Page 271 of The Devil's Fire

“I’m not. Is my ass fat or nah? It’s a serious question.”

“A single glance, and your eyes will be carved out.” Damiano warned before his eyes met mine. “And you, my hand has been twitching for hours now. Stop testing me.”

I bit my lip at his so-called threat.

“Has it now?” I wiggled my brows, earning a small smirk from him.

“Now I wished I was dead.” Giovanni let out a groan of disgust.

“Oh, shut it. Now, tell me how long you have been talking to Laila?” I once again made him scoot so I could wiggle my way next to him. “You know I won’t leave you alone until you tell me.” I grinned.

He ran a hand down his face in annoyance.

“For a while now.” He sighed in defeat.

“I need details. Tell me everything!”

“It’s not what you think. You were the ones who sent me to Portugal to make sure she would be safe, so I did. Now she just texts me to let me know how she’s doing.”

“Bullshit.” I said immediately. There was no way he would have given her his number if he wasn’t interested or had some level of concern. “You like her. You have been smiling at your phone like crazy.”

“I haven’t.” He gave me a blank look.

“But you have.” Luca yawned and stretched his arms. “Your endless bickering woke me up. What did I miss?”

“Gio has a crush on Laila.” I replied.

“Who?” Luca looked confused at the name.

“The girl Althaia foolishly tried to help on her own in the boutique and almost got herself killed in the process.” Damiano filled him in.

I shot Damiano a blank look for explaining it that way, but he merely arched an eyebrow, silently asserting, ‘I'm right.’

“Oh, that girl.” Luca said in realization.

“Now tell me, how did it happen?” I went back to Giovanni, excited to hear the story.

“It’s not that deep, okay? I was with her to make sure she got to her family safely. She then admitted that she still felt unsafe and asked if I could stay for a couple of days. I hung around for a bit and helped her out with some stuff.” He shrugged and tried to dismiss us.

I shared a brief look with Damiano and Luca, and I could tell they weren’t buying it either.

“Yeah, he likes her.” Luca mused in a playful tone.

“Totally.” I grinned.

I was thrilled that Laila could find comfort after everything, and I knew Giovanni liked her since she had him smiling like that already. Maybe she could make him a lot less grumpy.

“You’re in over your heads. I’m just checking on how she’s doing.” Giovanni tried to defend himself.

“Whether you admit it now or later, we know you’re into her because you don’t care about people’s well-being.” Damiano stated.

“Seconded. The only person you’ve shown any concern for is Althaia.” Luca added, making Giovanni look at him as if he wanted to strangle him.

“She’s the last person I would care for.”

“Don’t lie.” I scoffed.

“Don’t be delusional.” He retorted.

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