I glanced over at him. “What do you mean?”
Davide winced, which meant I gave him my full attention.
“What are you talking about, Davide?”
He sighed and turned toward me, propping his ass on the edge of my desk. “I might have stuck my nose where it didn’t belong.”
“How so?” I asked, putting the salads to the side and crossing my arms over my chest.
“I might have told him that he’d better not hurt you, or I was going to kick his ass.”
“Davide!”
He shrugged. “He’d already fucked you over once, I was gonna make sure he knew that there would be consequences if he did it again.”
“You can’t go around kicking people’s asses if they hurt me. Especially if you work with them!”
“Like hell I can’t,” he argued. “You’re one of my best friends. You deserve a man who’s gonna give you the world. Not some asshole who is going to go hot and cold on you.”
I knew my mouth was hanging open as I stared at him, but I couldn’t close it.
“Grier, don’t look at me like that. You’re sweet, smart, and gorgeous. Any man should realize how lucky he is to even get a date with you, much less anything more.”
“I—” I cleared my throat. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“It’s not nice. It’s the truth.”
“Why are you saying he means business?” I asked, directing the conversation back to Elijah.
“He didn’t just send you lunch. He sent us both lunch, which means he’s trying to butter me up.”
“Is it working?”
Davide sighed. “Unfortunately, yes.”
I couldn’t suppress the giggle that escaped me. “So, your whole tough guy persona won’t hold up against freshly baked bread, soup, and salad?”
“What can I say?” he asked with a shrug. “I’m easy.”
We both laughed, breaking the solemn air that had fallen over us.
“I think I’m in love with him, Davide.”
He came around the desk and gave me a quick squeeze. “That sounds scary.”
“It is.”
“Has he told you how he feels?”
“He hasn’t said that, but he’s made it clear that he sees a future with me.”
Davide huffed out a rough chuckle. “I guess that’s better than nothing.”
“We’ve only been officially dating for a couple of weeks,” I said, shrugging. “I’m not really counting all the time before.”
“It sounds like your heart is.”
“That may be, but it’s a little early to bring up the L-word.”
