Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
ENZO
It’s still hard to believe it’s over.
Thomas is in jail. With all the charges against him, he’ll be in prison for decades.
It’s an impressive list—kidnapping, assault, robbery, burglary, attempted arson—and that’s not even taking into account the illegal weapons and drugs the police discovered when they searched him. And the guy whose car Thomas borrowed was more than happy to give up anything he knew in exchange for a reduced sentence as an accessory.
By the time he gets out, if the district attorney can be believed, Thomas will be an old man. He won’t be a threat to Winter anymore, although I’ll still be watching.
As long as he’s alive, I’ll never fully let down my guard. Not when it comes to Winter’s safety. Even if we aren’t together thirty years from now, I’ll be keeping tabs on Thomas.
I meant what I said to Winter yesterday. Anything she needs, I’m there.
What’s kind of crazy, though? The idea of being with Winter for that long doesn’t feel crazy at all. It feels kind of… right.
I can see it—the two of us sitting on the front porch, Winter reading one of her romance novels with a shirtless guy on the cover while I run through purchase orders for the store or check the news. And in the evenings, we’ll find our usual seats on the couch—right next to each other of course—and take turns picking a movie to watch.
There’s no way I’m mentioning any of this to Winter, though. Not when the L word hasn’t even come up yet.
I’m not bringing up growing old together when we haven’t even discussed our plans for a week from now.
Could I have ever imagined it? Feeling so sure about someone after such a short time?
Growing up, I wasn’t sold on the idea of marriage. After watching my mom struggle to do everything on her own, hearing her quietly crying in her bedroom when she thought I was sleeping… it was awfully hard to see the positives of linking myself to someone who would have the power to break me.
More recently, I’ve been a little more open to it. How could I not be, seeing how happy my friends are with their partners? It makes me believe a happy ending, like the ones Winter tells me about from her books, might actually be possible.
But I thought it would be a long, drawn-out thing—years of getting to know the right woman and figuring out if I could really trust her.
Then I met Winter.
There was something about her that caught me from the start. And having spent this time with her, seeing her at her most vulnerable and her strongest, I discovered something I wasn’t expecting.
When it’s the right person, you just know .
The question is, does Winter feel the same way?
Not that I’m going to propose; not now, at least. But it’s been two days since Thomas was arrested and I’m on pins and needles, anticipating the moment when Winter says she’s going back home.
It’s not like she needs to stay here anymore. Now that the danger’s passed, she can move back into that little house she loves so much and work on rebuilding the life Thomas ripped away from her.
Rationally, I know it makes sense. And it’s not like we can’t see each other, considering Winter will only be living ten minutes away. But selfishly? I don’t want her to leave. I want to keep having our coffee together every morning and talk about our days over dinner and fall asleep each night with her wrapped in my arms.
Is it even fair of me to ask her to stay when living on her own might be the best thing for her?
“Good morning.”
Winter comes into the kitchen, looking as beautiful as always—her hair dark and damply waving down around her shoulders, a long-sleeved V-neck that matches her eyes, and dark jeans that cling to her hips and ass. Her cheeks are still flushed from her shower, and there’s a hint of shimmer on her lips. As she smiles, her whole face lights up with happiness.
This is the Winter I’ve been hoping to see—the one that doesn’t have faint shadows under her eyes and tiny lines of tension etched across her forehead. And while I know she’s felt safe here, the slight tension she always held in her shoulders has gone away.
“Hey, hun.” I force aside my conflicted feelings and return her smile. “You look beautiful.” Leaving the counter, I cross the kitchen to meet her halfway, pulling her into my arms and capturing her lips.
Her arms twine around my neck as she kisses me back, her breasts pressing temptingly into my chest. She smells like flowers and citrus, her mouth tastes of sweet mint, and she feels so perfect in my arms I can’t help wondering is there enough time to make love to Winter before we leave for the store?
Maybe. Then again, we made love—yes, I’ve moved beyond calling it sex—three times last night. Winter’s probably sore and I should give her a break. Settle for kisses and coffee and save the rest of it for later.
When we end the kiss, Winter stares at me for a few seconds with this sort of half-smile curving her lips.
I tuck a tendril of hair behind her ear. “What are you smiling about?”
Her smile expands. “Just thinking.”
“About?”
