CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
S EATED AT THE very spot on the plane he had last sat with Charlotte, Enzo drummed his fingers on the polished wood table. This was where he’d let her get lost in the thoughts that had taken her away from him. For a man who made so few mistakes, he had certainly made a massive one that day. Anger at himself battled with the fury he felt towards her father.
He had never felt so impatient to land in his life.
Hurry up . He willed the plane to go faster. He needed to get to Charlotte before she was caught in a trap she would never escape. Even if she never wanted to marry Enzo—and that thought hurt—he still wouldn’t let her marry this day.
Enzo could have tried to while away the time, perhaps with work, but he didn’t. He needed to suffer for his idiocy.
He felt every minute as if it was an hour. The moment the doors were opened and the stairs attached to the plane, he was racing down them and snatching the keys from the driver he’d ordered without even a greeting. He knew the only person he could rely on to get him to the church in time was himself. He was certain he would be getting a few speeding fines, but he didn’t care.
He started the low-slung sports car with a grunt and floored it in the direction of the church. He’d spent the five-hour flight compulsively studying the route. Every second counted. Darting between slower vehicles, he paid no attention to wagging fingers and shouted curses. He cared about nothing but getting to Charlotte. And when the grand church surrounded by beautiful gardens rose up in front of him, glorious in its Gothic architecture, he turned in sharply, bringing the car to a screeching halt right in front of the large doors.
Slamming the door shut, he sent up a silent prayer that he wasn’t too late. If he was, he would find a way to free Charlotte regardless. He ran up the stairs, throwing open the heavy wooden church door with a crash that had every head in the room swing towards him.
Silence.
For moment, no one moved. Not a sound was made.
A bible lay open in the hand of the pastor. Gordon Kim was halfway out of his seat, a look of shock and anger on his face. Grant Campbell, an unappealing man in every regard, held Charlotte’s hands tightly in his.
Charlotte.
Standing there, in a dress that reminded him of a cake topper, her black hair all pinned up under a long veil. It wasn’t her at all. Just a showpiece. It ratcheted his anger up even more. And when he looked at her face, at the shock and desolation, he wanted to sink to his knees and rip off the heads of everyone in the church in equal measure.
But that moment lasted a second. A breath.
With purposeful strides, he made his way down the aisle, but Gordon marched towards him. Whispers rose in volume.
‘Get out, De Luca,’ Gordon ordered.
‘No,’ Enzo growled, standing at his full height, looking down on the man he had never met but loathed. He took one step forward, and Gordon stuck out his arms in a pathetic attempt to stop him.
‘If you know what’s good for you, leave.’
‘Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you.’ Enzo bared his teeth at the man. ‘Get out of my way. You have more to worry about than your daughter’s wedding.’
The momentary look of fear in the older man’s eyes was all Enzo needed to see before he walked around Gordon and approached the altar.
‘Same goes for you, Campbell.’
Hatred and rage warred on Grant’s face, but Charlotte’s voice had Enzo ignoring him in an instant.
‘Enzo, what are you doing here?’
The brokenness in the way she said his name was the most painful wound Enzo had ever had to bear, but just hearing his name on her lips after a week of agony was the sweetest joy.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said.
‘For what?’
‘This.’
Despite the fact that Grant hadn’t let go of Charlotte’s hand, Enzo scooped her up in his arms. Loud gasps echoed around the church. Grant was forced to break his hold as Enzo carried her down the aisle and into the sunlight.
‘What are you doing?’ Charlotte’s question was a half sob against his shoulder.
‘Can you trust me again?’ The answer seemed like the most important thing in the world. Enzo’s heart ceased beating as he waited for the answer. But he didn’t wait long.
‘I have always trusted you,’ she replied, instantly.
He nearly sagged with relief. Maybe he still stood a chance of undoing all the damage he’d inflicted. Enzo hurried to the car and placed her in the passenger seat, the ridiculous dress almost comical as he strapped her in.
