Page 56 of Damián

“Okay, we are physically compatible. But that’s all.”

“Ollie—”

Oh, God no… I love her for always telling me everything she thinks and for protecting me, but not now.

“Zara. Stop, please.”

She stares at me… “He doesn’t know?”

“No,” I hiss, leaning in closer and whisper. “He doesn’t know I am a virgin, and I am not going to tell him because I don’t want him to stop doing things like that. So drop it.”

“No, Ollie…” Zara slides her hand across the table and takes mine. “I meant he doesn’t know you like him.”

“Oh…” I look down at the table. “…No.”

“You need to stop this.”

“Absolutely not.”

“You can’t play little house for months with a man who is guaranteed to break your heart.”

“We both know I’ve survived worse…” I squeeze her hand and smile. “Besides, I don’t care how much it hurts when it ends; I can’t back out now. Too many lives depend on us finishing this… thing.”

“So, what are you gonna do?”

“Are you kidding? I’m going to climb him like a tree and enjoy every single second I have with that sex God while it lasts.”

“You are an idiot,” she laughs.

“Shut up, I am a genius. Besides, everyone goes through heartbreak, and let’s be real, almost no one gets to end up with their first love anyway,” I say, checking if Damián is still far from earshot… He is.

“And unlike the rest of the world, Z, I get to save innocent lives in the process, and in the meantime, I get to hold onto a man like Damián. … So yeah, if you ask me, I see this as an absolute win-win!”

Zara shakes her head, laughing. “A freaking win-win it is.”

“So… now that we’ve agreed and you won’t freak out or worry about my feelings, what do you think? Do you like him?”

“I haven’t even talked to him yet.”

“And?” I laugh. “When have you ever needed more than two minutes to have an opinion on someone you just met?”

She presses her lips in a thin line and shrugs. “Mmmm…”

“Z! Come on, this is important—”

“Omg, he is fucking delicious, ok? Delicious, has manners, already got our food, kisses like a sex god, and is making my bestie experience a life that’s not just death and pain, so yeah. I adore him. He is incredible.”

“Wow… all that?”

“Yes, so now let’s find a Cuban binding potion or some Russian spell to make that man stay,” she says, and I can’t help it.

I burst out laughing.

CHAPTER 7

DAMIÁN

Ipush the glass doors of Chapters & Crumbs open and come out with a large to-go bag of pastries and two coffees. Silvio and Franco are parked right where I knew they would be… tucked into a black SUV with tinted windows across the street, trying to look discreet and failing miserably.