Page 19 of A Treasure To Keep (Leone Legacy #2)

Andrea

M y hand slips while meal prepping, causing me to almost cut my hand, when someone knocks on my door. That was a close call.

I wipe off my knife and walk over to the door, caught off guard when I see El through the peephole. I know she wouldn’t randomly show up at my door. I hurry to unlock the deadbolt and swing the door open. I’m convinced my heart physically cracks in half at the big tears in her eyes.

“Mon trésor, come in. Tell me who brought tears to your eyes.” I spend several minutes with her in my arms while she sobs into my chest. When we part ways, I take her shaking hands in mine, leading her to the sofa.

I make sure she’s settled before grabbing her face in my hands and gently kissing her. “Relax, I’ll make you some tea.”

She holds the mug of tea when I hand it to her and crouch in front of her, rubbing her knees in an attempt to comfort her. “El, mon trésor, my love, please tell me what’s wrong.”

She takes a sip of her tea before answering, quiet enough that I almost miss her words.

“Mamma and Papa want me to break up with you and date Marco. They refuse to accept that I’m with you, and I can’t take it anymore.

I want you, I need you. I can’t live with them anymore. Do you still want to live with me?”

I stifle back a smile, ecstatic to finally have the opportunity to live with El, but broken at the situation that brought her to me.

“What kind of question is that? I would give you anything if it would dry up these tears that make your eyes shine so bright. Like freshly polished sapphires highlighted by the sunlight. You know that, right?”

El nods, blinking as she lets those tears fall down her face. As I stand up, I kiss the top of her head, knowing it won’t fix everything but hoping it will comfort her. “Do you have any of your things?”

She nods her head while still focusing on the mug of tea. “Yeah. I have four bags in my car. In my defense, I tried for one. Also, at some point, we need to get me a new phone. I don’t want to deal with my parent’s bullshit phone calls. And texts. And video chats.”

I take the opportunity to search for her car outside the window behind the sofa. When I spot her car, I notice the four suitcases stuffed into her car. “I see you only brought the basics. We can buy you anything else you need. Let me go get them for you.”

Her keys lay on the floor in the entry, where she dropped them after I brought her in.

While walking to her car, I think about everything she told me.

Her parents have always been judgmental of me, but the thought of her parents being this forceful about her dating Marco frustrates me.

She’s mine, and no one will take her away from me.

I will treasure her, hold her, marry her, and, in an ideal world, give her my children.

No one can stop that. Once I get to El’s car, I can tell she tried to keep it to an overnight bag, but the bags kept getting larger the more she packed.

She also forgot to mention that the four bags didn’t include her cosmetics or accessory bags. Is that part of girl math?

El still sits on the sofa, as radiant as ever, when I’m done bringing her bags in.

It took me three trips to bring in the overnight bag, a carry-on, two large roller bags, an accessory bag, and her large cosmetics case.

I won’t deny I’m delighted she’s moving in, even though I wish it were under better circumstances.

I’ve been saving for a ring and know exactly which one she deserves.

Now that we live together, I know it’s the right time to purchase it.

“I brought in all of your bags. Do you want me to unpack them?” She shakes her head, and I think she may stay silent for the rest of the day until she responds.

“No. I can do it. I don’t want to take up any of your space. We can figure out where I’ll put things later. Will you hold me?” Music to my ears.

“Remember that this is your home now, too. Redecorate, move my things, we could even move into a new place if that’s what you want.

As long as I’m living with you, I can do whatever brings light back into your face.

In the meantime, I will spend all day holding you.

Let me get the remote, and you can turn on a movie.

” I lay down on the sofa, situating El between my legs to rest her head on my stomach, allowing me to play with her golden blonde hair.

My heart breaks when she sobs quietly until she falls asleep.

We don’t move until almost dinnertime, when she wakes back up. I tell her to shower and change into something comfortable while I make dinner. I smile greedily as I do so, knowing this is the beginning of the rest of our lives together. If only her parents would come around one day.