Page 111 of Blue Gold

“So the fact that he still hired you despite your boyfriend being a complete idiot is even more incredible.”

Ignoring the first part of his sentence, I stopped on that one word that suddenly changed it all.

“Vito knows?” I stared at him with disbelief while my pulse started to race faster.

“Huh?”

“You told Vito about us?”

There’s no way he did.

“Technically, he found out for himself.”

“And you didn’t deny it?”

I mean, isn’t that what you’re most scared of?

“Well, yes. There was no point denying it. Hopefully, he’s a discreet man, although only time will tell.”

Someone knows about us.

My heart beat so fast I could hear it pounding in my ears.

Someone knows about us.

“Pardon?”

I looked up, unable to hide the smile on my face.

“Someone knows we’re together.”

Someone knows that you love me.

Daniel seemed confused, his brows pulled close, before his expression relaxed. “I mean, yes. Like I said, he found out all by himself⁠—”

I tossed myself at him, my arms wrapped tight around his body as he let out a low oof. I didn’t care about how angry I was a moment ago, not when there was another person who knew about us. Yes, people in the Amalfi Coast saw us together, but like Daniel said, they were a couple of foreign strangers we’ll never see again. But Vito? He wasn’t a stranger and most definitely not a nobody.

I tightened my hold around Daniel, my face pressed against his chest.

“I know you said yesterday that you hate going out… but I really want to celebrate.”

He kissed the top of my head, my heart melting the same way it always did when he kissed me, before cupping the back of my neck.

“So let’s celebrate.”

“When I said we should celebrate, the last thing I expected was this,” Daniel laughed while handing me the biggest slice of pizza I’d ever seen.

I took it from him, my stomach growling after I hadn’t eaten the whole day.

“Some photographer told me there’s nothing like New York pizza.”

Daniel smiled, two lines appearing on each side of his lips. “That photographer was damn right.”

I chuckled at his excitement right before he left to get us drinks. Once alone, I looked around. Despite the weather getting colder, the streets were packed. After spending too much time in this city, I’d learned that New Yorkers would never skip a night out, not even when the temperature dropped. Well, the French weren’t that different. Although no one partied like us French.

This pizza place was a tiny shop on the corner of a street, about two blocks away from our place. They only sold pizza, had no chairs, and instead had high tables to eat at. Oh, and there was beer. Lots of it. I guessed this was the authentic experience Daniel mentioned on our way here. And even though I told him I’d never eaten a New York pizza before, it was a lie. When I’d just gotten here, it was pretty much the only food I ate for about a month until I found the job at Marrie’s. Feels like a lifetime ago. Although this pizza looked much better than the trash I ate back then.

My mouth watered at the melted cheese, and I licked my lips before checking to see if Daniel was coming back. The long line of people told me there was probably more time left before he’d return. Hungry, I considered sneaking a small bite. My weight was good this morning, so I could treat myself to this one thing. And besides, I’d run an extra lap tomorrow, just in case. But looking back at my slice of pizza, all that grease and fat made me sick to my stomach. It’s just one slice. But what if it wasn’t? What if this one small bite led to another, and then another, and before I knew it, I’d lose control. I couldn’t allow that, not when everything I wanted was almost mine. Living with my dream man while getting the job every model would kill for. I couldn’t lose it. I was already at a disadvantage as a male model, with too much muscle mass, and that was without mentioning the parts of me I hated, like my knuckles and thick ankles, and all that fat I could feel when I pinched my waist⁠—