Hello there my lovelies, I'm really excited about this chapter because it ended up being my favorite so far. I want to apologize for taking so long but I think I might be suffering of a little writter's block, I really hope I can be back on track soon enough. I want to thank all of you who are reading this and taking time to leave reviews, it means so much to me. Also a huge shout-out to Lorena because honestly I couldn't be doing this without her.

Here we go!

"Scientists say that we are made of atoms, but a little bird told me that we are made of stories."

-Eduardo Galeano-

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Elena snapped the picture and smiled to herself while watching the image of Briar and Violet wearing cute sun glasses and big hats as they smiled widely at the camera. Then she sent it to Caroline with a quick message 'This is so much better than working for Alexandra. Thank you' Briar didn't have class today so they had decided to enjoy the day and were currently sitting in the back patio next to the pool while wearing floral dresses and sipping lemonade.

"Daddy loved my unicorn, Lena" Violet said while eating one of the crackers placed on a small plate in the center of the table "He said 'Is there anything she can't do'" The girl giggled and Elena felt her cheeks heating up.

"I think daddy really likes you" Briar told Elena

"Yeah? Why do you say that doll?" Elena asked casually while crossing her legs and leaning back on her chair

"Because he stares at you a lot and he told Edward the other day 'She's the prettiest girl I've ever seen'" The little girl said with a smirk that made her look so alike her father "Do you like daddy, Lena?"

"Uhmm yes, I mean I like working for him" Elena answered unsure of what other things she could possible say to the girls.

"But will you ever hold hands with him?" Briar asked and Elena gave her a quizzical look. She was about to answer when a male voice interrupted their little conversation

"Oh my God what is this?" Stefan said while taking a seat next to Elena "You guys look so adorable" He started palming his pants and pulled out his cellphone "I need to capture this moment" He gestured to the girls to strike a pose for him and started snapping his phone "your dad is going to love this" He said while the girls giggled, happy at being the center of attention. "So, what are you guys up to?" Stefan asked once he put his phone down and turned towards Elena

"We were just enjoying the sun and taking advantage that both Briar and Violet have the day off, never happens" She said while the girls nodded enthusiastically.

"Really?" Stefan looked at the girls "Then I guess we must celebrate this, how about we go to the movies?"

"Yes!" Both girls squealed

"Right now?" Elena asked him with a raised eye brow

"Yes, it'll be good to go out and have a little fun" He told her with a small smile and Elena couldn't help but return his smile. His enthusiasm was contagious.

"Okay then" Elena answered him and laughed as the girls stood up from their chairs and danced around the table. She wondered briefly if Mr. Salvatore would be upset about it but decided not to worry, they were after all going with his brother so they would be completely safe. In spite of that she texted him before leaving to let him know that they would be with Stefan all afternoon.

They had a great time in the cinema, they watched a movie about a cartoon Elena knew nothing about but that the girls loved. Then Stefan took them for lunch and then for an ice cream and to the park and Elena found herself enjoying his company. She hadn't realized it but during the week she had spent so much time around the girls that it was very relaxing to be around a grown up for a change. And Stefan was quite a fun guy, he was flirty and charming and even though he was constantly making insinuations she knew he didn't mean them. There was absolutely nothing romantic between them.

They returned to the house when the night had started to settle in, the girls were chirping excitedly about all the things they did and hugging the stuffed animals Stefan got for them. Elena watched them with a wide smile on her face while Stefan walked alongside her but when they crossed the threshold all happiness evaporated from her body.

Her boss was standing right next to the stairs and even though he smiled and listened to the words coming out of the girl's mouths she could see his clenched jaw and stiff back, and the way he closed and opened his fist at his sides made her cringe.

"How about you girls go upstairs while I talk with your uncle Stefan and Ms. Gilbert for a while" Damon said in a low tone and even though he was trying his best to hide his feelings the girls were incredibly perceptive.

