Page 60 of Damián

“Love, Uhh… How many men have you told you love them?” she asks, and I can feel Oliver’s thigh tense under my palm.

“None. I’ve never been in love… Not with a man, not with a woman.”

“Are you a manwhore?”

“Zara!” Oliver gasps, practically choking on his macaron.

“Yes,” I answer without hesitation.

“A cheater?”

“Never.”

“How would you know if you’ve never been in a relationship?… Before Ollie, I mean,” she adds, in case Rafael does listen to the conversation.

“Zara, please stop this,” Oliver begs, burying his face in his hands. “I’m sorry, Dami, you don’t have to answer any of this.”

I ignore him, keeping my eyes locked on Zara. “I know I’m not a cheater because I know myself, and when there is someone I love, I do absolutely everything in my power to protect them.”

“Someone you love?” she presses. “Strange… I thought you just said you’d never been in love.”

“In love, no. But love? Yes. I love eleven people, to be exact.”

“Who are these eleven th—?”

“His family, Z.” Oliver cuts her off, and his frown turns into a glare. “Not a single question about them.”

A sudden warmth swells in my chest watching Oliver shield my family from his best friend’s nosiness and his psycho brother.

He didn’t have to do that.

I could’ve easily answered dismissively or changed the subject, but the fact that he actually stepped up to protect them… it means the world to me.

“Fine… One last question, and I promise it has nothing to do with family, dicks, or friends.” She surrenders, and I smile. “Are you going to hurt my best friend, Damián? Because Oliver might be a sweet, forgiving angel, but I will absolutely key your car, slash your tires, and burn your freaking apartment to the ground if you break his heart.”

Then… I burst out laughing.

Beside me, Oliver is now practically dying of embarrassment, hiding his blushing face behind his hands.

“Oh, God…” Oliver groans into his palms.

“I promise you, Zara, I have zero intention of hurting Ollie,” I say, angling my body entirely toward him.

Reaching up, I gently wrap my fingers around his wrists and pull his hands away from his face so I can look right into his beautiful hazel eyes.

“My only intentions are to help him any way I can, so he can achieve anything he wants. And I mean it.”

I lean in, press a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, and he smiles… a smile even brighter than the one he had while laughing when he was alone with Zara just a few moments ago. And I have no idea why, but seeing that look on his face makes me feel like I just won something.

What did I win? No clue.

But what I do know is that whatever it is, it’s something valuable.

Zara watches us, looking extremely satisfied with my answers, and I like it.

How about that?

Who knew winning the approval of a fake boyfriend’s best friend would feel this good? I guess I’m just glad the mission is going perfectly according to plan.