13. QUINN
13
QUINN
Awkward is an understatement. This is not happening right now.
Enzo jumps out of the car, grabbing his jacket, probably to cover the obvious bulge he’d been sporting just moments ago.
I take my time, adjusting my hair in the car mirror before joining him.
It was going to take an Oscar-level performance to hide the fact that I’d been coming undone on the passenger seat of this car just moments ago, but I decide to try my best anyway.
“Quinn.” Enzo smiles at me. He’s standing with Valentino now, and a man and a woman I haven’t seen before.
He’s a better actor than I am as he’s back to being strictly business. “You should meet Luciana. She’s my daughter. And of course, Alessio. My middle son.”
I nod and smile at them.
He told me about his children, little stories about them here and there. But it’s still a completely different feeling meeting them in person.
“Nice to meet you.” Luciana shakes my hand, eyeing me curiously.
“I was just showing her some of the new launch.” The lie rolls off his tongue so confidently that I even doubt my own memory for a second.
“Did she like it?” Alessio asks. He’s a splitting image of his father, even more so than Valentino.
“I, um, yeah, it was really nice.” I do my best to keep my smile on.
My stomach sinks as I realize what Enzo is trying to do here. It’s a feeling I know all too well.
Liam would do the same thing whenever we’d be out with his friends. It was like he was a different person when the two of us were alone, but in public, he’d act like he was too good for me.
What was I thinking?
Of course, Enzo’s going to be the same way. I’m closer to age to his children than I am to him, for heaven’s sake.
“Should we be expecting a good review, then?” Alessio smirks at me. “It’d mean a lot, coming from an influencer like yourself.”
His tone is flirtatious, and I’m surprised he has the audacity to do this in front of his dad. But then again, why wouldn’t he?
“I’ll do what I can. Now, if you please excuse me…”
“What’s the rush?” Alessio blocks my path. “We’ve only just started talking, and you look like you’d be great company.”
My cheeks are burning now.
Enzo mentioned that Alessio is a ladies’ man, but never did I imagine that he’d try something on me.
I glance over to Enzo. I hate that I care about what he thinks, but it just doesn’t feel appropriate what Alessio is doing.
“Behave,” Enzo chides. “I’m sure Quinn has a packed schedule ahead of her.”
The way Enzo addresses Alessio, it’s almost like he’s talking to a little boy.
I smile at Alessio and say goodbye again before quickly taking my leave, not bothering to glance back at Enzo’s reaction.
Is that how he sees me too? Like a silly girl? Someone to pass the time with?
The thought makes me dizzy, and I’m suddenly reconsidering everything I’d been taking for granted.
I’ve gotten ahead of myself and let my guard down too much. I justified it as a harmless fun, But it has clearly gotten much further than that.
“Stupid.” I shake my head as I enter the hotel. “So, so, stupid.”
I have been deluding myself into thinking that Enzo and I share some special bond. We have to, right? It is just so easy with him.
But then maybe, it is normal for him. He’s never once indicated that he wants anything serious with me, and I’ve been too blind to see it until now.
It doesn’t matter how sweet he is to me, or how cared for he makes me feel. In reality, I am nothing more than a temporary fling. Someone to play with, and then discard at the end of the day.
Not wanting to be alone with my thoughts, I take a detour to the bar instead.
“I’ll take a daquiri. Or… make that two.”
I need something to drown my thoughts.
Even though I’m surrounded by people at the bar, I couldn’t feel lonelier.
I’ve been so busy with Enzo that I’ve barely taken the time to meet anyone else, and I know Lilly won’t want to see me either, given how I’ve ignored her all week when she messaged me to meet.
I’ve dug myself into a hole, and I don’t know how to climb out of it.
And the worst part is, it isn’t even surprising.
Growing up, I was always the girl in my friend group who let herself be consumed by her relationships. In high school, it was my very first boyfriend. Later, it was Liam.
I got so caught up with the idea of being in love that I forgot about everything else.
With Enzo, I’ve started to do the same, even though there is no promise of a commitment from his side.
The bartender brings over my drink, and I quickly gulp it down.
What am I doing with Enzo?
It’s like I’ve completely forgotten what my end goal is. The reason I even came onto this trip was to further my brand, but the more time I spent together with him, the more I lost track of my goal.
This Italy trip has done so much for my brand already. I’ve gained thousands of new followers, and yet, instead of trying to network with the other influencers to tap into their audience, I’ve been spending every waking second with Enzo instead.
And for what? For him to act like he doesn’t even know me around other people?
