someone to stay

5

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ELIANA'S POV:
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The ceremony was beautiful. Really beautiful. Half an hour after I followed Alexander into the hall, we took our seats and then it finally started. I almost cried. I am so damn emotional.

Gianna and I stood next to mom, Jacob and Leah as we talked a little. I was looking for little Alessandro but then found him sleeping in Keenan's arms who was talking to my dad.

Who would have thought that these two would become best friends?

A waitress was moving to us, giving all of us a glass of champagne but Leah once again refused the drink. "Okay, spit it out." Gianna says. They looked at each other and before Leah or Jacob could say anything, mom said it. "You're pregnant?" She asks almost squealing. Leah gives her a little nod and smiles so bright like I've never seen her before. Same with Jake.

Great. Now both of my siblings are married and have their own family. Don't get me wrong. I would die for their happiness. But it still wakes an even bigger longing for me to have that too.

We all hug them and tell them congratulations. "I'm going to go to my men now." Gianna announces, and mom walks to other guests, Jake and Leah doing the same. I didn't stand here alone for a long time.

I already saw grandma Lola holding dad's arm as she walks to me. I haven't seen her in a long time so I'm happy I can talk to her. "Oh, mi pequeña rosa." She says, lets go of dad and hugs me close to her. "Hola abuela."

Abuela takes my face in her hands as she takes an intense look at me. "Oh dear, I heard about you and Oliver. I hope you're okay..." She tells me with a pout on her face.

Here we go. This will probably be the next thing I will hear for the rest of this evening and I am not here for it. I look around and look for something to make the response easier. And then I find my answer.

The answer is incredibly handsome, has dark hair, about 6'4 and is standing only one step away from me as he takes a glass of champagne.

I will hate myself forever for this. But I don't know what else to do. It's either breaking down and cry in front of everyone or lying about my situation. I choose the second.

I grab Alexander's arm, pull him to me what causes him to tense all over. As soon as he was standing fully next to me, I put one arm around his waist and placed the other one on his abdomen while my head leaned on his chest.

"This is Alexander." I tell them. Dad looks at the man beside me and then back at me. "Yes. That's Leah's brother, baby." He tells me. "No. I mean, yes. But he's also my boyfriend." I blurt out.

Grandma and dad both looked at me as if I would have just told them that I'm dating a ninety year old mobster or something. "What?" Is what comes out of their shocked mouths at the same time.

Alexander tenses even more. "What?" He asks me. Good thing it seems like dad and abuela didn't hear it.

I pulled on a fake smile and leaned even further into his chest. "Yeah. Alex and I met a few weeks ago and I guess it just clicked. He treats me so well. Who was Oliver again? Never heard his name before."

He just stands there like a statue. So I look up at him and hope he sees the death glare I shoot up at him from the sides of these beautiful eyes. "Oh he's just a little overwhelmed right now. We actually wanted to wait a little longer before we told everyone about our love. Right, darling?"

That seemed to put him out of his shock and thankfully he put a hand on my hip, squeezing it hard as he pulls me closer to him. "Yes. Totally. Can I talk to you for a second, love?" He asks me as he holds eye contact with my father.

"Of course. Please excuse us." I tell them and then let myself get dragged out by him. His hand is still on my waist as he walks me out of the hall, closes the huge door behind us and lets go of me in the empty hallway.

He ran a hand down his mouth as he looked away and put a hand in his pockets. "You have one minute to explain what the fuck you are doing, Eliana."

His words and also the realization that I really need to explain it to him let a groan escape me. "Okay. I just got out of a relationship a few weeks ago and my family wouldn't stop asking me about it. So sadly you're the one who has to pretend to be my boyfriend now."

"Fuck no!" He says. "Fuck yes!" I answer. He looks at me like I'm crazy. I probably am. "Why not? You have a girlfriend or something?" I ask him. He just looks at me.

"No, but I-" "See? Now you have one. Please Alexander, I'm begging you." I would even get on my knees right now even tho it would do ugly things to my Travino pride.

He seems to think about it. That's good. Really good. "What do I get out of this?" He asks me.

Now he's the crazy one. I put my finger up and rotate it around me while keeping eye contact with the man. "Hello? You get to say you're dating me. That should be more than enough."

He stops talking again and thinks. And then he closes his eyes and nods as if he would already regret it. "I swear to god, Travino. You will attend every single family dinner with me as my girlfriend if I ask you to, understand?"

It feels like a stone falls from my heart. I smile up at him and then put my arms around his waist again, him putting his way bigger one on my hip. "Deal."

We walked back into the room and suddenly it felt like everyone's eyes were on us. But I liked that my plan worked already. No one even mentioned the name Oliver for the whole evening.

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