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And before that torture started, I had to face an interrogation. Once a week, Leo, Giorgio, and I met for breakfast. My appointment was late enough for me to make it, but I’d seriously thought about skipping. I’d already taken enough shit from Marco about my role in this mission. I didn’t need to deal with it from my teammates too. But even though they could be assholes, they were the only real friends I had. So I sucked it up and showed up on time at Bacon and Bakin’, the café across the street from Devilish Ink.
I grinned when I saw Leo and Giorgio were already seated, and Ezra, the very young, very adorable waiter who had a huge crush on Leo was taking their drink order.
“I’ll take a black coffee,” I said as I slid into the booth, punching Giorgio’s arm to make him slide over.
“Coffee. Yes. Of course.” Ezra dropped his pencil. When he bent to pick it up, Giorgio and I grinned at Leo who rolled his eyes.
“I’ll… um… be back with those real quick,” Ezra said before scurrying off and nearly colliding with one of the other servers.
“I almost think you should put him out of his misery,” Giorgio said.
Leo shook his head. “He’s way too young and innocent. If he really knew me, he wouldn’t be so lovestruck. The real me would scare the shit out of him.”
“That might be exactly what he’s looking for,” Giorgio suggested.
Leo scowled. “No.”
Giorgio waved him off and turned to me. “Speaking of looking for things… How’s it going with Marco?”
I snarled at him.
Leo laughed. “You don’t think he’s the perfect partner?”
“You know I don’t, but it’s going fine. He’s better at planning than I thought he would be.”
“Oooh. A compliment.” Giorgio raised his brows. “Don’t tell me he’s managed to seduce you.”
Leo widened his eyes dramatically. “Did he ask you out again?”
They’d seen me talking to him the night he’d come back to my place. I’d told them he’d asked me to come out for drinks, which was true. “He asked me if I was going out with the group that night. He expected me to say no. He just wanted to prove I wasn’t one of the boys.”
Leo laughed and shook his head. “You can be when you want to.”
“And it wouldn’t hurt you to loosen up occasionally,” Giorgio said.
Leo scoffed at him. “Giorgio, when I met you, you were one of the most uptight motherfuckers I’ve ever met in my life.”
“I’ve changed.”
Leo huffed. “Lane changed you.”
That was absolutely true. Giorgio was different since meeting Lane, warmer, more sociable. It has been good for him, but that didn’t mean I needed someone.
And I certainly didn’t need Marco.
Ezra returned with our drinks. His hand shook as he set Leo’s coffee down, and some spilled over the side of the mug. He apologized profusely, but Leo said it was no problem and wiped it up with some napkins. Ezra only dropped his order pad and pencil once while we gave our orders, which, considering he looked like he was about to faint, was better than I’d expected.
Once he’d headed toward the kitchen, Giorgio turned to me. “You don’t have to fall for Marco like I did Lane just to have some fun on the trip. You’re both going to need some stress relief.”
“Have you been talking to Marco?”
“So he has propositioned you?” Leo asked. “I told X Marco was into men.”
I snorted. “I think the man would fuck anything that stood still.”
Giorgio wagged his finger at me. “You should think more highly of yourself,”
My only response was to flip him off.
“So what’s on your agenda for today?” Leo asked.
“Going to a spa,” I muttered under my breath.
“You’re going where?” Giorgio asked.
“A spa.”
He and Leo both cracked up.
“I have to change my look for the mission. I need to look like someone who would be going to an island.”
“Is Marco going to get polished up?” Giorgio asked.
“I assume so.”
Leo studied me. “What look are you going for?”
Giorgio grinned. “Didn’t I tell you? Niall’s pretending to be Marco’s boy. He’ll need to look young and slutty.”
“I thought you were joking about that,” Leo said.
I exhaled, glaring at Giorgio. “Each person attending the party is supposed to bring someone, so I’m posing as his boyfriend.”
Leo laughed. “I don’t think boyfriend is the word for the escorts people bring to these kinds of parties.”
“Fuck you both.”
“Seriously, though, how is the planning going?” Giorgio asked.
“Fine. There’s not a lot more we can know until we get there. We have to be prepared for a lot of scenarios.”
“Is there anything we can do?” Leo looked serious now too. “I know this is… Well, it’s been a while since you worked undercover.”
I nodded, not knowing if I could acknowledge what he was really saying in words. “I’ll let you know if I need anything.”
