AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Oh, hey Quinn."
"Hey Flo. Do you know Eden?"
Flo grins. "Of course I know Eden. She’s my favorite person in the whole world."
I know she's probably being hyperbolic. She's exaggerating.
But gosh, she likes me. That makes… well, a couple of people now.
"The word on the street is that you snuck into the club last night," Flo says in a singsong voice with a note of pride.
I shake my head. "Oh my goodness, did everybody talk about this? I'm so embarrassed."
"The only reason why you're embarrassed is because we all know. But nothing involving Sergio Montavio happens that we aren’t all aware of. Believe me. I mean, he's scary, but when you're around him, he is kind of like a marshmallow. Only for you. Sergio is a marshmallow for literally no one else."
Marshmallow. For. Me.
A couple of people walking by the entrance momentarily snag Quinn’s attention. She bites her lip as if thinking. "I mean, I'm not really into girls, but even I love Eden. She's so beautiful. And it's not like she's anything like anybody's ever met before, right? There's no way that Sergio has ever met a woman like her."
They’re talking about me?
"I completely agree with you," Flo says, nodding. "She's so charming."
They do know I'm standing right in front of them, don't they?
"I mean, just the fact that you call him by his first name, honey. Nobody calls him Sergio. Everybody calls him Mr. Montavio. Or Boss. You're on a first-name basis with him? That's crazy."
Well,somepeople call him Sergio, but…
Marialena walks in. Looks like we're having a reunion in the kitchen.
"Oh myGod, Marialena," Flo says. "How is Mario? Is he better? Tell me he's better."
"I saw him this morning," Marialena says. "He's doing so much better. We were really scared there. Thank God Sergio was there at the right time."
"So she calls him by his first name, too," I say.
Quinn shakes her head. "She's his cousin!" She looks at Marialena. "I'm so glad Mario's doing better.”
“Thank you. What were you all talking about?”
Quinn gets a triumphant look. “Tell me, Marialena. We were saying there’s something special about Eden. Do you agree?"
Marialena nods. "Of course there is. She's the best person I know, and I know a lot of people."
What? My cheeks heat. “Are you guys still talking about me?"
Quinn shakes her head and jerks her thumb in my direction. “See? Adorable."
Flo puts her hand on my shoulder. "Sergio came back because he wanted to see you. I would bet my life savings on it.”
Marialena gives her a withering look. “I know what your life savings is, and I'm not impressed." Flo throws up a middle finger at her. Quinn smiles.
"I heard Sergio saved Mario's life?” I ask.
Marialena nods. "He absolutely did. I don't think anybody knows the full story yet, but there's a security camera that caught everything. You guys, Sergio, like,lifted the caroff of Mario. Like a weight lifter. Like he was on a movie set. If I’d been with Mario instead, we’d be planning his funeral right about now."
We’re all silent for a moment, all of us thinking about that. I may be the one most focused on the idea of Sergio lifting a car off a man, his muscles straining under the weight, that look of concentration on his face…
