Hate To Want You (18+)

32| beautifully mine (R)

G I O V A N N I

After I made sure Astrid was safe at the house, locking the doors and windows, I drove back to the house. I don't have to but this needs to be over with tonight because I will not have my mother hating on the woman I'm falling in love with for no reason. Before I entered the house, I could hear the chaos my mother was creating.

"She came into my house after we extended an invitation to have dinner with us and speak to me like that. That girl has no morals." I stood glaring at the woman who gave birth to me.

"She had every right to say what she did. You know what you were doing when you invited her, Eveline. It wasn't out of the goodness of your heart; you admitted it yourself. You're just upset that she called you out on your bullshit," Grandpa chastised. I could hear the utmost respect in his voice, he gained from Astrid.

"Andrew?" She looked over at my father for some support, who was busy finishing his dinner. He glanced at her with a clueless look on his face. His eyes roamed the room and he wiped his mouth and chewed his food before he responded.

"I'm sorry, dear, but I agree with them. I understand your concern but I think Astrid has proved that she is nothing like Victoria. The dinner may not have gone as we planned but we still have more to learn about her. The relationship she has developed with not only Gio but Blaire and Sibyl as well, is more than we need to know about the type of person she is."

Leaning against the pillar, I decided to make my presence. "Now that you have heard everyone's opinions on Astrid, are you willing to give her the benefit of the doubt or are you going to continue and insult her upbringing?"

We all stared at her, hoping in our hearts that she would at least give Astrid a chance and not be hard on her. "I'm not extending an olive branch if that's what you're expecting but I will look at her from a different perspective."

Audible sighs escaped all of us in synchronization. It was a step in the right direction that we were ready to accept.

"You love her, don't you, Gio?" Grandma Cecilia asked, bringing the spotlight on me.

"I'm beginning to."

"Good. Don't mess this up. We're rooting for this to work." They all nodded in agreement and I took this as my cue to go back home to Astrid. She was probably sleeping now, seeing as it's quite late. I just wish she would sleep in the bed with me instead of the room across from mine.

I wanted to hold her close to me, her hair in my face or a mess on my chest, her legs entangled with mine in a comfortable position while we slept peacefully in each other's embrace. I would've never thought it would reach this point especially with Astrid but here we are with me driving back to the house hoping that Astrid feels the same and she could think of it as more than a house and more like a home to come back to and relax with me. A place we could rewatch all the Marvels in order a thousand times without getting tired.

When I walked through the door, I saw her leaning against the island pouring tequila into a small glass. It seems she found my alcohol stash, not like it was hidden anyway. Hearing the door close, her head snapped up in my direction and smiled.

"How drunk are you, right now?" I asked, striding over to her, inspecting her eyes.

"Not drunk enough," she replied, tipping the glass to her head and refilling it. I grab the bottle and move it away from her ignoring her protests. She had no slur in her voice so she was only near being tipsy at least.

"Don't let what my mother said get to you."

"I'm not."

"You are, though. You just don't want to admit that it does." The corner of my lips curved when she narrowed her eyes at me. I glanced down at what she was wearing to see it was shorts and a silk tank top. I had to remind my third leg that now was not the time to be active.