Page 38 of A Treasure To Keep (Leone Legacy #2)
Andrea
T he jingle of El’s keys and the door opening announce her arrival. Her eyes meet mine from the kitchen the second she walks through the door. Wow, she’s spectacular.
“Did you have fun today, mon trésor?” Her eyes tear up instantly when I ask my question.
I take the skillet off the burner, turn off the stove, and rush over to wrap the woman I love in my arms. I escort her into the living room to sit on the sofa as she spends a minimum of fifteen minutes crying hysterically.
Eventually, she pulls away as I hold her face, swiping the tears that stain her beautiful face.
“What happened today? Did something happen at the baby shower?” Alessandro texted me several minutes ago, asking me to thank El for the baby shower.
“No. No, the baby shower was perfect.” El pauses for a second, resting her head in her hands for a second before continuing. “Marco and I ran into him at the store.”
“Him? Who him?”
“HIM, Andrea! Who else would it be? Giovanni, of course! It was awful! He never fails to make me the smallest person in the room. And not just physically.”
I’m convinced arrows could shoot out of her eyes when I laugh. “Mon trésor, I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. Your short joke was adorable.” Silence. It’s still not funny. “Why didn’t you mention this earlier, before the baby shower?”
“Because today wasn’t about my issues with Giovanni. There was no way I was about to let him ruin Luci’s baby shower.”
I grab her face, holding it in place, forcing her to focus on me.
“No matter what Giovanni says, you’re a strong, confident woman.
He’s a small and insignificant part of your past. I’m your future.
I know it’s easier said than done, but please let me show you how amazing you are.
Today, tomorrow, forever. For the rest of our lives.
Remember that movie where the husband tells his wife with dementia about their love story? I will do that for you.”
El leans back slightly, offended and impressed that I remembered that movie. How could I not? She cried for hours after we watched it together. “Who says I’ll be the senile one? Maybe it would be you. We never know.”
I chuckle while shaking my head in response to her question. “I think we both know who the senile one would be.”
“Fine. What’s for dinner? I want to feed my feelings.”
“I was working on a light pasta dish to serve with a side salad and white wine.” Wrong answer.
“Or we could order pizza and watch a movie.” El smiles, snuggling herself into my chest. She inhales deeply, her eyes closed to collect this moment as a memory, something she does after seeing it in a movie.
“Sausage, bell pepper, and black olive?”
“Always, my love.”
She hums when I kiss her on the forehead. “Go get changed into something more comfortable while we wait for our food.”
I grab my phone once she’s in our bedroom, taking the opportunity to text Marco. I know El won’t tell me everything that happened with Giovanni. I have no doubt Marco will.
Me:
El came home crying. What happened at the store today with Giovanni?
Marco:
She came home crying? Fuck! Dude, that piece of shit is something else. He took any opportunity to gaslight her or body shame her. If we weren’t in public, he might be six feet under. He’s on my shit list.
Me:
That sounds about right. She hasn’t seen him since Giovanni and Mirabella’s engagement party, when I met him and El’s family. I wish I could have been there. Relationship insecurities are her only weakness, and it’s all because of him.