Violet turned around and sent Elena a worried look "I want Lena to come with us upstairs"

"Not now, Violet, she'll be there in a few minutes" Damon said to his daughter softly

"But she will be back?" Briar asked

"Of course she will" Damon said, his tone softening when he understood that the girls had the wrong impression of the situation "Nothing bad is happening, I just need to have a word with your uncle"

"Kay" Violet said and tugged at Briar's hand. They climbed the stairs but not before looking to see Elena once more, she gave them a reassuring smile and they continued their path.

Stefan took a deep breath and smirked at his brother "You have something to say?"

Damon tightened his jaw some more and Elena wondered briefly how it was that he didn't hurt himself "I don't appreciate you coming here and taking my children for the whole day" Damon said in a dangerously calm voice

"Seriously?" Stefan half laughed and Elena could see the anger growing in the older brother "That's your excuse?"

"You didn't even let me know you were coming, I needed you today at work" Damon told his brother

"No you didn't, I had my phone on the entire time and Bonnie knew that if anything happened she could call me and besides, Elena texted you telling you where we were going" Damon bristled at the sound of her name and directed his eyes towards her. She looked scared and vulnerable and he hated himself in that moment.

"She did, but you didn't" He turned back towards his brother "And I will like to know when you're going to be visiting my daughters" Damon moved his hand through his hair leaving it all a bit disheveled.

"Are you hearing yourself? Do you know how ridiculous you sound?" Stefan scowled "I need permission to see my nieces? That's never bothered you before!"

"Well it bothers me now" Damon spat

Elena could see the anger growing in Damon and knew that if she didn't intervene it was going to end in something really ugly. Damon was over reacting and Stefan liked to taunt him so there was only one way for this to end.

"Please, Mr. Salvatore, don't be mad. We were just having a quiet morning with Briar not having school and all…and Stefan just thought-"

"Stefan?" Damon's eyes turned dark while looking at her and suddenly she felt like a child being scolded.

"I mean Mr. Stefan" Elena said while a blush crept onto her cheeks

"This is insane! She can call me Stefan, I want her to call me that"

"That's not your decision!"

"Like hell it is, you're not her owner"

"She is mine!" Damon snapped "…She works for me" He corrected himself when he realized the slip of his tongue.

"Elena, can I have a word with my brother alone please" Stefan said and Elena could do nothing but stare mutedly at both of them and nod.

The situation got way too uncomfortable in the blink of an eye and she had no intention of staying there and keep witnessing it. "I'll just go check on the girls" She told them before hurrying up the stairs as fast as she could.

Elena couldn't sleep, her mind refused to shut down and she had nothing to do but toss and turn in bed. She could hear the soft howl of the wind against the window and the moving of the trees around the house. She was still a little worried about today's earlier events, she never saw either of the Salvatore's after the discussion and wondered what had happened. Letting out a sigh she threw the covers off her body and sat down, she knew that it would be impossible to go back to sleep if she stayed there doing nothing so she decided to go to the kitchen and drink some warm milk.

She stood up and took her silk pink robe, it was Victoria's Secret and Caroline gave it to her as a gift when the both of them still lived together, the blonde had one that matched hers and she always liked to pretend they were some kind of models instead of just two ordinary girls from Virginia.

Elena went down the stairs as quietly as she could, she didn't want to disturb the other people still sleeping. As she headed towards the kitchen she couldn't help but think that the house was so imposing and a bit scary at night, she kind of expected some specter to come out of a corner and spook her.

A frown appeared on her face when she saw the soft light coming out of the kitchen, the house was so incredibly quiet that she would have never guessed that Allie was still there, the elder woman was so loud all the time that it would have been impossible for her to go unnoticed, however once she approached the kitchen Elena realized it wasn't Allie in there.

Deep blue eyes met hers when she stopped by the entrance, a lazy smile appeared on his lips and Elena felt her entire body heating up when she took a good look at him, he wasn't wearing a shirt and his naked chest was a sight worth beholding.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Salvatore, I had no idea you were here" She started to move backwards but his words stopped her.

"No, don't apologize. It's okay. You were coming for something?" He had been leaning down over the table, with a tub of ice cream in front of him and a spoon in his hand, but now he was moving backwards and resting his body against the counter behind him.

