Chapter 14: Gabby

GABBY

When we arrived at Luca's estate, I was taken aback by how large the place was. The entire property was surrounded by a wrought iron fence, complete with a guarded gate. The main house was situated at the end of a long driveway with several guest houses on each side. A man named Piero met us at the gate and showed us to the house we would be staying in.

"The code to the door and alarm system is on the kitchen table, as well as my phone number. Please don't hesitate to call me if you have any issues," he said.

"Thank you so much," I said sincerely.

He smiled kindly. "We were happy to help. I'll be at the main house if you need anything."

Shadow went around sniffing every corner of the house while Byte and I checked out the place. It was a cute one-story house with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and it had definitely been customized with the finer things in life. I flopped onto one of the beds to test out the mattress and sighed. "Oh yeah, this will do."

"Hey," Byte said, feigning offense. "I thought I had the best mattresses."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Gigi has the best mattresses."

"I have the same ones she does," he countered.

"Well, then, I guess it's a tie," I laughed.

We moved on to look at the other rooms and made our way back to the kitchen. "I guess we need to pick up something for dinner and make a stop at the grocery store."

Byte opened a few cabinet doors and looked inside the refrigerator. "No need," he said and gestured to the fully stocked fridge. "Unless there's something specific you want, it looks like we're all set."

I nudged him out of the way to see for myself. "There's more food here than I ever have in my house."

Byte laughed. "I was thinking the same thing."

"I feel like we should make dinner and invite him to join us to thank him."

"I think this is probably standard practice for him," Byte said.

I'd been around wealthy people my entire life. While Keegan and I had plenty of money, Gigi and Jacob were loaded. But Luca was on a completely different level. "Do you think he'll let us take our vacations here?"

Byte chuckled. "We can always ask."

I was in the middle of my lunch break when my phone dinged with a text. I inwardly groaned when I saw who it was from.

Lauren: Just checking to see if we're still on for studying tonight.

Crap. Once again, I'd forgotten about my study sessions with Lauren. I really needed to get some study time in, but there was no way we could meet at my house. I wasn't sure what to do, so I texted Byte to see if he had any ideas.

Byte: What about the diner?

Gabby: Perfect.

I replied to Lauren and asked her if she could meet me at the diner to study.

Lauren: Why can't we study at your house?

Gabby: My house is being fumigated.

Lauren: Where are you staying? I can come there to study.

Gabby: I'm not staying anywhere else. I just can't go back home until later tonight.

Lauren: Fine. I'll meet you at the diner.

Gabby: Great. See you then.

She was a bit of a pain in the ass, but I tolerated it because I did get a lot done during our study sessions.

I let Byte know that she agreed to meet me at the diner and hurried to finish my lunch before my break was over.

Thankfully, I was able to leave the office on time. We barely had time to run back to Luca's place so I could change clothes and grab my books before we were supposed to meet Lauren at the diner.

When we arrived, I felt rushed and a little frazzled. Lauren was already seated at a booth with her books open on the table. I slid into the booth and scooted over to the side so Byte could join me.

"I'm going to sit at the counter," he said and knocked his knuckles on the table twice before leaving.

"Why's he here?" Lauren asked.

"He has to eat, too," I snapped. What was with all of her questions? She was really beginning to annoy me.

"I made you brownies," she said and pushed a container toward me. "You like those, right?"

"I do," I said and opened the container to take a peek. "Thank you. They smell delicious."

"Try one," she said.

"I should probably have dinner first," I said. I hadn't had anything since lunch, and I was starving.

We placed our orders and started going through notes while we waited for our food.

"What's the deal with this Byte guy?" Lauren asked.

"He's a friend of the family," I said, repeating what I'd already told her about him.

"Yeah, but how long's he staying with you? I thought you said it was only for two weeks."

"I'm not sure. He said the project he was working on was extended, but I didn't ask for how long. Can we get back to the notes?"

"Sure," she said, but she didn't sound like she was interested in studying.

When our food arrived, she took the opportunity to ask me more questions about Byte. She wanted to know how old he was, where he was from, how my family knew him—all the same questions she asked me the first time she met him. Once again, I tried to pacify her with vague answers and redirect her back to the task at hand, but she was relentless. And I couldn't leave early since I told her I had to stay away from my house until later that night. I was stuck, and it sucked. I found myself watching the clock instead of studying. The whole night was a bust.

Finally, it was time to leave, and I couldn't have been happier. Lauren took her time packing up her stuff while I was ready to go in seconds. I stood by the table and resisted the urge to yank her out of the booth and shove her out the front door.

"You seem irritated," Byte said once we were on the way back to Luca's estate.

"I am," I said and shoved a brownie into my mouth.

"Why?" he asked. "And where did you get those?"

"Because we got nothing done because Lauren wouldn't stop asking questions about you," I said and reached for another brownie. "The brownies are from Lauren. She likes to bake and doesn't want the goodies to go to waste, so she brings the extras to me."

"Are you going to share?"

"Yes," I said and happily handed him a brownie. "Please, take some. Otherwise, I will eat all of these, and I really don't need to."

"Don't even go there," he said. "You look great."

"Because I don't eat containers full of brownies," I countered.

"You have to admit, they are good brownies," he said and held out his hand for another.

"I know," I grumbled. "It's like she's trying to fatten me up on purpose."

Byte laughed. "Why would she do that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she wants to take a shot at you since Flint was a resounding no."

"She can try, but she doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell with me. I'm happily taken."