Chapter 14
LUCY
TEXT CONVERSATION WITH CHARLIE
Do you know any young guys who like the Golden Girls?
Uh…what?
You know the guy who left that note at my door?
The stalker?
Well, he lives in my building, and we’ve been exchanging notes, but he left the last one in a Golden Girls card and mentioned something about watching it together. Do you think he’s elderly?
You’re asking if I think hot, young guys watch Golden Girls? Say that out loud and listen to what it sounds like.
Oh, forget it. It doesn’t matter. I’m not into this guy. We’ve just been exchanging friendly notes, but I guess I was envisioning someone younger.
You can’t see me, but I’m laughing my ass off.
Have fun tonight.
HUDSON is young. And hot. Practice with him. Practice HARD.
Yeah, Enzo’s going to be so pissed. (Message error, Redelivered.)
Forget Enzo.
Who?
Despite my casual dismissal of Enzo in my text conversation with Charlie earlier this morning, forgetting him is easier said than done.
I’ve been thinking about him constantly since that moment outside Love at First Sip yesterday.
It felt like the whole town, maybe even the whole state, had shrunk to just us, with a short stretch of sidewalk between us, dirty snow piled all around.
The air had felt charged with possibilities.
I’d thought he was about to dip in and kiss me, which had pissed me off and excited me in equal measure.
But he hadn’t.
Instead, he’d chosen to revive our war.
I’d truly intended to make peace, but Enzo obviously doesn’t want peace. At least not with me.
So I’ve decided I’m going through with my dinner date plan.
I just told Eileen as much via text message. She left the Sip early today to talk to Amanda, which went “very well,” and then headed over to Erica’s house to make cookies with her.
Five minutes after I sent my text, she replies with a clapping meme—the delay either a result of Hideaway Harbor’s perpetually slow cell signals or because she and Erica are gabbing.
Probably the latter, because she starts sending me minute-by-minute updates, and each of them comes through immediately.
Hudson just put on a dress shirt. Ooh, this is so exciting.
He looks very handsome, Lucy.
You know, this is just the kind of practice you need! I wish I’d thought of it sooner.
I understand you said it’s a “fake” date, but if there’s chemistry, you should go for it! He is SUCH a nice boy.
Erica and I already talked about what we’d do for the wedding.
No pressure, though. ;-)
Ooh, he just stepped out the door! You’re in for a treat.
I mean, honestly.
I pace around my apartment, tempted to watch The Golden Girls with my probably elderly pen pal instead of going out, but Hudson arrives exactly on time.
I open the door to find him grinning at me. “Well, damn, I wasn’t sure how I felt when I overheard my mother planning my wedding, but I don’t have any objections after all.”
I feel myself blushing all the way to the roots of my hair. So he’s charming and good-looking. His mother is petite and blonde, but he’s tall, dark, and very handsome with thick, muscular arms. Like, seriously thick. The man is as fit as a bodybuilder.
Truthfully speaking, he’s much better than perfectly okay, and if he’s as nice as Eileen says, he’d be a great candidate for Project: Lose The V, but I’d never sleep with him. For one thing, his mother and Eileen are already planning our wedding. For another…
Well, isn’t that enough?
So, no, I will not be sleeping with him tonight, but I’ll be totally honest: I want to convince Enzo that’s my plan.
“Keep up the shameless flirting,” I encourage him with a grin. “It’ll drive Enzo crazy.”
“Ah, yes,” he says with a knowing smile. “I’ve heard all about the holiday hate-off.”
“You’ve read Lady Lovewatch?” I moan as I follow him out of the apartment and lock the door behind me.
“Of course. But that’s not the first time I’ve heard people mention your feud. You know, I’ve got my money on you.”
“People are betting on it?” I ask in horror.
His grin widens as we head to the building’s front entrance. “Not literally.” He shrugs, pausing in front of the door. “At least not the people I know. But people like to talk, especially since some think Enzo’s gotten too high-and-mighty after being in New York City so long.”
He opens the door for me, letting in a whoosh of cold wind. I step through it, and he follows me out, linking our arms together as we walk toward the harbor.
“So…Enzo didn’t used to be like this?” I ask, trying not to sound as curious as I feel.
“He’s always been pretty sure of himself.” He shrugs. “But he had to be. It wasn’t easy, his mom leaving like she did.”
“Are you friends?” I ask in horror.
He laughs and shakes his head. “No. I took Aria to the prom, and he told me where he’d bury my body if I tried to do anything more than kiss her. I haven’t forgotten it.”
“Now, that sounds like Enzo.”