"Uhm yeah, I couldn't sleep and I just wanted some milk" She answered, sounding a bit nervous while touching the ends of her hair, a nervous tick she had had her whole life.

Damon's eyes followed the movement of her hands and for a moment he wished he could be the one touching the girl's soft hair "Don't let me interrupt" He told her and motioned towards the refrigerator "Of course if you prefer ice cream more then I'll gladly share with you" He said with a smirk while raising the tub so she could see it "It's chocolate mint chip"

Elena smiled and sighed softly before walking towards the table "I love chocolate mint chip" She said while she took a spoon out of a drawer and stood exactly in front of him, on the other side of the table. She was a bit nervous and had no idea how to act in front of him after what happened earlier. He seemed like a completely different person right now, he was relaxed and seemed almost gentle.

"Now I know I can trust you" He told her in a mocking tone while leaning down over the table again. He watched how she dug her spoon in the ice cream and took it to her mouth, her tongue peeking out to lick the spoon. Her robe was open just enough so he could see the golden skin of her cleavage. It was intoxicating, being this close to her, the smell of vanilla coming out of her skin or maybe even her hair; he wasn't sure but it filled him with a need to bury his face in her neck and never let her go.

"And why are you here at this hour, Mr. Salvatore?" Elena asked once she swallowed the spoonful, she took one of the high chairs and sat so she could be a little more comfortable. Something in the back of her mind was telling her that being like this with her boss was dangerous, not proper. But she decided to ignore it.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" He asked her

"Of course"

"Can you please stop calling me Mr. Salvatore, I want to be just Damon" He couldn't understand it, but it angered him a big deal the idea that his brother could have the freedom to speak with her on first name basis and he couldn't. He didn't want her respect only, he wanted her trust.

"But I thought that-"She started to say, remembering the little argument they had early in the night.

"I know what I said and please forgive me. I didn't have any right to speak to you like that" Damon ran his hands through his hair, his biceps flexing and Elena felt a small blush creep onto her face. "I'm so sorry if I scared you. It's just… I've been dealing with a lot lately but I want us to be comfortable around each other, I want you to trust me…I want to be able to call you by your name…"

Elena smiled and felt little butterflies fluttering in her stomach, she took more ice cream into her spoon hoping that the cold could help her ease the ache inside her. After a few seconds she nodded and bit her lip as she looked down

"So… Elena, tell me more about you. I'd like to know more about the woman spending so much time with my kids"

She laughed nervously while she twisted a strand of hair between her fingers "Let's see, there's really not much to say about me. I come from a small town in Virginia, my mom was a single mom until she married my step father, I have two half siblings, I moved here with my best friend, my dream was to be a painter and travel around the world" She smiled a bit awkwardly, not wanting to stare into his face.

"Was?" He asked with a raised eye brow while the ice cream on his spoon started to melt

"Well…things didn't exactly work out the way I wanted them to"

"And why would you have to give it up? You're still very young, Elena, and something tells me you can be very successful if you really try"

"Well…" She just shrugged and smiled weakly at him. Damon sensed it wasn't a subject she was so keen on discussing with him so he decided to switch it, the last thing he wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable and leave.

"Travel the world? That's pretty ambitious" He smirked at her while he ate the almost melted ice cream on his spoon

"Well not the whole world"

"What places do you want to visit?"

"Well, let's see…Paris, obviously" She gave him a crooked smile "I have this huge desire to visit L'opera Garnier, Point Zero and eat macaroons"

He looked at her with a raised eye brow and a smirk "I'm sure you can eat macaroons here and why L'opera Garnier?"

"It's not the same if you eat macaroons in the USA or any other part of the world for that matter, they have to be eaten in Paris for the whole experience to be genuine" She told him as if it was something everyone should know and he couldn't help but find her attitude cute "And I want to visit the Opera because the story of The Phantom of the Opera has fascinated me for as long as I can remember"

"Really?" He asked with genuine interest "Have you seen the musical here?"

