Page 18 of A Treasure To Keep

“So, uhh, I don’t think it’s my place to get involved in whatever is going on here. I don’t know if you have seen El and Andrea together, but I have. They’re a kick-ass couple. I work in technology, not family counseling.” Mrs. Gallo stands from the chair her husband set her in, rushing toward me again. This time, her husband doesn’t have time to intercept her before she gets to me.

“Please! Please bring my daughter home!” El’s mom grabs onto me again, and at this point, I’d do anything to get out of this weird ass situation.

I glare at Mr. Gallo, who stands in the kitchen, staring back at me. His expression practically screams, ‘say yes, and I’ll help you.’ Fuck. “Fine. I’ll see if I can talk to her. She’s obscenely stubborn, especially when it comes to anything involving me. I doubt I could convince her to do anything.”

I pry Mrs. Gallo off me and bolt out the door. When the hum of my truck starting vibrates my body, I try to decide whether to head to Andrea’s or ignore any contact from the Gallos. It would be easy to block the number and ignore them. Except I have to admit, now that I’m in this drama, I’m unapologetically eager to figure out the other side of it. Pissing off the Gallos isn’t something I want to do, but pissing off El is a favorite pastime of mine.

The drive over to Andrea’s apartment is surprisingly longer than I remember. Maybe because last time I was too focused on El’s many threats and attempts to get out of my truck.

I purposefully park next to her car when I pull in, slightly too close to her driver's side door. The last thing I need is her bolting out of the apartment and running off. The elevator ride to Andrea’s apartment is short, and before I know it, I’m knocking on his door. A minute passes before I knock again, louder than before, and hear some rustling before El answers the door. Her hair is slightly tousled, and she’s wearing a silk robe, telling me I disrupted something.

“What were you two doing? Can I watch? Can I join?” I place one hand on the door, preventing El from slamming it in my face. I can’t tell if the flush in her face is from anger or if she’s blushing because I winked at her.

She crosses her arms over her chest, pushing her tits to the top of the robe while I lean on the doorframe. “What the fuck do you want, Marco?”

“Nice to see you, too. Can I come in?” I don’t wait for an answer before I shove past El while she scoffs at me. Andrea comes walking out of the hallway that I assume leads to their bedroom, wearing nothing but sweatpants, low on his hips. Uncomfortably low. Teasingly low.

I sit down in the middle of their sofa, sitting in my typical stance while stretching my arms over the back cushions. They both stand in front of me. Andrea strokes El’s hand while she places the other one on her hip, giving me this stare that could burn through me.

“Alright, you two. I had the weirdest encounter with your parents, which drags me into whatever bullshit is going on. Let’s sort this shit out. I’d like to move on with my life.” I guess family counseling is part of my resume now. Can’t wait to tell that to Geno and Alessandro. They’ll get a good laugh at my expense.Especially if I walk out of this with my body parts and no threats from El.

“What do you mean, you spoke with my parents?” El drops her hands and furrows her brows. I guess she never expected her parents to be this dramatic about her moving out.

“When you moved out, you left your phone at your parents’ house. Apparently, they thought I was the right person to contact to drag you home.”

She steps closer to Andrea, wrapping one arm around him while placing the other on his chest. “I did that on purpose to avoid this exact situation. I’m not going back to their house. I’m a grown woman, and I should be able to live with my boyfriend. Now get! The fuck! Out!”

I stand face to chest with El while she points to the door until Andrea steps in between us, trying to break the tension currently radiating in the room.

“Marco, I know her parents are upset she moved out, especially since she moved in with me. You need to understand, this is her decision and our lives. You don’t need to push yourself into the middle of our relationship.”

“Oh, Andrea, I think the moment we both fucked your girlfriend, I got myself involved in your relationship.” I scan my eyes down his body. We’re close enough to each other that I could easily grasp the back of his hair and pull his head back.

“Oh my god! Both of you can fuck all the way off and stop with the dick-measuring contest. If you’re going to continue, go to the store and get a ruler first. Until then, Andrea and I are living together, and you, Marco, are leaving.” El shoves me toward the door. I turn my head, noticing her cleavage showing in the satin robe. I stop in the doorway, blocking it, and bend to whisper in her ear.

“Fine. I’ll ignore your parents and leave you two alone. You and I both know we can’t deny the sexual tension in here. IfAndrea wants to share you again, I’ll be around. Nice tits, by the way.”

With that, I walk out the door, leaving a pissed-off El in the doorway, and head home.

Chapter 19

El

Andrea and I are at work when we get an unexpected text from Alessandro. I spent about two weeks without a phone until Mr. Hansley hammered me into getting a new one. Something about needing to get hold of me. Whatever. Shut up, internal monologue. We need to get back to our original thought.

We’ve barely heard anything from Alessandro in the four months since Luci went missing the night before their wedding. When he found her pregnancy test the morning of their wedding, I knew I was in deep shit for buying her one and keeping it a secret. Fucking men. They’ll never understand girl code. I’m her best friend. It’s in the job description.

Andrea races into the women’s dressing rooms with his unlocked phone in hand. He must have seen the text before I could unlock my phone to read it myself.

“El, mon trésor! This is choquant, incroyable, inattendu!”

He continues babbling in French, which I’ve learned from living with him, means his emotions are intense. He stubbed his toe? Yelling in French. His sports team is playing poorly? Yellingin French. The coffee guy at the shop next door hits on me? Yelling in French. More like cursing in French. If he’s not his normal levelheaded self, he’s yelling in French. I thought it was something he did when he was excited. PS, I still go to that coffee shop. It’s my favorite. Their iced vanilla lattes? Unbeatable.

I grab his hand as he paces past me, forcing him to face me. “My love. We haven’t gotten to those words yet. English, please?”

Andrea pauses his rant, picking me up to set me on my desk. He places his hands on either side of my lap as a smile appears on his face. “Alessandro found Luci.”

“Oh, my fuck! You’re here, screaming random words I don’t understand in French, avoiding the most important detail. Tell. Me. Everything.”