UNDERCOVER LOVE (English Version, Gay Romance, Mafia)

CHAPTER 10

"The only easy day was yesterday" - Navy Seal motto

Luckily, my fake husband and I were already familiar with most of Sarah and John's extensive circle of acquaintances, so we were able to mingle inconspicuously and cheerfully with the crowd.

And although there were a lot more people in our neighbors' large garden today because of the American national holiday, Ryan and I had no trouble finding our way around. The entire garden was once again decorated in the colors of the American flag for the national holiday and this time our neighbor had really almost outdone herself. It looked like we were welcoming Joe Biden into the garden instead of our dog, who had the same name as a former American president.

I approached Sarah to deliver the bowl of salad she'd asked me for the day before yesterday for the buffet, while Ryan, with Kenny in tow, was already heading for the man flu around John after the southern belle had pressed a drink straight into our hands.

Probably to officially introduce our new temporary roommate to our neighbors. I could only hope that the ex-Navy Seal would be able to conjure a halfway credible explanation out of his hat if anyone asked him about the sheepdog's origins.

I recognized Sarah's best friend Reyna from a distance, who had taken a seat at a picnic table with a lemonade, and so I put a hand on Sarah's shoulder to signal that I would keep her best friend company.

"Hey Reyna..." I greeted her with a friendly smile as I took a seat next to her on the wooden bench and put my glass down on the table.

"Hello Lucas... I see you've had an addition..." Sarah's best friend said to me, pointing towards the large German shepherd standing next to Ryan and barely taking his eyes off the ex-soldier. Or maybe it was the barbecue with the juicy steaks and sausages.

"Yes... we got him from one of Ryan's former colleagues... he had to go into a retirement home at some point and he couldn't take Kenny with him... And he had no children or other relatives who wanted to look after a big sheepdog... so we decided that we wanted to take him in..."

"That's a very nice thing, Lucas...I'm happy for you and Ryan..." Reyna smiled at me in response.

"And I see you survived the little incident at the charity fashion show okay..." the Latina grinned mischievously at me and I immediately buried my head in my hands: "Oh God... please don't remind me of that experience... it was so embarrassing..."

I peeked through my fingers in her direction and quietly asked her: "But I hope your friend Alicia doesn't hold it against me and Ryan that we ruined her show with that incident?"

"Oh no, Lucas... don't worry about it..." Reyna replied and she put a hand on my shoulder with a grin: "In a way, it was great publicity for Alicia's organization... her entire circle of friends talked about the fashion show for days to come..."

I felt my whole body instantly warm up despite the sweltering summer heat and I was annoyed with myself that I had simply allowed my fake husband to turn on this helpless man...

Now we were apparently already the gossip talk of this small town and it wouldn't be long before Ryan's superiors Simone and Martin would get wind of this brainless action.

"Do you really think so?" I breathed now, trying not to let anything in front of Sarah's best friend make me realize how much this topic was actually affecting me and I tried not to let Reyna see how upset I was at the moment.

The curvy Latina winked at me again before leaning a little in my direction and whispering conspiratorially in my ear: "But it was also so sexy how protective and assertive your husband was there..."