Page 78 of Flawless

“I will, meu amigo,” I say. “Obrigado.”

“You’re welcome,” Mattia replies.

I end the call as I stuff the final cans of soda into the overpacked cooler.

“I do, Zenon,” I hear from behind me.

Standing, I spin around and see Danica walking slowly into the kitchen.

“You do what?”

“See that you love me more than anything. I feel your love for me, Z,” she says, stepping forward and taking both my hands into hers.

I cup the sides of her face and brush a soft kiss against her lips.

“I am so grateful that you see me, Z. That you love me the way that you do. You and that precious girl of yours have been instrumental in my healing over the last couple of weeks. I love you, Zenon,” she says, sparking my heart to life again.

“Come here, girl,” I say, pulling her close to my body and brushing my lips against hers again.

Dani opens her mouth to mine and allows me entrance into her sweet mouth. My tongue brushes hers, and our lips are sealed together.

“Don’t mind me at all, guys. I’m just going to take this and head on down to the beach with my friends,” Zee Zee says from somewhere behind us.

I break the kiss and rest my forehead against Dani’s. She squeezes her eyes closed tightly, bites her bottom lip, and giggles.

I sigh. Looking up, I see Zee Zee tugging the handle of the cooler from the kitchen. She smiles at me, gives me the thumbs up, winks, and leaves the kitchen.

“What am I going to do with that kid of mine?” I sigh.

“Love her,” Dani says sweetly.

When the door bangs closed again, I sigh and say, “I think my kid approves of you.”

“Good. I’m glad that she does.”

“I know that you were greatly worried about that in the beginning, but I always told you that she would be okay.”

“I know. It’s just after that fiasco picking her up, and then the tabloid stories, and her face being planted all over social media—”

She stops speaking when she realizes what she’s said and claps a hand over her mouth. Dani’s hazel eyes go wide with regret, and then she winces.

“I just told on myself, didn’t I?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’m in lots of trouble, aren’t I?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I wasn’t trying to, but I wanted to check my messages to see if anything had come from my brother or my parents. And then I found myself on social media, and it was hard not to go down that rabbit hole.”

I rub my thumb in circles around the right side of her lips.

“When did you see that?”

“Last week.”

“How did you handle it?”

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