Page 36 of A Treasure To Keep (Leone Legacy #2)

Marco

I t’s been about ten weeks since we started regularly sleeping together and six weeks since I face fucked Andrea in the dressing room. The conversation with James made me think more clearly about our relationship. Or whatever this is.

The next day, I reached out to El, hoping to set things straight.

Surprisingly, she said to call her after she got home from work to smooth everything over.

We’ve gotten more casual with the rules and continue to fuck together, with our moments when it’s two of us instead of three.

I haven’t told anyone about what’s going on, including Alessandro, and I tell him everything.

He wouldn’t care who I’m fucking or that I’m fucking a dude, but we made a rule not to tell anyone, and I want to respect that.

I swipe up my truck keys after sneaking El out this morning to meet her at the store to shop for Luci’s baby shower.

She fell asleep before Andrea had to leave, since he had an early work meeting.

The one thing I’ve learned about El is that she’s a bitch to everyone, including Andrea, if she’s woken up in the middle of a sleep cycle.

Ironically, Andrea is the same way. We decided it would be best for her to stay here.

As I go to leave, I run into Alessandro in the kitchen while he drinks his morning coffee.

“Marco, wait a second.” Shit.

“What’s up? I’m running late. I’m the chosen one to help El shop for Luci’s baby shower. In her words, ‘I need muscle, and since Enzo and Domenico are busy, you’re my last option.’ Can you fucking believe that?”

“I can. Could I ask that you be more subtle when you’re sneaking out your pieces of ass in the morning? I don’t want my daughter growing up seeing different women in and out of this house.” I thought he saw me sneak out El specifically. I get his point, though.

“No problem, man. I need to head out. El will threaten to castrate me if I keep her waiting.”

When I pull into the parking lot, I park close to El’s car. I lock my truck on my way into the store, finding El standing at the entrance, tapping the toe of her shoe, and her arms crossed. She rolls her eyes when she sees me, uncrossing her arms, and approaches me.

“What took you so long?” Surprisingly, she has a hint of concern in her voice instead of the annoyance her body language had shown seconds ago.

“Alessandro stopped me. He saw me sneaking a woman out this morning.” She stops in her path, eyes wide, and I know she’s thinking what I was.

“Don’t worry, he didn’t see it was you. He wanted to make sure his and Luci’s daughter doesn’t grow up seeing women I hook up with in and out of the house constantly. ”

“Oh, thank god. I wouldn’t know how to explain what’s going on if they found out.

That’s an issue we can worry about some other time.

Let’s get everything we need for Luci’s baby shower.

I have to be over there in a couple of hours to finish Luci’s hair and makeup.

I won’t have time to set up after. Unless you want to set it up by yourself, we need to make this quick.

Don’t worry, I have everything picked out for the most part.

” She walks off as I process what she said. Hold on. Did she say we ?

I catch up to El, currently in the party section, searching in the back of a shelf for what she wants. “Hold the fuck up! Did you say ‘we’?”

“Yeah, I did. I can’t set this up by myself.

Alessandro insisted on having massive doors.

I’m not searching for a ladder and praying to God that I don’t fall.

Also, some of the stuff takes muscle, and you have muscle out the ass.

Please?” She faces me, a flirtatious smile crossing her face.

Is this how she gets Andrea to do her bidding?

“Only because you said please.” I pull El toward me, Little Marco suddenly understanding what I crave from her. Suddenly, we hear a voice greeting us from the end of the aisle.

“Look who it is! Eleanora Gallo. It’s been a while.” El suddenly shoves me away the second he finishes his sentence. He eyes me up and down, a cocky smile on his face.

“Who’s this? What happened to that French guy?”

El’s face falls flat; anger and insecurity edged across her face when he walks up toward us. “I’m her and Andrea’s friend, Marco. I’m the muscle helping El shop for a friend’s party. And you are?”

“Excuse me, how rude. Giovanni D’Angelo. My family is old friends with the Gallos, and Eleanora and I dated in college.”

He holds out his hand, and I shake it, not missing the slight hiss he gives when I squeeze his hand too tightly. Pussy.

I turn to El, baffled that she would ever date a guy who sucks away her personality. “You dated this guy? I can instantly tell that you’re too good for him. Do you see his outfit? He’s every copycat asshole that’s ever existed.”

“And I’m supposed to take advice from you? Everything I’m wearing is designer. Speaking of designer. Eleanora, you never gave me back the ring.”

“I sold that fucking ring the day I caught you balls deep in Mirabella. How is she, anyway?”

“Mirabella got comfortable and let herself go. Similar to you, but more. I couldn’t have her as my wife.

