolled her eyes and sat down. "I'm a girl not a lady, idiota." Antonio chuckled.

"You're Lovi, alright." He put as plate of pasta in front of her. "Enjoy!" Lovina greedily at the pasta. Antonio smirked as she shoveled her meal into her mouth. Now that he had her nice and happy, he decided to ask some more questions.

"So Lovi…" Lovina looked up from her dinner warily. She didn't like where this conversation was going. "How does your hermano feel about all of this…?" She sighed and took a break from her pasta.

"You see, we grew up on our own, for the most part. We stayed with our grandpa for a while, but one day he just disappeared. So we tried to find odd jobs around town, even though we weren't good at much of anything. When we were about thirteen, Feli was working at a small restaurant and I was a housemaid's assistant. My boss…was not a nice man…" Antonio tensed up as he realized where she was going with this. "He'd always find me in between chores," she continued. "And he would tell me that it was my job to do what he said…After awhile, I just couldn't take it anymore. Then Feli found out and made me quit. After that, I chopped all my hair off and we ran. I started wearing Feli's clothes when we were searching for work and food. People assumed I was a boy, so I went along with it. Then we came to Mr. Roderich's house. He must not have been doing well, because he could only take in one of us. So I told Feli to stay. He felt bad for us and told me to head your way. So I did…you know the rest."

Antonio nodded and looked at her thoughtfully. He remembered how she had nearly collapsed on the front step begging for food. "I never did thank you…" Antonio was pulled from his thoughts as she spoke. He smiled and placed his hand over hers. "You don't have to. Ever." She pulled her hand out from under his and looked away. "Well…thanks anyway…" It felt different when he touched her now. Before, he could grab her and hug her and only piss her off. But now, she didn't know how it made her feel.

Antonio sat up straight and smirked. "I do have one more question…why were you asking Elizaveta about what she thought of Roderich, and what did that have to do with me?" She glared at him, knowing he was taunting her. "None of your business, bastardo!" she snapped. Antonio shook his head and smiled. "Lovi, it's not healthy to keep your feelings all bottled up." Her face turned bright red. "I-I am not! Leave me alone, stronzo." She crossed her arms and pouted. He laughed as he stood. "I'm going to bed. Make sure to clean up after yourself." He walked toward the door, but turned around before leaving . "Oh, and Lovi," he said grinning. "I think you should listen to Elizaveta. Maybe her prediction could come true." He winked as he left, leaving Lovina speechless and bright red.

SO CUTE. Thanks for reading! Until next time kiddies…