Chapter Thirty-Four
Zahra
Devil pressed a button, and the window opened.
My stomach twisted with jealousy. She was even prettier up close.
“Hi!” she chirped, looking into the minivan.
“Oh, it’s a—it’s a full house,” she said, fighting to keep her grin from slipping as her gaze fell to Devil, and then her grin turned a little brighter like she was genuinely pleased to meet him.
“You must be Elia. I see the resemblance, the whole hair color and ch-chin, like—yeah.” Her grin turned into an awkward smile as she glanced at me.
I leveled her with a glare, and she quickly averted her eyes from me. Intimidated. Yes. Good. I liked that.
She cleared her throat. “You guys have been out here for an hour now. Would you like to come in?” she asked, swallowing. “My nonna just finished making dinner; I think there is enough for everyone—”
“Oh, thank God, I was starving—”
“Dog,” I warned.
“What?” he whined. “We haven’t eaten in hours, I’m dying here.”
“The cemetery isn’t far. Remember?” I gritted out.
Gemma’s eyes widened in fear at my statement.
“And you.” I pinned her with a stare. “Do you just randomly invite strangers into your home?”
She blinked. “Uh … well … you’re—you’re Elio’s girlfriend, and he’s Elio’s brother …
I mean—when I saw the minivan, I recognized it and knew it couldn’t be Elio because he’s not in Italy.
I tried to call him, but he wasn’t picking up, and then I figured it might be someone from—you know?
His work? I wanted to call the cops, but the minivan was familiar, and I just wanted to make sure. ”
“So, you came out of your house—not sure if it was a serial killer waiting to kidnap you or hurt you—just to make sure it was okay to call the cops?” Devil asked.
Gingerly, she raised her hand to reveal pepper spray. “I have … pepper spray?”
I looked toward the back seat to my friends, with a question in my eyes, only getting shrugs in return.
I turned my gaze to her. “You know us.”
“Yeah.” Her voice shook. “From the cruise, um, the Celestial? The first time we met at the suite, when I—when I knocked … and lied … because I panicked.”
I frowned, wondering why she was revealing this much.
“I saw you guys around Elio often, and I’ve always wanted to introduce myself.
The minute the window came down, and I saw that it was you, I realized that, well—well—I figured since you’re here, you might have found out about me?
And since you’re here without Elio, then maybe you have—uh … questions.”
“Can we take this inside? Where there’s food?” Dog chipped in.
“That would be great!” Gemma nodded, smiling like she wanted to take my friends, too, and then she looked at me.
“I promise, Elio and I have absolutely nothing romantic to do with each other—we’re just very good friends.
Like, very good friends, and I really don’t know why he’s not answering his calls, but I am trying—and I will try my best to explain anything you want. ”
“Good friends?” Upper popped his head out so he could get a good look at her. “A good friend he has a baby named Sailor with?”
“Huh?” Gemma’s eyes widened in shock. “Oh no … oh no, no, no, no. Oh God, the gift box … that must be it. Uh—Sailor’s my cat.
The ginger one? With Mimi? Elio told me she spent some time in your suite on the cruise.
I wanted to thank you guys for your hospitality, but Elio hadn’t introduced me yet.
If I could get ahold of the man in question, he would explain perfectly because I’m pretty sure I’m making a mess of this whole conversation, and that is the last thing I want.
” She took a long breath, and her smile was now forced, uncomfortable, panicked, like she was scared of making matters worse.
I blinked at her. “So … you’re not … you’re not his … baby mama?”
“Jesus Christ, no! I’m dating his friend. Angelo? That’s my boyfriend.”
“Oh,” Milk said from the back seat.
Devil looked at me with a blank stare. “We should have answered his call.”
I swallowed, starting to see things in a different light. “But wait—you called him your love.”
Gemma sighed. “I call everyone that. I didn’t actually mean it like he’s my actual love.
I call literally everyone I see ‘my love.’ It’s like a habit I got …
I don’t know when I started doing it. But I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember; I even call my bosses ‘my love,’ and it’s just something I do, and I’m sure you didn’t need all those details. ”
My shoulders dropped as I rubbed my eyes. “Are you fucking shitting me?”
“I’m sorry,” she squeaked. “I am a big people person, and—God, Angelo told me he hadn’t given the box to Elio because he was still recovering and didn’t want to trigger anything.
I didn’t know what Angelo did with it after I gave it to him …
like, weeks ago. I’m sorry if I caused anything.
I just—I just wanted to do something nice because—well, he doesn’t celebrate birthdays, and gift boxes are always perfect, especially yellow ones because they’re like sunshine, and sunshine is always great for moon minds—God, what am I saying. ”
I breathed out, slumping back on the car seat as my shoulders relaxed in relief.
“It was all a little misunderstanding, I promise,” she added.
I nodded, the pain in my chest disappearing as I closed my eyes. “I still have questions, and I really hope your grandmother made enough food.”
“Ah, yes! I like full house. Many people come to eat my food!” Gemma’s nonna said with a grin as we entered the house.
It was normal, welcoming, colorful, and cozy. I couldn’t picture myself living here long term, but I wouldn’t deny it was a beautiful home. A regular home with ordinary people. A pattern of life I knew nothing about.
“Oh, I know that smell.” Dog brushed past me and straight to where I supposed the kitchen was, but not before stopping to ask Gemma’s nonna a question, to which she smiled at him and responded with a vigorous nod.
