The Sexy Enemy: A Fake Relationship Romance (Italian Nights Series Book 3)

23. Alessandro

My phone beeps, and when I turn and see the message is from Natalia, I quickly swipe my phone from the desk and open it.

Natalia: Can’t decide between the black and the blue.

She captions the two photos of her in the skimpiest of lingerie. I blink a couple of times not quite believing what I’m seeing.

Natalia: Ooops, wrong person.

Wait. Wrong person? Who the hell is she sending something like this to?

I press her number and it rings a couple of times before she picks up.

“If those photos weren’t for me, then who the fuck were they for?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“Nobody,” she answers.

“Fiorenzo, tell me who the fuck you were sending lingerie photos to if it wasn’t your husband,” I say slowly, trying to curb my anger.

“Does it matter?”

“You agreed last night that once my ring was on your finger there wouldn’t be anyone else. My fucking ring is now on your finger,” I seethe.

“Guess you got me there.” She giggles.

“Natalia, God help me if you don’t tell me who the hell you were sending those images to,” I ask her again.

“Which one did you like, blue or black?” she asks.

I slam my hand down on my desk rattling everything on it. “Natalia.”

She laughs again. “I sent the damn photos to you, Conti. Against my better judgment.”

Oh.

Relief hits me. Thank fuck. Because I don’t know what I would do if anyone other than me saw these photos.

“Blue,” I tell her.

“Huh?” she asks, confused by the change of my tone.

“I choose blue, they match your eyes.”

“Oh,” she says.

“When I get home, you better greet me at the front door with it on, and if you don’t there will be consequences,” I tell her before hanging up.

Fuck, this woman is driving me crazy.

“Have I caught you at a bad time?” Nico’s voice surprises me.

I shake my head not quite believing he is in my office. “What are you doing here?” I ask him.

“You wanted me to do some digging into Natalia’s friend Domingo. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d pop in to see if everything is okay. But you’re looking a little stressed,” he tells me.

I wave his concern away. “Tell me about this Dom guy then.”

“There’s nothing to worry about, the guy is clean, had a rough childhood, and hustled his way into becoming one of Italy’s most in-demand stylists thanks to Natalia taking a chance on him when she first started out. He’s been loyal to her ever since. And I did a deep dive. Oh, and he is one hundred percent gay, so you have no competition there,” he explains.

“Great. That’s good,” I answer distractedly.

“You sure you’re okay? You aren’t normally this wound up.” Then he chuckles. “Your new wife giving you hell?”

My eyes narrow on him. “You could say that.”

“Feeling a little frustrated.” He grins as if he’s enjoying my pain.

“You could say that.”

“Why don’t you head to The Paradise Club for a bit of fun to help you relax,” he suggests. I shake my head. His brows pull together. “Why not?”

“Because I’m married.”

“Fake married. You know she’s not your wife. You’re single,” Nico states.

“I’ve applied to get her membership.”

“You did what?” Nico asks, his voice rising.

“We both agreed that we wouldn’t see other people during this marriage,” I start explaining to him.

“Have you lost your mind? You’re not married. This isn’t real. It would work in your favor if she were busted with another man,” Nico says.

“Also, would work in hers if I was spotted with someone else,” I add.

“You know that’s not going to happen because of the club. You could easily set her up. She’s a beautiful woman, funny, smart, and a killer poker player. You don’t have a thing for her, do you?”

I make a face. “Ew, no.”

“Have you fucked her since she’s moved in?” Nico asks.

“No, and it’s none of your business.”

“You fucked her in Paris, didn’t you?” I roll my eyes at my oldest friend. “You did. Are you serious? What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Nico questions me.

“This is a lot harder than it fucking looks, all right. I had to fire my chef …”

“You fired Marco, why?”

“I came home to her sucking sauce off his finger.” Nico’s eyes widen. “The man wanted my wife.”

“Why did you not let them continue, get it on tape, and then blackmail her and her family? They would drop out of the deal, and you would win,” Nico explains.

He’s not wrong there.

“My fight isn’t with her it’s with her family,” I tell him.