“How happy I am. Waking up next to you. Having our coffee together. And I get to spend the entire day with you. Helping at the store, working on my new design projects, and if we want, we can even go out to eat tonight.”
My heart squeezes. “Ah, hun. I’m happy, too.” After a beat, I ask, “Do you want to go out for dinner? I hadn’t thought about it, but we can. There’s Mariano’s, or The Laughing Goat, or Blissful Brews—it’s not romantic, but they do have great wings and beer.”
“I think…” A tiny V forms between her eyes as she thinks. “Could we go to Blissful Brews? I’ve never been. And maybe… we could invite the guys?”
“The guys?” Not quite the date I was thinking of.
“Well, I was just thinking… they’ve done so much to help me. If we go there, I could treat them to dinner and beer as sort of a thanks. Not that it even comes close to what they did, but I’d like to do something. And I just got paid for that logo design job, so…”
She stretches up on her tiptoes, using my shoulders for balance, and kisses me again. “Then we can come home and do some other things like we did last night. And maybe that thing we talked about but didn’t get around to trying?”
Shit.
Just when I think Winter can’t get more perfect, she does something to prove me wrong.
I don’t want her to go. Shit. It’s selfish, but I want her to stay here.
“Enzo.” I don’t realize I’m frowning until Winter trails her finger across my forehead. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” It’s quick and gruffer than I intended. I take a breath before adding more gently, “I’m fine.”
Her lips press into a line. “No, you aren’t. If you don’t want to go out with the guys, it’s okay. It was just an idea. We don’t have to go out. We can just have dinner here.”
Double shit. Now I’m making Winter feel badly for absolutely no reason. “No, it’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
What do I say? The truth? I feel like Winter leaving is this inevitable weight hanging over me, about to drop? That I don’t want her to go?
Giving myself some time to think, I take her hand and lead her over to the island. Once we’re both seated, I turn so I’m facing her. “I like the idea. And I think they’ll love it.”
Her brows wing up. “But?”
Ignore it or rip the Band-aid off?
“I guess… I’ve been thinking. Now that Thomas is in jail, what are your plans?”
“What do you mean?”
Shit. Now I’ve dug myself a hole and I’m stuck in it. “Your house. Do you… Are you… moving back?”
What is wrong with me? I’m stumbling over my words like a tongue-tied teen asking a girl out on his first date, not acting like the battle-toughened Special Forces soldier I was.
Winter’s face falls, and she drops my hand. She stares at the butcher block as she says quietly, “I’m sorry. I should have thought. Now that Thomas is in jail… of course you want your house to yourself again.”
Shit. That’s not what I meant at all. “No. That’s not it. Not in the least.”
But she’s still staring at the island, her chin jutting, and is that… Shit . Her bottom lip is trembling.
“I shouldn’t have assumed. Just staying like this. I can pack my stuff?—”
“No!” It’s quick. Emphatic. “No, hun. That’s not what I want.”
Her gaze lifts, meeting mine. The hesitancy and sadness in her eyes makes my stomach clench.
I did that.
“What do you want?” she asks in a tiny voice.
“I want you to stay. I didn’t mean I want you to leave.”
“Then why?—”
“I thought you might want to go. Move back into your house. And if that’s what you want, I’ll help you. Get the house all fixed up, install security, Knox can fix the things I can’t?—”
“Enzo.” Winter touches my leg. “What do you want?”
“I want you here. I know it hasn’t been long, but…” Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly before continuing, “I love having you here. All the time. And the idea of you leaving… it sucks. A lot. And that’s why I got quiet. Because I was thinking about the day when you aren’t here anymore.”
The silence that follows is long enough for me to think I really screwed things up. Royally.
Then Winter grabs my hand and squeezes it. “I was worrying, too. But not because I want to go home.” A pause, and then, “I don’t want to leave, either.”
The tremendous pressure on my chest eases. “You don’t?”
“No.” She meets my gaze steadily. “This feels like home now. You feel like home. I didn’t want to assume you wanted me to stay… but I’ve been hoping.”
Oh.
I guess I didn’t screw things up.
Framing her face, I kiss her cheeks, her forehead, and then her lips. When I break the kiss, I tell her, “I would love it if you stay.”
Winter smiles, and the look in her eyes is everything. “I would love that, too.”