I saw your parents the other night at the benefit my parents host every year.

They’re extremely concerned about you. They mentioned that you had moved in with your boyfriend.

They asked me to reach out, so it’s convenient that I saw you here.

If you would simply apologize, I’d get you the best trainer, and we could try us again.

You know, we could have been a fantastic couple. ”

This fucking asshole. I grab him by the throat, slamming him into the shelves as several things get knocked over.

“If you say any more dumb shit, I will snap your pussy ass neck. Andrea and El deserve each other, unlike you. Crawl back into whatever hole you came out of. If I find out you ever speak to her again, I will hunt you down and feed you your tiny dick for dinner. Got it?” I squeeze his neck tighter before letting him go.

He scrambles off, leaving the cart with his items behind. Good.

“Did you have to cause a scene? I’m not arguing with it. He deserves it, but still.” I do this for her, and that’s the reaction I get?

“He gaslit you, body-shamed you, and blamed you for cheating. How could I not? Did you seriously date him all through college? Also, you went to college?”

“Yes, I went to college! I have a business and fashion degree, asshole. Unfortunately, yes, I did date him. His parents are good friends with my parents, and they pushed us together. Power couple bullshit or whatever. And I was the fucking fool who thought he loved me. Three months after he proposed, I walked into my bedroom to catch him on top of my cousin. I sold his ring, he got engaged to Mirabella, and I met Andrea six months later when I got the stylist job. He’s always done that shit.

Always blaming me and gaslighting me for anything that happens, even if it’s his fault.

I was also a size four when we dated. With my body type, it was impossible to keep unless I was eating lean meats and vegetables for every meal.

When we broke up, I finally ate what my body needed to fuel itself.

Even though I went up to a size twelve, I’ve never felt better.

” She tucks her bottom lip in between her teeth, with that insecure expression on her face I saw earlier when Giovanni first saw us.

“I’m confused. You’re close to a foot and a half shorter than me, and I’m only a few inches taller than Alessandro.

We’re both more dangerous than Giovanni could ever be, and you’re afraid of him?

You have the balls to stand up to Alessandro and I with ease.

That asshole doesn’t deserve the toilet paper you wipe your ass with, let alone any of your thoughts. ”

Her face twists with disgust when she processes what I said. “That is the grossest thing you could have ever said. Let’s get everything for Luci’s baby shower and get back before I have to take her hair out of the curlers.”

El walks away from me, the clicking of her heels on the floor getting quieter as she gets farther away. Eventually, I catch up to her when she has the checkout lady call me over the intercom. She couldn’t call me instead? I guess not.

I don’t miss the shock on the cashier’s face when I appear at the register, assuming she was calling for a young child, not a massive tattooed man.

We don’t talk as I load the items in the back of my truck while El leaves me behind.

I guess we’re not heading back to the house together for the baby shower.

Which I found out the other day, I’m not allowed to stay at the house for.

When I appear in the driveway, El is waiting, leaning against her car.

The moment she sees me, her haunted expression changes to her typical guarded face.

She will do everything in her power to hide any sign of weakness.

She lowers the bed to my truck, unloading everything to carry the bags into the garden.

An hour later, El and I have everything set up in the garden for Luci’s baby shower.

Alessandro walks into the garden, followed by Andrea and Enzo.

Alessandro is insistent on taking advantage of every minute to stay around.

The further along in this pregnancy Luci is, the more protective he is of her.

The man is 100 percent pussy whipped. Alessandro nods his head while he processes what El planned for Luci.

“I never doubted you would do an amazing job, but you’ve exceeded my expectations, mon trésor.” Andrea kisses the space behind her ear as El melts into him. Fuck Giovanni. Andrea is the man who deserves her.

“This is beautiful, El. Luci will love this.” A small smile appears on Alessandro’s face, and I can practically hear the sound of a whip in the background.

He’s almost as bad as Andrea. “But I don’t understand why we have to leave.

Luci needs to be protected—” El breaks off Alessandro, standing up to him as always.

“Which is why Domenico is here, which means you four can leave. Bye-bye!” El shoos us out of the house, loading up in my truck as we head out for the afternoon.

Where? No fucking clue, but Andrea will let me know.

Something about since El planned Luci’s baby shower, it’s only appropriate that Andrea plans Alessandro’s afternoon.

I don’t get it, but all I need to know is where to go.

Enzo, Alessandro, and Andrea laugh as I follow the GPS.

I can’t shake the image of El’s face when Giovanni spoke to her.

It pisses me off that she lets him take up a speck of space in her head.

I wonder if Andrea knows about him. I’ll ask him later; then, we can sandwich El in between us as we show her how perfect she is.