She laughed softly "Actually no, I've been living in New York for two years and I've never been to watch a Broadway play" She looked into his eyes and saw a glint appear in them.

"Unbelievable, we can't allow that" He shook his head and looked down "As soon as I have some free time I'm taking you to watch The Phantom of the Opera"

"Oh no you don't have-"

He held a finger in the air "Don't argue with me, it's happening" He winked at her and took more ice cream into his spoon "What other places do you want to visit?" He asked, he didn't want her to fight him on the whole Broadway subject.

"Uhm well…" She cleared her throat, still a little astonished at what he told her "New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland…Germany and of course Italy, nothing will make me happier than to visit Italy" Her expression turned dreamlike and Damon swore he never saw anything more beautiful in his life

"Truly?" He asked "Do you know my family is Italian?

Elena remember vaguely that Caroline mentioned something about it, and his last name wasn't American so she wasn't that surprised.

"Caroline told me something about it, but I wasn't sure" She answered

He nodded and looked at her "Mom was American but dad is Italian. So Stefan and I actually spent a lot of time there when we were little"

"Really?" Elena asked enthusiastically. Her spoon was forgotten on one side as she placed her elbows onto the table and looked eagerly at him "What's it like? Do you like it there?"

Damon tried to concentrate on the questions and not on her cleavage, she was so innocent and trustful of him that he didn't realize the effect her mere closeness had on him and his body. "Yea I love it, my dad comes from Naples and he has a little vineyard in the Tuscany. But my favorite place is Siena"

"Why?"

"I don't know, the green land and the people. It was my mom's favorite place too, dad bought a little cottage there, especially for her and we used to go there every summer" His eyes turned misty and Elena felt her heart squeezing in her chest at the sight, she guessed his mom wasn't around anymore and that he had loved her dearly. "I still hope to take the girls there someday"

"I'm sure they'll love it" Elena answered with a smile.

Damon stared at her and realized he wanted to take her there too, he wanted to show her the world, to make all of her dreams come true. And then he almost punched himself when he realized what he was thinking, he wanted to take his nanny to Italy. The last time he tried to make a woman's dreams come true had ended up terribly but… he didn't feel for her the way he was feeling right now. What was this woman doing to him?

Elena watched him silently and wondered what he was thinking, his expression looked detached and she didn't like it at all. "Do you speak Italian?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You used to spend a lot of time there and I guess your father speaks it but what about you?"

"Si, Io parlo Italiano signorina" He answered and Elena laughed in pure delight. "I desideri di mio padre" And in that moment he thought briefly that he would speak Italian for the rest of his life if it made her laugh that way.

"Oh my God, that is amazing!" She told him

"Maybe I could teach you some words"

"That would be so great, I've always wanted to learn other languages, I took French in school but I wasn't that good"

"I'm planning on hiring a tutor for Briar and Violet, you could join them and you three could learn together" He told her without meeting her eyes and Elena couldn't help the strong emotion growing in her chest. She had never met a man kinder than Damon. He was good with his staff, with his girls, with his friends. But he also had a dark side, she had seen it today when he was arguing with Stefan.

"Really?"

"Of course, I'm sure they'll love it"

She smiled at him and their eyes met, she liked this, being around him like this and it was a treacherous road, she couldn't jeopardize her job. "Uhm what other words can you tell me?" She asked while looking away, his stare was too much for her to bear sometimes.

"What do you want to know?"

"How do you say dog?"

"Cane" He answered

"And moon?"

"Luna"

Elena laughed again at hearing the words coming out of his mouth, when he spoke the merest hint of accent was heard and she almost melted at the sound. "How do I say Hello, I am Elena"

"Ciao, Io sono Elena"

She laughed again and he kept answering her questions and telling her new words as the minutes trickled by. Then they talked more about her family and the girls and the things they liked to do for fun and just like that the minutes turned into hours and none of them realized how dangerous their time together was. How risky the little chats in the middle of the night were or how you became too vulnerable, the words too sincere. They didn't yet understand that tonight they had crossed the inevitable line both of them were avoiding.