‘Enzo, you can’t,’ she said frantically. ‘My father—’
‘ Tesoro , there’s nothing he can do to you or me. I won’t let him.’
‘You don’t know him.’ Her eyes filled with tears that spiked his rage. How had Gordon threatened her? Enzo vowed to find out and make the man hurt even more than he’d already planned.
‘I promise, and I always keep my promises.’
‘I know, but—’
‘But nothing, Charlotte. Let me protect you.’
Charlotte swallowed thickly and nodded.
Before anyone could rush out of the church, Enzo was racing away. He drove them a short distance to the coast and parked the car amongst the numerous others. When he turned to look at Charlotte, tears slid down her cheeks.
‘The ocean,’ she said. ‘How did you know to bring me here?’
He wiped away her tears with his thumbs, remembering seeing her sit at the fountain after they’d nearly kissed. ‘I know you, Charlotte. I know your heart. I can see over your walls.’ He had noticed how much she loved the water when they were in Italy. At his home in Ravello. While they sailed. He wanted those days back. No, he wanted better.
‘I owe you an apology.’
‘For stealing me from my wedding?’ She gave him a watery smile.
‘No. I am quite proud of that, actually.’
She huffed a laugh, then shook her head. ‘What are you really doing here, Enzo?’
‘I’m here to tell you that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I said, tesoro . I’m sorry for holding back. For lying.’
‘Enzo...’
‘For someone who hates lies, I became very good at it. I lied to myself, and I lied to you. After Gia, I didn’t want to be in danger of being used, of being hurt, so I convinced myself that I couldn’t love again. It was a lie. Just like it was a lie to say that all we had was a physical connection. It’s more than that. I love you, Charlotte. And you were right to walk away because you do deserve a love that should be shouted from rooftops. I want to give you that, but I want to love you in secret too.’
Charlotte had prayed that she would hear him say the words. For him to tell her he loved her. She’d imagined it would make her feel like flying, but instead it broke her heart even more. The words didn’t change her situation.
‘You can’t say this to me, Enzo. It doesn’t change anything. I trust you, but you won’t ever trust anyone.’
She watched him look into her eyes. The thumb caressing her cheek stopped.
When he spoke, his voice was low. Scraped raw. She heard a vulnerability in it that she hadn’t heard in him before. The master of the world, the most powerful man she would ever know, and he cast away all those layers of defence so she could see him. And before she knew it, she was reaching for him, taking his face in her hands.
‘You were right when you said my heart is scarred. It was, but, Charlotte, you healed it. Not in Italy, but over these past two years. As Celeste, then as yourself. By being someone I could trust.’
‘Do you trust me?’ She tried to control the hope that flared in her gut.
‘Completely.’ He smiled then—small and gentle, but the purity of it was like gazing at the sun. Her sun. ‘It took me a while to realise it, but I may have always trusted you. I leaned on you, Charlotte. I trusted your opinions even when you tried to make them seem like my own.’
She felt her cheeks redden. She’d always thought that she had done a good job at hiding her opinions in his, but he had seen through her. He saw over her walls. She wasn’t lost in a maze any more. She didn’t want to put up barriers between them. Except one still existed. The reason she was marrying Grant at all.
‘And I will continue to do so for the rest of our lives,’ Enzo went on. ‘My only hope is that you learn to lean on me too.’
But she couldn’t. Not when the marriage still had to happen.
‘Enzo—’
‘You were wrong about one thing.’
‘What’s that?’
He took her hands and placed them on his neck. ‘You said I see you as a possession, but I need you to know that I don’t. I just wanted to hold on to you, tesoro . I need you, but I went about it all wrong.’
Charlotte looked at her hands on his neck, remembering his words.
This space is reserved.
His vulnerability. What he’d told her. This was Enzo submitting to her. One of the most powerful men in the world submitting to her . A woman who ran. Who feared. And Enzo had been doing this all along. Offering her control. Telling her it was okay to take charge. Unlike her father and Grant, who tried to lead her by the neck. Showing her every chance they got that they owned her. And she had compared Enzo to them.
