Chapter Three #3
He tapped his finger on the white cotton tablecloth of the restaurant he’d told her to meet him at. She was a little late, he thought, checking his phone, which was unusual given her punctuality so far.
At least his father had finally stopped calling. A harshly delivered warning during their last phone call cautioning him not to ask for money, had put paid to that. The sooner his father realised that he’d get nothing more out of him, the better.
Some would perhaps consider it ironic that the moment Enzo had finally severed financial ties with both his parents, along came a gold-digger trying to sink her teeth into him.
But no. Enzo had decided it was just the universe making sure that he’d learned his lesson.
That people who professed love too easily and quickly were not under some strong emotional sway, but a financial one. Only and always.
And when there was a commotion near the door, he—like the other diners—looked to see.
And Enzo was sure that it was someone else’s gasp that filled his ear when he caught sight of Erin being escorted towards his table.
He coughed to clear the thickening of his throat, and stood when she reached the table he was sat at.
She looked... incredible .
There was nothing of the overt, revealing clothes she had worn to breakfast that first time.
No. This was...sophisticated elegance. This looked like the real Erin Carter.
The white jumpsuit clung lovingly, but not overly, to every long line of Erin’s body.
The draped sleeves, slashed between the shoulder and wrist, hinted at strong, toned arms, and although the V-neck was low, it was very careful about what it concealed.
She had drawn not only his attention, but that of many of the other dining guests that evening.
Erin, it appeared, had decided to take things to the next level. And it was about damn time.
‘You look bellissima , Rin. Truly,’ he said as he held out her seat, ignoring the amusingly resentful gaze of the waiter who had clearly wished to do the same.
‘Thank you,’ Rin said, blushing prettily, but her eyes were awash with regret.
‘What’s wrong, bellezza ?’
‘I... I’ve had some sad news. I must return to En-gland,’ she confessed haltingly. And there it was, that look: chin down, gaze up, designed to engender the maximum sympathy.
Such sad news, he reflected, that she had to dress herself up to the nines to deliver it.
Well played, Ms Carter, well played. Because he felt it.
The natural twist in his gut, the one that he had been prepared for, but was still a slave to.
The one that had him wanting to beg her to stay.
Emotional manipulation of the highest kind.
‘No, cara . Why?’ he demanded as if he hadn’t expected some kind of ruse like this.
‘It is a work thing. A project that really needs my attention.’
‘A work thing, cara ?’ he questioned. ‘And there I was, thinking that all you did was shop, travel, and party!’ he proclaimed, repeating her words back to her.
She blinked, unexpectedly caught out. ‘It’s for a friend, really...’ She gamely tried to recover.
‘ Eh , who is this friend? Tell them no. And tell me you can stay,’ he cajoled.
‘But, even if I could, I have nowhere to stay,’ Rin explained. ‘The hotel is booked out for the rest of the summer.’
‘No room at the inn?’ Enzo teased, and her smile wobbled a little in response to the saccharine sweetness of his tone. But he could hardly help himself. He was having so much fun.
‘Sadly not,’ she replied helplessly.
‘But that is no problem at all!’ Enzo insisted. ‘Stay with me. On my yacht.’
‘Mr Rossetti,’ Rin cried indignantly. ‘I don’t know what kind of women you usually associate yourself with—’
Intelligent, beautiful, sensually confident, he mentally answered. Not vipers like you.
‘But I am not that sort of woman,’ she proclaimed with vehemence.
That’s for sure , Enzo thought, but instead, he put his hand on his heart, pretended to be hurt by the implication and declared, ‘Of course not! I would never think such a thing.’
She glared at him in a way that very much reminded him of an old-fashioned schoolmarm and he just about stopped himself from laughing.
‘I was raised in a very traditional household and I have very traditional views on those sort of things.’
Those sort of things being... Ahhh. This was how she was going to get around not sleeping with him.
There would be no sex before this carefully orchestrated marriage.
Clever. Very clever, Ms Carter. He was half thankful that she had brought it up herself, and while it might have been amusing to see her bend over backwards to avoid the kind of physical intimacy that was almost expected these days with a serious relationship, he was pleased that they didn’t have to do that particular dance.
It would have been a step too far for him, given the brutal punishment he planned to dole out.
Oh, she was beautiful, very much so, but the thought of tangling himself in all that cold calculating avarice left him with frostbite.
‘Have no fear, Rin. There are more than twelve rooms on my yacht, and a full contingent of staff at all times, any of whom would be willing to act as chaperone. Why, it is nothing short of a floating hotel! We would simply be suitemates,’ he said with a wild gesture of his arms that nearly took out one of the restaurant’s waiters.
‘I couldn’t possibly,’ Rin demurred coyly.
‘Oh, but you could ,’ he insisted, deciding to go all in.
‘I’ve never met a woman like you before,’ he said, reaching for her hand and placing it on his heart.
A heart that was beating quicker with mirth rather than sincerity.
‘And I am not ready to let you slip through my fingers just yet. Are you?’ he asked, throwing it back to her.
‘Because I thought... I thought perhaps that we were building something special...’
Special was one way to describe it, that was for sure.
He let the implication dangle, sure that she wouldn’t be able to refuse the bait.
‘Oh, I had thought it was just me that felt that way,’ she said, doing the doe-eyed thing again.
‘Not at all, cara ,’ Enzo said, with a grin that was beginning to hurt his cheeks. ‘I am as deeply touched by our... friendship ...as you are. And it would mean more than you could possibly imagine if you would do me the honour of joining me on-board my yacht.’
‘Well, I suppose I could defer my project.’
‘Would you? Could you?’ he asked eagerly, pulling back at the slight flare of alarm in her gaze at his flamboyant response.
It wouldn’t do to scare her off now. Not after how much he was invested in this.
How much—to his surprise—that he’d enjoyed this.
It was the most daring competition he’d had to date.
‘Oh yes, that would be utterly darling, wouldn’t it?’ she said, finally giving in.
And it felt like the most natural thing in the world to kiss her.
He’d meant it as little more than a way to seal the deal, the punctuation mark to their decision.
Nothing more than a light, almost friendly kiss.
But the moment that his mouth met hers, every thought, every intention went up in flames, and all he was left with were feelings .
The jolt in his heart, the slight gasp from her lips that he swallowed, the way that after just a moment, they opened to each other instinctively, the hint of a growl in his throat and a sigh of surrender in hers, the delve of tongue and the way his hands moved, one gripping her hip, the other cupping her jaw, the sigh that she made as he turned something easy into something heady.
He felt her hand press against his thundering heart, heat spreading like wildfire through his body, until he was breathless and she was wide-eyed with wonder.
He pulled back, her cheeks flushed, blinking as if Erin was as shocked as him at how quickly things had escalated.
It had been a mistake, he realised, to be so smug. He had been unprepared. But he wouldn’t let it happen again.