“I hope we aren’t imposing,” Devil said. “We can leave if that is the case.”
“Oh no, that’s okay. This is totally okay.” Gemma smiled with a nod, sneaking a glance at me.
“Well, I’m Milk,” Milk spoke up, stretching out her hand to Gemma with a broad smile. “Pleasure to officially meet you. I saw you several times on the cruise; you’re gorgeous.”
Color filled Gemma’s cheeks. “Oh—thanks! Coming from you—that’s, yeah—uh, thank you! You’re pretty, too! The extraordinary kind, very—very pretty.”
Milk’s smile widened. “Why, thank you!”
“I’m Upper, and I’ll go make sure Dog doesn’t touch anything in your kitchen because he seems to believe all kitchens are his. All kitchens.”
“That’s totally okay, too!” Gemma said.
I studied Gemma’s body language. She was pretty overwhelmed by everything happening right now; maybe a little uncomfortable, but a people person and a people pleaser would definitely never tell you if they’re uncomfortable.
At least, not her kind.
Poor girl. This world we’re in would crush her fragile mind, and I bet she had absolutely no idea what Elio really did.
“Where is the Zahra?” Gemma’s nonna made her way toward us, her eyes as blue as Gemma’s pinned right on me.
I shifted uncomfortably.
“Hmm, you are the fuck friend turn girlfriend.”
“Nonna, come on,” Gemma chided, sounding embarrassed.
“Shh, I must do inspection.” She squinted her eyes at me, and then both hands came to my face, turning it from left to right.
From the corners of my vision, I caught Devil leaning against the wall, eyes filled with amusement.
“I see…” the woman drawled out, “I see same ears … same eyebrows … same eye shape but more in woman form. Hmm … what else … frown for me.”
“Why the fuck would I—”
“Frown now!”
I frowned, not because she asked me to frown, but because this was really weird.
The woman smiled. “Perfect. Soulmate.”
“I am so confused,” I said.
She took her hand from my face. “My mother always tell me if a woman meet her soulmate, her true soulmate, they will have some similar thing in look, in manner, and sometime in thinking. That is how I know me and Maurice, my dead husband, are not soulmate. That is also how I know my Gemma and that Giacomo fool she date before are not soulmate. But you and Elio, soulmate.”
I turned to see a big grin on Milk’s face. “I read that somewhere too!” she said, tilting her head. “And now that I think about it, you do look—”
“You have a beautiful home.” I cut Milk off before she made the whole situation even weirder than it already was. “It’s … it’s homey.”
“Yes. My Gemma work very hard for it. Hope everybody like spice! I will check on turkey now. You, pink hair, come set the table. Elia, come, let us talk as you help me carve the turkey.”
When I was alone with Gemma, I turned to pin her with a look.
She stood straighter. “Listen, Zahra, I know how this must all seem, Elio and me, but I promise that it’s nothing like that, and I really don’t want to cause problems between you two.
And honestly, Elio really, truly does care so much about you, and I feel like he’s going to hate me for this situation, and—well, maybe the gift box was a bad idea; I just really wanted to do something nice. I’m sorry if it seemed otherwise.”
“How did you meet him?”
“A ride. I gave him a ride in my car many months ago.”
I scanned her from head to toe. “Huh … Why didn’t he mention you?”
“He told me he was finding the perfect way to tell you. I really wanted to meet you, but not in this way. In a normal way.”
“Right … and you have no ulterior motives.” I studied her.
“I don’t think I have enough in me to have ulterior motives,” she answered.
“You’re just friends with him.”
“Just friends, I promise.”
“You don’t think he’s hot.”
She blinked. “I—I think he’s all right and perfect for you.”
“And not for you?”
She swallowed. “I like Angelo. Very much. I promise you, you have nothing to worry about regarding my friendship with Elio. I care about him as a friend, and that’s it.”
“Hm.” I nodded. “He didn’t call you to tell you we might be coming?”
“When I saw the van, I called him, but he didn’t answer. I haven’t heard from him in like two days, but I always see him around when I FaceTime Angelo.”
“Do you usually let people push you over?”
She blinked. “Wh-what?”
“You let people step on you too often?”
She swallowed. “I, uh … I don’t know what you mean. I really don’t want to offend anyone and—”
“Yeah, I don’t really care.”
I liked that I was still in control of the situation.
Looking around to make sure no one was coming or listening in, I took a step toward her, and she inched back a bit.
“I’ll make one thing clear, Gemma. He’s mine.
And if this friendship thing rubs me the wrong way, in any way, shape, or form, we will be having a less cordial conversation.
I’m going to set some boundaries. I don’t care if you call everyone your ‘love,’ you don’t call him that, and you don’t give him kisses, you don’t do any of that shit. ”
She nodded. “Got it.”
I let my hand settle on her shoulder, and a smile curved on my lips. “Good talk.” I patted her shoulder, looking around as I stepped away from her. “Your choice of wallpaper is perfect. Aesthetic.”
Her throat worked. “Thank you.”
“Also, you shouldn’t just let people into your home like this … even if they’re friends of your friend. It’s not safe. Not everyone is who they say they are or who you think they are.”
She nodded. “Yeah, of course.”
I nodded once before turning and heading to the kitchen.