If he wanted to claim you, he’d do that in front of his children. He’s told you how much their opinions matters to him.
I take another swig of my drink, tormented by the possibility of Enzo being embarrassed by me. The preppy little influencer from abroad.
Of course, he doesn’t want his kids to know.
I’m not usually one for self-pity, but today I seem to be drowning in it. So much for an amazing trip away.
There’s a tap on my shoulder, and I turn around to find Alessio standing there.
“I hope I didn’t disturb you.”
“Oh, um, it’s fine,” I manage to squeak out.
He’s the last person I want to be dealing with right now.
“I dropped by the hotel to deliver some papers, but I was hoping I’d run into you.” He smiles, oblivious. “Dad totally butted in our conversation earlier. He’s like that sometimes—always focused on work, and never the fun.”
I shift uncomfortably in my seat.
If only he knew.
“Is there something you had to tell me?” I try steering the conversation back to work.
“Depends. Would you want to listen?”
“Alessio….”
“Nah, I get that I’m a bit on the young side. I can see the hesitance from your side. But you don’t know what you’re missing until you try.’
I’ve met men like him before. It’s like they can never take the hint that you’re not interested, always in pursuit of the next girl.
For a brief moment, I wonder if he gets this from his father.
“So, what do you say? Let me buy you a drink?”
I clear my throat. “That’s sweet of you. But I’m kind of already seeing someone.”
He doesn’t do a great job at hiding his disappointment.
“Oh, well… I assumed… There was no ring on your finger.”
“Don’t worry. It’s an honest mistake.” I smile, hoping that he’ll leave me alone now.
It’s the classic excuse, even if in this situation, it’s a half truth.
I am seeing someone, even if it’s just temporary. A part of me wonders what Alessio’s reaction would be if I told him who it is.
Scandalized? Disgusted that he just tried to hit on someone who’s seeing his dad? Embarrassed?
I bite my tongue, knowing better than to make things more complicated than they already are just to satiate a curiosity.
“Well, I guess that’s that.” He pushes his hands into his pockets. “Lucky guy.”
“Bye, Alessio.”
His presence, as annoying as it was, was at least a momentary distraction. Now that he’s gone, I’m back alone with my thoughts.
Which have somehow taken the turn for the worst.
Sighing, I pull my phone out. Nothing like some doom scrolling to distract me.
But as I scroll down my feed, I’m met with more awful comments.
“God, don’t these people have a hobby?” I mutter to myself.
I don’t really understand what I’m doing wrong here. It’s not like I changed up my content or the way I present myself online. The bad comments have only increased in numbers.
Honestly, what the hell is going on? My life is going down the drain.
First, it was the comments, and then the incident with Enzo.
At this point, I’m waiting for something worse to happen. Bad things happen in threes, right?
An unknown number flashes on my screen, and I already know it’s Liam calling from a different phone. The area code matches.
“There it is,” I mutter. “The third thing.”
I put my phone on Do Not Disturb and decide to step out for some fresh air by the pool.
It’s not like my day could get any worse, and I need to clear my head anyway.
But as I begin to walk out the door, a hand stops me.
Thinking it’s Alessio again, I turn to tell him off, sternly this time.
“You’re Quinn, right?”
It’s the drunk guy from the wine tasting event. Silvano. I’d heard his name being thrown around, often surrounded by gossip.
I freeze, worried that he’s about to cause a scene like last time.
“You don’t have to look so scared,” he assures. “I’m sober this time. Promise.”
“What do you want?”
I hate that I’m like this for someone I don’t even know, but knowing his history with Enzo, I can’t help but immediately shun him.
He glances around the room. “I know you. Lilly, too. And a few more of the influencer lot that Enzo has hired to do his bidding.”
Great. So, the erratic drunkard knows about me. Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any worse.
“Frankly, I don’t want to speak to you.” I turn away when he grabs my arm. “Hey. Let go of me.”
“Listen.” His tone is urgent, “You might think of me as some monster, but you deserve to know the truth. There’s something I need to tell you about Enzo.”
I yank my arm away from him, shooting him a glare.
But he’s managed to get my attention.
“You have exactly one minute.”
He rolls his eyes. “Trust me, it’s going to take more than just a minute. You come here, promoting this bullshit, knowing nothing about the history of this business.”
“Forty seconds…”
He realizes I’m not here to take his bullshit and cuts the theatrics.
“The Marchetti family are hiding some pretty dark secrets. If you want to come out of this unscathed, I suggest you listen to what I have to tell you.”