Nico frowns at me. “You like her, don’t you?” I go to answer, but he cuts me off. “No bullshit, I know you. If she wasn’t a Fiorenzo and your families weren’t trying to take each other down, then I would say she is amazing and that you should go for it. But your father hates every fiber in their bodies, and I”m sure her father feels the same. There is no way this blackmailed fake marriage is ever going to turn into a happily ever after. You need to understand that,” Nico tells me honestly.

“Who the hell have I become?” I ask my friend.

“Fucked my friend, that’s what you’ve become.”

“Thanks,” I say through gritted teeth.

“She’s a cool chick, I’m not going to deny that. She’s not at all what I expected, and she’s hot. Rather it be you than me.” He chuckles. I flip him off. “The sooner you get this deal sorted the sooner the two of you can go your separate ways.”

He’s right.

But then I see the images of her in her lingerie, then the way she touched herself this morning, and I know I’m not going anywhere, well, not yet.

“Martina, I’m leaving early,”I tell her as I close my office door behind me. My assistant looks at the clock, which is just before five, and then to me as if I’ve lost my mind.

“What?” I question her.

“I don’t remember the last time you left this early. Usually, you go straight from the office to the meeting or dinner out somewhere,” she says.

“Yeah, I um …” I’m not about to tell her that I’m leaving early because I got a notification on my phone that Natalia is home, and I am hoping that she decides to greet me with the blue lingerie on.

Martina smirks. “Wouldn’t have something to do with buying your wife jewelry, would it?”

“We realized she wasn’t wearing a ring. People would start being suspicious once they noticed,” I explain.

“Yes, I guess you’re right. That would be strange.” She gives me a grin.

I give her a small wave as I walk out of the office and down to the garage. I text Natalia that I’ve left work early and I’ll be home soon. She never responds, and as much as I want to flick on the security images to see if she is going to do as she is told.

I don’t.

I think I might have broken a couple of laws as I hauled my ass home, I still when I see the paparazzi milling around my front gates waiting for my return. I need to up my security. I drive through the gates and pause long enough to make sure one of those vultures hasn’t followed me inside. Thankfully, they haven’t, otherwise, they wouldn’t like what I’d do to them, and I wind my way up to my front door which can’t be seen from the front gate. I park my car and stride out, I’m on a mission to find my wife. Opening the front door, I dump my stuff at the entrance and quickly look around the foyer and living rooms. Nothing. I move on, and she’s not in the kitchen either.

“You’re home, that was quick,” she says. Her voice pulls me toward where she is standing as she starts to descend the stairs. My eyes widen when I see she’s dressed in a silver sequin dress that covers her from neck to toe with long sleeves and not the skimpy lingerie I was expecting. My shoulders slump in disappointment, but she does look beautiful.

“You’re going out?” I ask her.

“I have a charity dinner,” she answers.

“Oh, have fun then,” I reply.

Natalia stops in front of me and smiles. “You think you can be ready in fifteen?” I stare at her in surprise. She then leans forward and whispers in my ear. “I’m wearing the blue underneath,” she says, tapping my chest as she turns on her heels and walks toward the kitchen.

Come on, that’s not fair. “You’re cruel.” I smirk at her, she just shrugs.

“Are you coming tonight or not?” she asks as I haven’t moved from my spot.

“Do you want me to come?”

She shrugs. “People might ask questions if you’re not there.” True. “I’ve laid out a suit for you on the bed.” She grins.

Guess there never was a choice.

“Thanks for the ring.”She grins, flashing me the diamond on her hand.

I grab her hand, stilling it for a moment so I can see what it looks like. Her hand is warm in mine, the ring suits her perfectly. “It looks good.”

She bites her bottom lip as she stares down at it. “I know I’m not supposed to love it as much as I do, but I do,” she says, looking up at me.

“Why shouldn’t you like it? You have to wear it,” I ask her as my thumb glides over her soft skin.

She leans closer to me. “Because it’s not real,” she whispers.

“Is that why you got something different?” I question her as the pieces start to fall into place.

She pulls her hand away. “I don’t expect you to understand.” She shuts down.

Reaching out, I grip her left knee softly. “Explain it to me then,” I ask her. She shakes her head. “Natalia, please.” She gives me a tiny frown and then huffs.

