Page 45 of Undeniable

Might as well rip the band aid off, right?

“There is no Jared,” I blurt. “It’s Gio. I was at Gio’s.”

The teasing smile she was wearing slowly slips away as her brows knit together. “Cordova?”

I nod as I bite the bottom of my lip, waiting for her judgment. Instead, she shoots me a mega-watt grin filled with pride and excitement.

“You lucky bitch! How did you do it?” She asks as she pats the cushion next to her.

I breathe a sigh of relief that she is more jealous than anything and sit down, filling her in quickly about how we actually met at the coffee shop and that it was a total shock for both of us when I showed up onto his doorstep the next day. The excited gleam doesn’t leave her eye the entire time and once I have finished a very brief version of Gio and I ‘s relationship, if that is even what you want to call it, I clear my throat.

“Uh, there is something else. There is some stuff going on with his work and I need to stay with them for a little while. We are going to be staying with the Mariano’s.”

Understanding flashes across her faces as she nods and takes a sip of her coffee.

“Mob shit?”

My eyes bug out my head as my mouth drops. “You knew!?”

She lets out a dry laugh. “I mean, if I didn’t already know about him just through word of mouth, I would have figured it out. It is pretty damn obvious.”

Yeah, apparently, I wasn’t being as cautious as I thought. I was just burying my head in the sand. Too late now though, I am pretty sure I am officially hooked on Giovanni Cordova.

“Well, yeah. So, I just wanted to thank you for letting me stay here. I don’t know how long we will be with the Mariano’s before things cool down. But when that time comes, I will get my own place. I have enough saved from the weeks I have watched Alessandro that I will actually be able to afford something decent.”

I stand up and start gathering the small amount of things that I own into the duffle that I brought here. Becca stands up and helps me fill it quickly.

“Well, you always know that you are welcome here. If something doesn’t work out immediately don’t stress, just keep the key,” she says.

“Okay, thank you.”

I smile before she pulls me into a hug. “And who knows,” she says as she pulls away and walks me to the door. “Maybe if you are lucky, you will move out of the Mariano’s and right into Gio’s bed.”

Becca winks at me and cackles at the bright flush that races up my neck. I playfully shove her before she pulls me into another hug. “Be safe,” she says softly.

“I always am.”

She gives me a tight smile but nods before I step out of the door and give her a wave over my shoulder.

When I get down to the car, Gio springs out of the door and rushes up to me, grabbing my bag from me in the process. His brows furrow as he lifts it over his shoulder. “Don’t you want to grab more? I don’t know how long we will be there for.”

I shrug. “This is all I have.”

His eyebrows soar to his hairline as he slings it into the backseat. “Like here?”

“Like, anywhere,” I tease as I slide into the front seat.

I feel intense eyes on me and turn to see he is standing at my door, staring me down curiously.

“What?” I ask.

“Your whole life fits into one little bag? Kinda sad,” he teases as he chuckles and shuts my door.

I fake a laugh as he makes his way around the car before getting into the driver’s seat. When he looks over at me his eyes are playful and kind, but he doesn’t realize that his little jab hurts more than I would like to admit. I wish I had more, I wish I had roots somewhere with a big house filled with useless knickknacks and shoes that I haven’t worn in 2 years but insist on keeping just in case.

Gio must see the pain hiding behind my eyes because his smile slides off of his face and he reaches over to cover my hand with his, an apology floating at the surface. I muster a smile and squeeze his hand before retracting mine and turning to look out the window.

The car doesn’t move for a few moments till I hear a soft sigh before we pull out into traffic and head towards Luca and Ashlynn’s. It doesn’t take too long and when we pull up, it doesn’t escape my notice all of the extra men patrolling the property gate, nor the armed men at the security gate that damn near point their guns at us till they see it is only Gio and visibly relax.

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