Chapter 35 Daniel
DANIEL
The scent of burned food reached my nostrils as soon as I got inside the condo, and walking straight to the kitchen, I found Elliot trying to open a window.
On the counter was a pan with what I assumed was once chicken, now reduced to coals.
“Oh, you’re home,” he panted, still having no success with the window.
Moving to assist, I stopped behind him. “Those windows have an extra lock for safety, right—” I switched the lock. “—here.”
I then kissed the top of his head before opening the window so some of the smoke could get out.
“Oh, I didn’t know…” he mumbled in a low voice, studying the lock as if I’d just performed some magic trick.
“I presume we won’t be having any chicken tonight?” I joked in English when Elliot looked at me, confused.
“What perfume?”
“Presume, not perfume.”
He still seemed baffled, so I switched to French.
“I was trying to make a joke about the chicken. That’s all.”
A faint blush rushed to his cheeks before he looked down. “I-it’s the first time I burned something.”
How cute.
I nudged his chin up. “Nothing worth being sad over.”
“It’s unlike me to burn food—”
“Hey.” Grabbing his arms, my fingers easily wrapped around them. “It happens to the best of us.” I caressed his fair skin as silence lingered between us. “So? How did it go?”
Elliot chewed on his bottom lip, eyes searching mine before he gave me a small nod. “I got the job.”
Excitement crammed with joy rushed through me at the news, and I pulled him into a tight embrace.
“That’s incredible, Elliot. Absolutely amazing.”
He hummed in response, a reaction not as joyful as expected. Confused, I let go of him.
“Are you not happy about it?”
His blue eyes met mine, the stress in his gaze not escaping me.
“Did you have anything to do with it?”
“Of course not.”
“Oh.” His face fell. “So you’re lying to me now.”
The disappointment in his voice was like a stab to the gut, making my body turn cold.
“I’m not lying, Elli—”
He pushed my hand after I attempted to caress his cheek. Getting the message, I stepped back.
“Fine.” I breathed in. “I’ve only had one meeting with Mr. Renieri, and quite frankly, not a very good one. Hence why I didn’t think it was worth mentioning—”
“But it was,” he cut in, eyes fierce and dangerous like blue flames. “I don’t need a sugar daddy.”
His words stung in my ears like an out-of-tune violin, and baffled, I gaped at him.
“That is the last thing I want to be to you.”
“So don’t do things that make you into one.” He moved away from me, going straight to the kitchen.
“Listen, Elliot—”
“Look what you made me do,” he snarled, holding the pan with the burned chicken. “Me? Burning coq au vin?” He tossed it into the garbage bin while hissing more curses in French I couldn’t quite get the hang of.
With the atmosphere getting heated, I loosened my tie a bit. “You got the whole thing wrong, Elliot.”
“So you didn’t meet Vito?”
“I… I did, but—”
“And you didn’t lie about it, too?”
I opened my mouth, only to shut it immediately because he was right, and yet, the whole thing was getting blown out of proportion.
With a sigh, I placed my hand on my waist. “Yes, I’ve met with Vito, but only to tell him he made a mistake.”
“You—”
“No.” I lifted one finger up. “Now you let me speak.”
The muscle in his jaw twitched before he bit his lips, almost like he was struggling not to answer back.
“As I was trying to say, I only asked Vito to give you another chance. At no point in our short conversation did I offer him anything in return. I’d never do that, Elliot.
Never.” I held his stare to make sure he got this one right.
And honestly, the fact that he assumed I was capable of doing so was insulting.
“I didn’t tell you about the meeting because it wasn’t important, as I didn’t settle anything with Vito, let alone pay him to hire you. ”
“Why should I believe you?” he challenged me with a raised chin.
“Because I’m not a liar.”
He tsked. “Really? You should tell that to Claudia, then.”
Hurt, I stopped in my tracks and stared at him. The brief fear in his eyes told me that he understood he’d just crossed a line. Yet, in the same breath, he was still too angry to step down from the hill he’d climbed on. And clearly, I’d have to ignore that inappropriate comment.
“The only one responsible for you getting the job is you, Elliot. Not me.”
“So you just talked?”
Whenever he was angry, I noticed Elliot turned to English, as if I wasn’t worthy of speaking his language. It was somehow both charming and amusing.
“Yes.” I swallowed hard, my throat dry from all the bending over backward. “And quite frankly, other than making a fool out of myself in front of Vito, I did nothing. So the fact that he still hired you despite your boyfriend being a complete idiot is even more incredible.”
Elliot’s eyes snapped to mine, a deep crease between his brows. “Vito knows?”
“Huh?”
“Did you tell Vito about us?”
I scratched my jaw. “Technically, he found out for himself.”
“And you didn’t deny it?”
Worried I’d just made another mistake, I chose my next words carefully. “Well, yes. There was no point denying it. Hopefully, he’s a discreet man, although only time will tell.”
“Someone knows about us,” Elliot muttered, his words barely understandable as he dropped his eyes to the floor.
“Pardon?”
Looking up, his face beamed with joy. “Someone knows we’re together.”
Elliot
It was true that I was furious with him and didn’t plan to let go of my anger anytime soon. Not only did I burn my chicken because of him, but his actions made me feel insecure about our relationship.
