55. Isabella
55
ISABELLA
I ’m pouring creamer into my coffee when the loud, obnoxious voice of Enzo startles me, causing me to nearly spill it all over the counter.
“Must you, Vincenzo?” I snap.
“Someone’s a little touchy, touchy this morning,” he says, reaching across the counter to steal my coffee. I let out an annoyed sigh before setting the creamer down, too tired to even react.
After my bath last night, I went straight to bed. The only problem was that my spiraling thoughts never allowed me to get much rest. I tossed and turned all night, my anxiety about Teo possibly knowing about Nicco and I getting to me.
“Did you tell him?” I ask while Enzo takes a sip of my coffee.
He raises a brow from over the rim of the mug. “Tell whom, what?”
Pressing down on the edge of the counter with my palms, I say, “Don’t play dumb, Enzo.” I glance around the kitchen, worried Teo’s going to pop out of nowhere and hear our conversation, and lower my voice. “Did you tell him?”
Setting the coffee mug down on the counter, Enzo gives me an amused smirk I want to scratch off his face. “Tell whom, what ?” he repeats.
“I swear, Enzo?—”
“Oh relax, relax, relax. I did not tell Teo anything about you and your little boyfriend.”
I let out a breath of relief. “Thank, God.”
“Is that why you’re so cranky this morning?” he asks.
“Yes, I didn’t get any sleep last night because Teo was acting weird yesterday and it made me start thinking you had told him.”
Enzo barks out a laugh. “I’m sorry, you think I want to be the one to tell Teo you’re dating the enemy?” He laughs again while I stand there with my hands on my hips, watching him. He truly finds this to be the funniest thing ever. “You are out of your damn mind if you think I’m going to be the one to break that fucking news to the boss.”
“That is extremely discouraging, Enzo.”
He finally stops laughing and says, “Look, you knew going into this that this was going to happen. You know how Teo is. If you thought I was going to kill him, just imagine what he’ll do when he finds out.”
And here comes the tidal wave of anxiety once again. “Enzo…”
“Izzy…”
I let out a breath and close my eyes, trying to calm my racing heart and make that hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach go away. “You’re not helping.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, little sis. I’ve actually done you multiple solids lately.” Holding up his finger, he says, “One, I didn’t kill your fucking boyfriend.” Holding up another finger, he says, “And two, I’m keeping it a secret from Teo.” He gives a shrug. “Now, if you were to ask me, I’d say I’m pretty fucking helpful.”
“Okay, fine,” I hiss out, realizing Teo could walk into the kitchen at any moment now. “Let’s just stop talking about it, okay? I don’t want Teo to walk in on this conversation because then not only will I be fucked, but you will be too.”
Enzo studies me as he takes another sip of my coffee. “What’re you doing, Izzy?” His voice is lower this time, which I silently thank him for.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what are you doing? Sneaking around like this. Especially with the enemy. I thought you two were done?”
I shake my head and let out a long breath. “Honestly, Enzo, Nicco and I were never done. I just didn’t know it at the time.”
Now it’s Enzo’s turn to let out a long breath as if he’s coming to terms with something. “I can see you love the dude. I really can, Izzy, but you have to come clean to Teo. The longer you wait, the worse the fucking Band-Aid will be to tear off.”
“ Ugh , I know. I know. I promise I know that. I’m just…”
“Scared. I know. I get it. Teo’s not the sweetest fucking human being sometimes,” he says, which pulls a small laugh from my lips. “But he’s our brother. He always has your best interests in mind, and he’s not going to do something that would hurt you.”
“You think he’ll be as accepting as you are now?”
He lets out an amused scoff. “You know, it’s pretty fucking wild how quickly I went from hating your man’s family to being like oh yeah, sure, I’ll keep your dirty fucking secret about dating the damn spawn of the man who’s responsible for the deaths of our parents. It’s pretty unrealistic, and yet here we are.”
I crinkle my brow, giving him a puzzled look. “Um… is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Yes, obviously,” he says, scrunching his nose and giving me an equally confused look back like I’m the one who’s not making sense. “Teo’s going to be mad at first. Probably fucking livid, to be honest, but in the end, he’s your brother, just like I’m your brother. We look out for you, and we just want you to be happy.”
Enzo pauses for a moment before a serious tone takes over the room. “I was going to kill him, Izzy. I don’t think you understand how close I was. One quick move, and he would’ve been dead to the world.”
The reminder of what happened yesterday at the boutique makes my mouth dry up. I can’t imagine my life without Nicco, and the fact he was almost taken from me right in front of my eyes by my brother has me feeling queasy.
“But I didn’t,” he says. “I know you know why I didn’t, but what you need to understand is that if there was a chance for me to pull a complete one-eighty, then there’s a chance for Teo to as well.”
I consider those words, and while I get where Enzo’s coming from, Teo is still Teo. He’s driven by his need to avenge our parents’ deaths, and I love him for that. I really do. Giuseppe Silvestri deserves everything he’s going to get after taking them away from us, which is how I know he’ll never accept Nicco into our family.
“Just think about what I said, okay, Izzy?” Enzo says. “The longer you put this off, the worse it could get.”
I give him a small nod.
“Besides,” he adds. He’s now sporting a mischievous look on his face. “I have a big mouth, and you wouldn’t want me spilling the beans by accident, right?”
“Enzo, I swear,” I threaten, but he picks up my coffee and bolts out of the kitchen, leaving me alone to think about what he said.
I want to believe him, I do, but there’s this feeling in my gut that tells me it will not be nearly as easy as he’s saying. I think nothing that’s about to happen will be easy.