Chapter 7
Enzo was sweating.
And not even for a good reason.
Not even because Will had been popping his head out of his front door all morning.
Nope, it was just hot. He was just hot.
After months of working on the relatively mild west coast, moving up and down from Seattle to Portland and then back to Seattle again, he wasn’t used to this heat or the South’s oven-like humidity.
And that didn’t even count for the fact that he’d been schlepping and assembling the scaffolding that went up the side of Will’s building.
His supplier had been able to deliver quicker than he’d expected, dropping off what he’d ordered just past noon, but he hadn’t been able to spare anyone to assemble it.
Enzo, who’d watched and helped enough times, had waved him off, saying he’d take care of it himself.
What he hadn’t anticipated was the temperature climbing up even higher, leaving him damp and cranky.
He picked up an iron pipe and screwed it into the main assembly he was working on, creating a platform for him to work on. At least with a smaller wall, the scaffolding could be smaller.
Wiping his forehead with the hem of his shirt, he finally gave up and tugged it off, rubbing his face dry—at least for the next ten seconds.
“Hey.”
Enzo turned and there was Will standing there, an uncertain expression on his face and two bottles of water in his hands.
“Oh, hey,” Enzo said and took the water Will handed him gratefully. “This is much appreciated.”
Will craned his head back, staring up at the sky. “It’s a hot one today. Summer on the coast’s always warm, but it feels like it hits a new gear in early June.”
“Yeah. And I’m not used to it,” Enzo admitted, drowning half the water. He was in the middle of wiping his face yet again when he realized what he was doing.
That he was shirtless, in front of Will, who, even fully dressed, looked like he made being naked a freaking art form.
“Glad I brought you some water, then,” Will said. He glanced over at the wall. So far it didn’t look like much, Enzo could admit that.
“I did bring my own,” Enzo admitted. “Just didn’t expect to go through it so quickly.”
“Yeah, it’s hot today.” Will flushed when he said it, looking everywhere but at Enzo.
“You don’t look even the tiniest bit bothered,” Enzo complained. It was true; Will looked cool and gorgeous and perfect.
Enzo felt like a sweaty, desperate mess, still embarrassingly sucking in his stomach, even though after how much his mother had freaking intervened, there was very little chance Will was ever going to be interested.
Will shrugged. “I’ve lived in the South my whole life. It’s hot here, sure, but Florida’s worse.”
“And I’ve been in the Pacific Northwest for six months,” Enzo admitted.
“There is that.” The corner of Will’s mouth quirked up. “You want another bottle of water?”
“Uh, no, I should probably grab something to eat. This is taking me a bit longer to do than I thought it might. Guess it’s easier to watch someone else do it than do it yourself.
” He was just trying to decide if he should ask if Will wanted anything when he walked down to deli, when he heard a sound that he’d probably be hearing in his nightmares.
“Enzo!” his mother called out. “Oh, and Will. Just who I was hoping to catch! What a coincidence!”
“Coincidence my ass,” Enzo muttered under his breath. “Quick,” he said, eyeing his mom as she walked around the corner, “you may want to run. Or else she’s gonna find a way to shove us together.”
Will gave half a shrug. Like he wouldn’t mind it. “It’s all good,” he said. Then turned to his mother, giving her the exact same smile he’d bestowed on Enzo. “Hey, Giana.”
Enzo tried not to be jealous. Mostly failed. Even as he reminded himself that he didn’t want Will to be charmed by him, especially.
It was bad enough Giana was here, looking between them like she’d just won the lottery. It was bad enough they’d been flirting last night in front of Joy.
If she got enough encouragement, Enzo had a feeling she wouldn’t be willing to drop the idea of him and Will together.
She was a Moretti after all, and once they were convinced something might be true, they didn’t ever want to let go of it.
It was one of their best traits, and also one of their worst.
“It’s like you were practically reading my mind.
I’d hoped you’d be together and here you are,” she said, positively glowing—and not from the heat, either—as she gestured to the basket on her arm.
“I made some extra food, when I was putting together a little picnic for Enzo here. You could always share it with him.” She shot him her most winning smile.
Much tougher men had fallen victim to that particular smile.
Enzo, himself, for one.
“Uh.” Will hesitated.
“You two can go off to the park. It’s nice and cool on the grass, under the shade.”
“Mom,” Enzo said, forcing himself not to roll his eyes. “Will’s too busy to go off and share a romantic picnic with me.”