More insecure.
The differences between us were so big it was hard not to see them, with him being richer, older, smarter, and successful.
I’d already been at a disadvantage since the start, and when he did stuff like that, it only made the gap bigger.
A gap I so desperately worked to close. Why?
Because it was only a matter of time before he’d want to go back to Claudia, someone who was his equal in age, intelligence, and style.
No matter how he looked at it, next to him, I was a kid, same as the little sister he’d just had to bail out of jail.
How was getting me this job any different from bailing her out?
It wasn’t, because in the end, he fixed both problems with his resources—
“So the fact that he still hired you despite your boyfriend being a complete idiot is even more incredible.”
Ignoring the first part of his sentence, I stopped on that one word that suddenly changed it all.
“Vito knows?” I stared at him with disbelief while my pulse started to race faster.
“Huh?”
“You told Vito about us?”
There’s no way he did.
“Technically, he found out for himself.”
“And you didn’t deny it?”
I mean, isn’t that what you’re most scared of?
“Well, yes. There was no point denying it. Hopefully, he’s a discreet man, although only time will tell.”
Someone knows about us.
My heart beat so fast I could hear it pounding in my ears.
Someone knows about us.
“Pardon?”
I looked up, unable to hide the smile on my face.
“Someone knows we’re together.”
Someone knows that you love me.
Daniel seemed confused, his brows pulled close, before his expression relaxed. “I mean, yes. Like I said, he found out all by himself—”
I tossed myself at him, my arms wrapped tight around his body as he let out a low oof.
I didn’t care about how angry I was a moment ago, not when there was another person who knew about us.
Yes, people in the Amalfi Coast saw us together, but like Daniel said, they were a couple of foreign strangers we’ll never see again.
But Vito? He wasn’t a stranger and most definitely not a nobody.
I tightened my hold around Daniel, my face pressed against his chest.
“I know you said yesterday that you hate going out… but I really want to celebrate.”
He kissed the top of my head, my heart melting the same way it always did when he kissed me, before cupping the back of my neck.
“So let’s celebrate.”
“When I said we should celebrate, the last thing I expected was this,” Daniel laughed while handing me the biggest slice of pizza I’d ever seen.
I took it from him, my stomach growling after I hadn’t eaten the whole day.
“Some photographer told me there’s nothing like New York pizza.”
Daniel smiled, two lines appearing on each side of his lips. “That photographer was damn right.”
I chuckled at his excitement right before he left to get us drinks.
Once alone, I looked around. Despite the weather getting colder, the streets were packed.
After spending too much time in this city, I’d learned that New Yorkers would never skip a night out, not even when the temperature dropped.
Well, the French weren’t that different. Although no one partied like us French.
This pizza place was a tiny shop on the corner of a street, about two blocks away from our place.
They only sold pizza, had no chairs, and instead had high tables to eat at.
Oh, and there was beer. Lots of it. I guessed this was the authentic experience Daniel mentioned on our way here.
And even though I told him I’d never eaten a New York pizza before, it was a lie.
When I’d just gotten here, it was pretty much the only food I ate for about a month until I found the job at Marrie’s.
Feels like a lifetime ago. Although this pizza looked much better than the trash I ate back then.
My mouth watered at the melted cheese, and I licked my lips before checking to see if Daniel was coming back.
The long line of people told me there was probably more time left before he’d return.
Hungry, I considered sneaking a small bite.
My weight was good this morning, so I could treat myself to this one thing.
And besides, I’d run an extra lap tomorrow, just in case.
But looking back at my slice of pizza, all that grease and fat made me sick to my stomach.
It’s just one slice. But what if it wasn’t?
What if this one small bite led to another, and then another, and before I knew it, I’d lose control.
I couldn’t allow that, not when everything I wanted was almost mine.
Living with my dream man while getting the job every model would kill for.
I couldn’t lose it. I was already at a disadvantage as a male model, with too much muscle mass, and that was without mentioning the parts of me I hated, like my knuckles and thick ankles, and all that fat I could feel when I pinched my waist—
“You like Diet soda, right?” Daniel’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I looked up at him just as he placed a cup next to me.
He rubbed his hands together, saying something about how starving he was before grabbing his pizza.
My throat dried as I watched him fold the slice in half and take a huge bite, the cheese stretching when he pulled it away.
I swallowed hard, feeling my body twisting with repulsion at seeing the grease left on his lips.
I hate seeing people eat. The sudden thought made me pause, because, since when?
It used to be one of my favorite things before food turned into… into a threat.
“Why aren’t you eating?” Daniel asked after he’d finished his slice in three big bites.
I placed my slice down. “I don’t feel very well… I have a migraine.”
“Oh.” Brows pulling close, he quickly cleaned his hands with a paper napkin before grabbing my shoulder. “You sure it’s not because you haven’t eaten anything?”
Looking away from my pizza, I leaned into his touch. “No. No. I ate a sandwich at home before you got there,” I lied. “I guess I’m tired.”
“So let’s go back home.”
I nodded, eager to move away from this pizza place. I didn’t enjoy lying to him, and while sad we had to cut our celebration short, it was worth it because I finally had everything I wanted, and now, all I had to do was maintain things as they were—no matter the cost.