Page 26 of Her Overprotective Fiance

—-she's completely out of her mind, for thinkingI'mwhat?

Bothered?

And jealous?

HA.

My life would be a lot simpler if that were true.

But even if it's not—-

"What exactly have the new girls been saying?" I ask curiously.

"Nothing unusual, really," she answers with a shrug. "Every time we have new staff coming in, they always end up comparing one Marchetti brother to another for some reason—-"

A question flashes in my mind, and I grin at her mischievously. "Pop quiz! Who's yourfavoriteMarchetti and why? You have five seconds to answer. Five, fo—-"

"No comment."

I stare at her in amazement. "Wow.You actually have a favorite?"

"How does havingnocomment mean I have a favorite?"

Even though both Cat's expression and tone are perfectlybland,I'm not fooled at all. "You definitely have a favorite." She's just too nice to admit it out loud, being the nice person that she is. "The only question is who—-"

The other girl interrupts me, asking, "Do you still want to know what the new girls have to say about Giancarlo or not?"

Even though I know what she's trying to do here, my EQ where Giancarlo's concerned has become worryingly low of late, and I'm successfully distracted.

"Whatdidthey say about him?"

"One of the new girls calls herself Giancarlo's #1 fan."

Yup, I'm just distracted, but not jealous.

Honest.

"And here's the interesting thing I overheard her share," Cat goes on. "She says she's been looking for years—-"

I let out a gasp. "This is about the Ruiz case, isn't it?" The Marchettis are a popular subject amongst true-crime fanatics, and I've lost count of how many wannabe podcasters havespouted baseless conspiracy theories in their desire to link Boston's rulingfamigliato the disappearance of Justina Ruiz. "She's looking for evidence—-"

"Actually, she's been on a virtual hunt for photos—-"

I knew it!

"Of a shirtless Giancarlo," Cat ends with a sheepish smile.

Say...what?

Cat bursts into laughter when my jaw drops.

"I know what you're thinking, but I swear I didn't make any of that up."

"Ashirtlessphoto of Giancarlo?" I'm sputtering at the sheer idiocy of it. "And she says she's been searching for it foryears?"

"I heard the others squealing whenthisgirl showed them photos of the other Marchettis. Don't you think it's interesting that Giancarlo hasn't one on the Internet?"

"No."

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