“All this wedding stuff a lot of girls dream about. I’ve never dreamed about it like my friends have, I’ve had ideas and things but not full visions. But now that I am here and going through the motions of what should be the happiest time of my life with the man I’m supposed to love and want to spend the rest of my life with …”

“You’re stuck with me,” I finish for her.

“Yeah,” she answers honestly.

“Is that what upset you at the bridal photo shoot?” I ask her.

“Yes. I realized I’m having all these firsts, but they aren’t real. And I’m worried that when the time comes for the real version it’s not going to feel the same,” she explains.

Guess I hadn’t thought about it like that. I mean, I never really planned on getting married. Well, I assumed one day I would and have kids, but I wasn’t seeking it out. I suppose there aren’t as many rituals for the groom as there are for the bride when it comes to weddings.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her honestly.

She stills beneath my touch. “I wasn’t expecting that from you.”

I look up at her, fuck she is beautiful, there could be worse people to be married to.

“I’m sorry I’ve had to use you as a pawn in this game, but it truly is the only way I could think of to win,” I confess to her.

She winces at my candidness. “Why are you so desperate to win?”

We haven’t really spoken about my motives, and I guess she deserves to know seeing as she is being used for it.

“I’m trying to prove to my father that I can.” She gives me a knowing smile as her eyes fall on the area where my lip was once split, but thankfully all healed again. “My father likes to tell me how much of a disappointment I am to him. Dario was always his favorite, the firstborn. Rome and I were always treated as the spares, our presences were tolerated. Thankfully, we had our mother who did everything in her power to protect Rome and me from our father’s anger, but eventually, he wore her down and she stopped.”

Natalia’s brows pull together as she stares at me. “I’m sorry. Where is your mother now?”

“She disappeared to Florence, but since Dario’s passing, she lives there almost full-time now. My parents hate each other. I’m not even sure if they ever did love each other. Most of my childhood was spent cowering from my father’s temper. Fuck, saying that out loud is kind of messed up.” I laugh half-heartedly. Why the hell am I divulging my trauma to my enemy? “Anyway, it is what it is. Most families aren’t perfect,” I say.

“You can talk to me, you know,” Natalia says.

I scoff. “Then have you use it against me? No thanks.” I pull my hand from her leg and turn to look out the window, putting distance between us.

“I’m not like that,” she says softly.

“Everyone is when it comes to business,” I tell her.

She doesn’t say anything, and I don’t either, we both sit in silence until we arrive at the event.

The car stops, and the driver gets out and opens the door for her as I come around the other side and join her on the red carpet. The paparazzi are going crazy, calling out her name and now mine, too. She places her hand on my arm and starts to walk. She greets people warmly before posing for some shots and then continues to walk the red carpet looking so beautiful, carefree, and happy, she is radiant. I stare at her as she does some solo posing, and if I’m being honest with myself, I’m damn lucky to have her on my arm. I see the way the other men look at her, wishing they could be by her side. But I am. And I know I don’t deserve her. I believe her when she says she wouldn’t use anything I told her against me, and the shit thing is I would. Natalia doesn’t deserve that, my fight isn’t with her. Honestly, it’s not even with the Fiorenzos it”s with my father, and like the fucking black hole that he is, he’s sucking everything into his vortex and destroying them. I don’t want to be like him. You can change. I have no choice as I shake my head, there is no other way.

Once we’ve walked the red carpet, we are handed some champagne. It’s been a while since I’ve been to one of these events. I hated the pitying looks from everyone after Dario’s death, so I’ve avoided them.

“Natalia?” a deep voice calls out to my wife, making me tense. I turn around and am surprised to see Rolando Cappo, a famous footballer. Actually, he plays for my favorite team. How does Natalia know him?

“Rolando?” She gasps, and the next thing I know he cups her face and kisses her cheeks softly as he whispers something to her. Wait a minute, that’s my fucking wife he is manhandling like that. Reaching out, I put my hand on his shoulder and pull him away from her.

“That’s my wife,” I tell him. Rolando stills and looks between Natalia and me.

“Your wife?” He then bursts out laughing as if the possibility is preposterous. Asshole.

“It’s true,” Natalia says, holding her hand up and showing off her large diamond. I’m thankful now that she went and bought it today.

“Oh,” he says seemingly confused. I walk over and wrap my arm around her, letting him know where we all stand. “How strange when she only left my bed not that long ago.”