But it hits me that this is exactly the sort of thing Enzo doesn’t like about Hideaway Harbor—that people are still talking about him, speculating, after so many years away.
I shake off the feeling as Hudson and I make our way toward Hook, Wine, and Sinker.
“Are you okay with me flirting a little?” I ask as we get closer. My heart is thumping harder now, because it’s almost the moment of truth. I’m going to see Enzo sitting alone at his table, and he’s going to see me walking in with Hudson.
The look on his face is going to be epic.
Hudson gives me a sidelong glance. “I wouldn’t mind if you flirted a lot.”
I nearly trip over a stone as I process his words. Looking back at him, I say, “I don’t want you to feel used, Hudson. You seem awesome, but—”
“I’m not in the market for an arranged marriage either, Lucy,” he says with a grin. “But I do look forward to getting to know you, and you can use me all you like. I don’t object.”
He doesn’t totally sound like he understands it’s a fake date, but I’m distracted by the sight of the restaurant up ahead. Even though it’s freezing outside, I feel sweat bead on the back of my neck as we approach the entrance.
“There it is,” I say, sounding like a hunter who’s spotted her prey.
“Yes, the same place where it’s always been,” he says in a teasing voice, but I barely register it because we’re passing the front window now, arm in arm, and I spot Enzo inside.
He’s sitting at one of two tables facing the sidewalk.
I feel an almost feral joy at the sight of him.
He’s staring out of the window—waiting for me, no doubt.
I see recognition on his face as he catches sight of me.
Then his gaze shifts to Hudson, and I can see my dart has hit the bull’s-eye.
(Again. I’ve managed it before with his photo at the café.) He shakes his head slightly, one corner of his lips lifting as if he’s pissed off but still amused.
Oh, if I could snap a photo of that look, I’d frame it and keep it forever.
Maybe it’s a little strange that I want to preserve a photo of a man who drives me crazy, but Enzo is clearly not someone who’s easily surprised or caught off guard. Who could blame me for feeling victorious?
I only realize I’ve completely stopped walking when I feel the tug of Hudson’s arm, still looped through mine.
I hurry forward as he holds the door open for me. When I pass him, he says in an undertone, “If someone murders me, let the police chief know you can identify his number one suspect.”
“Oh, Enzo’s definitely angry at me, not you,” I say, feeling a little giddy at the thought. “I tricked him, and he can’t stand it. But he deserves it after what he did at Santa Speed Dating, not to mention half a dozen other things.”
He laughs. “Yeah, my sister Harper was at your dating event last weekend. I got an earful. But, hey, at least there weren’t really head lice in the beards.”
The hostess smiles at us and leads us to the table directly next to Enzo’s two-top. Our tables are the only ones in the alcove near the window, giving it an intimate feel.
My breath hitches as I take him in. He’s wearing a dark gray suit that fits him perfectly, hugging the muscles in his arms. His tie is bright red, which is downright merry for him.
I dislike him…and yet my pulse is thundering now.
I shiver with a sense of excitement that was notably absent when Hudson met me at my apartment.
My gaze flits from Enzo to the glass of wine in front of him. Excellent, I’ve already driven him to drinking.
I give him a look of wide-eyed innocence. “What a coincidence to see you here, Enzo. Are you meeting someone?”
He smiles savagely at me. “I thought I was meeting you.”
“Why would you think that?” I ask. “I’ve told you twice that I didn’t have any idea what you were talking about.”
“Uh-huh,” he says skeptically, eyeing me with a knowing gaze. The corner of his mouth lifts in a grudging acknowledgment of my victory. “Well played.”
The hostess’s eyes widen. “Is there a problem with the location of your table? We could—”
“Oh no,” I say with a dismissive wave. “I’m not afraid of the big, bad wolf.”
“Good,” Enzo says, giving a small, hard nod to Hudson. “Then you wouldn’t mind if I join you?”
I tighten my grip on Hudson’s arm. “Yes, we would actually. This is our first date.”
“But hopefully not our last,” Hudson says, his eyes sparkling like he’s enjoying this game too.
“We’d prefer privacy,” I demur.
“Of course,” Enzo says in a low, gravelly voice. “I understand completely. I don’t like to share either.”
His words send a hot shiver through me—just like they’re meant to. He wants me to think about that moment yesterday, when only inches separated us. And in the kitchen last weekend. He wants my mind to keep dipping back to his incredibly rude offer.
And that’s exactly where my mind goes. To be perfectly honest, I’ve thought about it a lot. Every night. I’ve been desperate to take out my vibrator. But I haven’t, because that would be like letting him win. And I’ll be damned if I do that.