Guilt roiled in her belly. She’d been angry, and she should have never said it.
‘I was jealous at the ball,’ Enzo said. ‘I hated the thought of anyone else getting to be with you. Seeing you the way I do. I just wanted you. Please, Charlotte. Please give me a chance to prove how much I love you.’
Her father’s threat rang in her head. ‘I love you too, Enzo! With my whole heart. But it doesn’t change anything. I can’t be with you. They will never let us be happy.’ Everything she could ever want was right there before her, but she couldn’t reach for it. The leash her father placed on her wouldn’t allow it. She was breaking on the inside. So much worse than when she walked away, because now she knew how much Enzo loved her. Now she could see a future where they could grow old together. Dangling before her. A cruel taunt.
‘ Tesoro , how did they threaten you?’ The passion and love in his voice were instantly turning into cold anger.
Unable to stem the flow, she let tear after tear fall into the layers of her wedding dress. Her voice cracked, her throat raw. ‘Not me,’ she managed.
Understanding lit Enzo’s features. ‘Your father threatened me.’
Charlotte nodded. ‘And De Luca and Co.’ She sniffed and tried desperately to take a breath so she could speak again. ‘I couldn’t let it happen, Enzo. I can’t be the reason you and the company suffer.’
Before she even knew what was happening, Enzo was unbuckling her and pulling her onto his lap. She barely noticed the cramped confines of the seat, because right here was where she longed to be. With Enzo. In his arms.
‘I don’t deserve you,’ he whispered as he kissed her. Hard and bruising. As if he couldn’t keep what he felt within himself any longer. Charlotte revelled in it, returning his passion, pulling him closer. Never wanting to let go. Kissing the man she loved in the dress she wore to tie herself to another. She felt Enzo’s nails scrape against the fabric, wanting to rip it off her as much as she wanted him to.
She didn’t want this kiss to end. She wanted to be here with him for ever, but he was pulling away. His hand moved up to her veil as he looked into her eyes and pulled it free, tossing it aside.
‘You never have to go back,’ he said, punctuating every word by removing another pin holding her hair up. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders, releasing the pressure on her scalp. And she knew right then, from the confidence in his voice, that Enzo had found a way to neutralise her father. And whatever it was, Gordon wasn’t going to like it.
‘What’s going to happen to my father?’
‘Let’s just say Gordon and Grant are going to have some very extensive legal trouble for a long time after everything I uncovered. And even if they somehow find a way around that, which I doubt, there isn’t a single bank that will touch them after this.’
That was the power Enzo had. Centuries of it at the tips of his fingers.
‘Have I overstepped?’
She saw the seriousness of the question in his green eyes, understood then what it meant to be his. He protected viciously, but he would undo everything if she gave the word. He held on to what was his, not by squeezing the life out of it but giving it a safe space to thrive. The question gave her a chance to run—but the choice to stay.
‘No. You haven’t.’ She smiled. So did Enzo, and he reached to wipe from her cheeks the tears that had gone from grief and fear to joy.
‘Tears aren’t meant for your eyes, tesoro . They remind me of the night sky at sea. They hold the stars. I will protect you so fear never dims them again.’
Charlotte kissed him. There was no possible way for her to tell him what those words meant to her, so she showed him. ‘Take me home, Enzo,’ she said against his lips. ‘Take me home to Sydney.’
The smile he gave her was blinding and the kiss breathless.
‘First we need to get rid of that ridiculous dress.’
Charlotte laughed. It was ridiculous. ‘I look like a cupcake.’
‘You’re definitely delicious.’
‘I love you, Enzo.’
He kissed her again, and she heard him breathe against her lips. ‘Tu ed io per sempre.’
Charlotte might not speak Italian, but her heart understood the words. She agreed. Charlotte and Enzo would be for ever.