“Rolando.” Natalia gasps. My hands clench, but I’m not going to knock this guy out at a children’s cancer fundraiser even though I may want to. “I think you need to leave,” she tells him.

“Babe, I don’t understand, what happened? You said you had to go to Vegas for your brother’s bachelor party and then I never heard from you again,” he explains.

“Me walking in on you with another woman was probably a good indication that you’d never hear from me again.”

He rolls his eyes at her. “You told me we were keeping it casual and you didn’t want anything more from anyone.”

“Except me,” I add. The footballer glares at me and then turns his attention back to her.

“I’m happy, Rolando.” She smiles, placing her hand on my chest, the light reflecting off her ring.

“I’m surprised you hadn’t heard about our wedding. It’s been in all the papers,” I add.

His eyes narrow on me again. “I don’t read that rubbish,” he says, looking me up and down. “Plus, I’ve been busy winning the European Championship,” he snips before turning to Natalia. “Guess that is it then. Congratulations, babe. You know where to find me if you need me,” he says, winking at her before walking off.

Dick.

“And to think I used to be a fan.” I chuckle, looking down at Natalia who is still cradled against me.

“Sorry about that.” She cringes.

“You don’t have to be sorry,” I tell her as I touch her face.

“That was awkward, and the way he disrespected you as my husband, even though …” She doesn’t need to finish that sentence.

“Were you two serious?” I ask.

She shakes her head, “No. Footballers do not make great boyfriends. Case in point, walking in on him with another woman. We weren’t exclusive or anything, so I’m not that upset over the woman. It was the fact that he had forgotten he had organized a date with me at his home for the same time. I knew her, she was a model.”

“He wasn’t thinking of, you know, a bit of threesome action?” I question her.

Natalia screws up her face. “Oh, I hope not. I didn’t think about that. Do you think that’s what he thought was going to happen? I mean, I’ve never had one before and I’m not sure if it’s my thing, but still.” Her reaction makes me smile and I lean down and kiss her lips ever so gently. How can one woman be so innocent and yet so incredibly sexy at the same time? “What was that for?” Natalia asks, seeming genuinely shocked at the tender moment.

“I don’t know, it kind of felt right,” I say.

“Oh,” she says, staring at me.

“Was it okay that I did that?” I ask her.

Natalia stares at me in silence for a couple of seconds as if trying to process it. “Yeah, it’s okay.” She grins.

Then I lean forward and whisper in her ear, my lips touching the soft skin, “What happens if I want to do it again?”

I feel her swallow hard. “Guess it would be okay,” she says through shaky breath.

I let my nose run along her jaw as I move my lips to hers and kiss her ever so softly. As much as I want to slide my fingers into her hair, pick her up, and fuck her against the wall, the fact that she is letting me kiss her like this in public is a huge step in me seeing that blue lingerie tonight.

Someone clears their throat.

When Natalia and I break apart, we are stunned to see an angry-looking Gio Fiorenzo and his fiancée staring at us.

“Paige,” Natalia squeals as she wraps her arms around her soon-to-be sister-in-law. “Gio,” she says, hugging her brother.

I give him a curt nod.

“Hi, I’m Paige, it’s so nice to finally meet you,” the perky American says in perfect Italian to me.

“Nice to meet you, too,” I say, shaking her hand.

“I didn’t know you guys would be here?” Natalia says.

“It’s for a good cause, and we donated some items to the raffle, so we thought we would come and support it,” Paige explains.

The girls fall into a conversation leaving Gio and I glaring at each other.

“I’m watching you, Conti,” Gio warns.

“Wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“We warned you to keep your hands off our sister,” he hisses.

“And I told you I would unless she didn’t want me to. FYI, she doesn’t want me to.” I grin at him, seeking pleasure in the flare of his nostrils and the clenching of his fists.

“Everything, okay?” Natalia asks.

“I’m going to our table.” Gio huffs and storms off. Paige says her goodbyes and follows him.

“What happened?”

“He wasn’t thrilled that he caught us kissing earlier.”

“Oh,” she says as her cheeks blush with the memory.

“I told him I wasn’t going to stop kissing you,” I declare.

“Really, now?” She smirks.

“Yeah, really,” I tell her.