Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
GINO
Drew pulls out his laptop and gets to work.
“You said it's only been unknown numbers, right, and it hasn't been the same number?” he asks her as he takes a seat at the bar.
“Yeah,” she replies, sitting next to him.
“I’ve been looking into it, and whoever this is, they're good. I know that’s not what either of you wants to hear, but I can’t deny it.”
“Maybe we should table this. Whoever this is doesn’t seem like a threat. And they might not even view what they’re doing as threatening. They’re trying to help,” Juliet says.
“Juliet, it doesn’t matter; they are calling you, scaring you, and I’m not going to let that go,” I say.
She huffs and leaves the room, and Drew just stares at me.
“What?” I bark at him.
“Hmm.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I ask.
“I knew you liked her, but damn, didn’t know you liked her like that,” he says, and I roll my eyes.
“Shut up, Drew,” I groan.
“Yeah, not going to. What the fuck is going on with you two? No one has said anything, but what the fuck happened? Mateo is missing, so you’re on edge; I get it, but you two… You’re both different.”
I’m not telling him about how we slept together; that's not happening.
He sighs. “Gino, if you two are trying to hide the fact that you are together, it’s getting harder for you to do that.”
“What the fuck?”
“Come on, man, we've seen it for years. We get it, you both have this loyalty to your father. And her parents were friends with your dad. But don’t use that as the reason you’ve got to hide your feelings or relationship,” he replies.
“Drew, I’m not in the mood to discuss this with you,” I say.
“No, you’re in denial, and so is Juliet,” he replies.
“You can say I’m in denial, but don’t speak badly about her,” I grit out.
“And that right there is why I know I’m right. I’ve known you both for how long? It’s obvious; it’s been obvious. I’ve known you both too long for you both to hide this.”
I take a deep breath. Technically telling him we’re dating is another lie, but he started it.
“Promise you won’t tell everyone?” I look over to him.
“Do you think I’m going to run and tell everyone?” He scoffs.
“No, I–”
“If you think everyone is going to be pissed that you two are together after all these years, you’re mistaken. We’ve been asking for the two of you to put us out of our misery. You’ve been doing this dance for years,” he says.
I swallow.
“I know Mateo wouldn’t care; neither will your sister, so go for it.”
“When did you become so insightful?” I ask.
He snorts. “I’ve said this to you for years; you're just finally listening.”
And with that, he leaves.
I stand in the kitchen, knowing that regardless of what Drew said, he will tell Alonso. And Alonso can’t keep a secret to save his life, so he’ll tell everyone.
Before I can think about anything else, my phone pings.
Alonso
Thank God, I’ve been waiting for this. Since Mateo didn’t let me plan his bachelor party, when you get married to Juliet, can I plan yours?
I roll my eyes.
Gino
No. And don’t tell my sister.
Alonso
Come on, she’ll be happy about it, and you know it.
I grumble, but I don’t reply. I don’t have time for this. But I’ll need to make sure Juliet is on board before everyone else knows and asks her questions.
Before I can look for her, she rounds the corner.
“Hey,” I say as she walks closer.
“What’s wrong?”
“Drew thinks we're together, and before you protest, this could work,” I reply.
“Work how?” She asks, a slight irritation in her voice.
“Like I said, we need to make people believe we’re dating.”
“You’re serious about that? I thought you just said that off the cuff weeks ago.”
“Juliet, I've never been more serious about anything. I told you your safety was the most important thing, and I meant it.” I look at her sternly.
“Gino, you can’t favor my well-being. Everyone deserves safety,” she replies softly.
“They do, and they have it. Alonso is staying with Vanessa. The Cambio brothers have each other, and Ryan and Drew live on this property. You are living in this house with me, which means you are under my protection figuratively and literally,” I reply.
She’s going to make this hard; I know that, but I need her to understand why this is going to protect her.
“You’re expecting me to change my life because some asshole is texting me?” she asks with furrowed brows.
“I’m not asking you to change anything about yourself. I’m asking you to play the game a little bit,” I reply, hoping she’ll let this go and agree.
I walk closer to her. I’ve gotten away with the light touches over the years, but now I don’t know if she’ll take any affection as a part of this fake relationship we’re diving into.
Grabbing her hands, I lower my voice and say, “The thing you need to understand, bella, is that I will do anything for you, even if that means I’m lying to others to protect you.”