She did not look deterred. “Who said it was romantic, Enzo? You said it was romantic.” She shot Will a conspiratorial look. “Will, I hate to break it to you, but I think my Enzo might have a little bit of a crush.”
Enzo stifled a groan. “I’ll take this,” he said, pulling the basket off her arm. “If it’ll make you stop.”
“Stop what?” Butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth but she looked so secretly thrilled Enzo was afraid that maybe he had been giving out too many vibes that he’d been actually open to dating Will.
He was attracted to the guy—he wasn’t dead, thank you, Rocco—but that didn’t mean he was looking for his very own happily ever after.
“All of this,” Enzo said, gesturing between him and Will.
“Enzo,” she said, ignoring his entreaty and giving him a little friendly whack on the forearm, “do make sure you put your shirt back on. We don’t want Will thinking you’re not a perfect gentleman.”
“Of course not,” Enzo grumbled.
Will shot him a sympathetic smile. “Thanks for the food, Giana. We’ll be happy to share it. Maybe not in the park. I’ve got work to do. And it’s so hot. Enzo could use a break. Maybe Cherry’s back room would be romantic enough?”
Enzo lost the war with himself and finally rolled his eyes. “If it’s air-conditioned, that’s all I care about,” he bit off.
“Wonderful,” Giana said. “I’ll leave you two to it.” She turned and left with only one additionally exaggerated wink.
“You don’t have to do that. Uh, invite me into your back room,” Enzo said after she’d cleared the corner. But he still kept his voice quiet. God only knew she might actually spy on them around the wall, thinking she was being subtle.
Except she was about as a subtle as a sledgehammer.
But Will waved his concern away. “You’re hot. You could use a break. And I just bet that Giana made me her famous artichoke spread, because she knows I love it. Who am I to turn that down?”
“You think she planned this then?” Enzo was pretty damn sure, but he thought it might be worth asking.
He grabbed his T-shirt and the empty water bottle, trailing Will as he led them to Cherry’s entrance.
The seating area was empty, probably because it was dinner time and the Indigo Bay residents had yet to become so obsessed with Will’s ice cream that they started indulging in it instead of regular meals.
Will laughed as he skirted around the corner of the counter, Enzo following him past the swinging double doors to the back.
“You know she did,” he said. But he didn’t seem as perturbed by it as Enzo was.
Probably because he wasn’t the guy who looked so desperate for a date his mother had decided to find him one.
A woman with red-streaked dark hair was standing in the large back room, sucking down an iced coffee like it was going to save her life. She looked familiar. Then, spotting him, she raised an eyebrow.
Enzo realized two things at the same time. One, he had yet to put his shirt back on, and two, this was Kate Stewart, who’d been a few years behind him in school.
“I think you picked up a gigolo, boss,” she teased.
Enzo pulled his T-shirt back on, flushing with embarrassment and hoping that Will didn’t notice.
“You know Enzo, I presume?” Will asked.
“Oh yeah, though not as well as you’re probably going to get to know him. I didn’t know Giana’s schemes were working out so well.”
“They’re not,” Enzo said flatly. “But it’s hot outside and she brought food.”
Will nodded. “Enzo needed a break and I thought we could get her off our backs at the same time.”
“Is that going to work?” Kate questioned.
Enzo wished he knew the answer.
“Come on back. I’ve got a little office. We can chat,” Will said. Clearly he wasn’t sure either, considering the way he ignored the question.
Will had not been lying about the little part. His office was only big enough for one chair and a small desk, a laptop and a charger sitting on it.
“Take the chair,” Will said, gesturing towards it. “You need the rest.”
“God, do I look that bad?” Enzo joked, while secretly worrying that maybe it was actually true.
Of course it didn’t actually matter if he did or not.
But he did set the basket on the desk. “I gotta wash my hands,” he said. And make sure I’m not embarrassing myself even more.
Will popped his head out of the office and gestured down towards where Enzo could see shiny kitchen equipment. “There’s a staff restroom down that way.”
Enzo found it and took his time, grimacing in the mirror at the smear of dirt on his cheekbone, the way his hair had flattened out with sweat. He washed up carefully and fluffed out his curls out as best he could, deciding that at least he’d return to Will’s office clean.
When he did, Will had opened the basket and set out the food.
Giana had not lied; she’d made enough for two of them, easily. Which begged the question of just how she’d intended to get the two of them to share it, if Will hadn’t happened to come outside at just the right time.