Chapter 18
To say Enzo was nervous was an understatement.
Already he’d guzzled down two cappuccinos and every time he eyed Rocco, standing at the counter, by the espresso machine, Rocco eyed him right back, like No way am I giving you another one.
“You ready?” Will said, spotting his parents approaching from one side through the windows that lined the street side of Sweetie Pie’s. They’d taken the same table they had the other day, when they’d all had lunch.
They’d debated having this conversation somewhere private, like Cherry’s before it opened, but Enzo had staunchly argued that they needed to do it in public—hopefully to contain the fallout.
Besides, Enzo barely considered Oliver’s bakery public, because he’d spent so much time in it over the years.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Enzo said and watched as his mom approached from the other side. Enzo realized he was holding his breath—not from anticipation, but sheer, unadulterated dread—as they met at the Sweetie Pie’s front door, exchanging what seemed to be basic pleasantries.
Okay. So they hadn’t met yet. But as they walked into the bakery, Enzo could see they were eyeing each other, and when they all ended up walking towards the same table, Carla Johnson turned to his mom and said, “I’m sorry, but are you Enzo’s mother? You look so much like him.”
Giana beamed. “Do you think so? Everyone always says so, but I always wonder, if he’ll turn out to be just like his father.”
“And who’s his father?”
Ugh, Enzo really didn’t want to go down this road.
Not now. Not today. He liked Will, and he liked Will’s parents, and they seemed reasonable but it never seemed to go over well when he mentioned that his father had probably been part of the family and was probably lying dead somewhere, which was why he’d never met the man.
Just because he was okay with it didn’t mean other people were.
“Mom,” he said, walking over and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, “meet Will’s parents. This is my mom, Giana Moretti.”
“Oh! Oh!” Giana looked thrilled. “Of course you are Will’s parents! You look just like him.”
Carla put out a hand and said, “Carla and Patrick Johnson. It’s so nice to meet you. We had a chance to talk to Enzo yesterday and he’s wonderful. And the mural! So beautiful, already.”
Giana, not surprisingly, bypassed her outstretched hand and pulled her into a big hug, instead. Carla looked surprised but pleased. Next she hugged Patrick, who seemed equally as surprised, but a hair less pleased.
“We will be family now,” Giana said firmly. She glanced over at Enzo. “Now that our sons are family.”
“Oh, they told you too?” Carla said. “Were you surprised? We were surprised they were so serious, so quickly.”
Will’s eyes went wide. Enzo considered interjecting, before their mothers could go into more raptures about how they were about to get married. But Will put a hand on his arm, and okay, they could let this play out. For at least a minute or two. But that was it.
Giana smiled. “Oh, I wasn’t surprised at all. I knew they’d be serious about each other. A perfect match if I may say so myself.”
“Hardly perfect, if they’re in a long-distance relationship much of the time.” Patrick’s voice was calm, but there was a sternness in his eyes that worried Enzo.
“Patrick, we talked about this,” Carla said under her breath.
“We’re gonna work this out,” Will interjected. “I know it seems sudden and soon, and a lot, but it’s gonna work out.”
“Honey, you have to understand. We don’t want you to be married to someone who’s never around!” Carla exclaimed.
“Good news,” Enzo said, unable to help himself for one more minute, “he won’t be.”
“What,” Giana exclaimed.
“Let’s sit down,” Will said hurriedly and gestured towards the table.
His mother slid in next to Carla. Patrick sat next to Will. Enzo didn’t move. Maybe if he didn’t sit down, he could still run away.
Avoid that betrayed look in his mother’s eyes.
“Does anybody want any coffee?” Enzo asked.
“Coffee! Coffee! He asks about coffee right now. You need to tell me what’s going on,” his mom demanded. “Explain what you meant.”
But before he could, she turned to Carla, dark eyes wide and upset. “See what you just did! You put all these doubts in them, when they were perfect before! I made sure of it! And now they’re going to break up!”
“Mom, you didn’t do anything. In fact,” Enzo winced a little as the truth came out, “you did less than nothing. We didn’t even start dating because you suggested it.”
Well, Enzo supposed you could make the argument that they had. Because they’d fake-dated because of Giana, and they’d real-dated because of the fake dating.
“But you said you did! I showed you what you could be! I’m the one who suggested you date in the first place.”
Will was right; Giana was the queen of exclamation marks. Even if they weren’t written down, they were right there anyway, in her dramatic delivery.
“When we first started dating,” Will said hesitantly, “we weren’t actually dating for real. We just thought if you . . .if you thought we were, you might . . .uh . . .get off our cases, a bit. But uh . . .no worries? ’Cause we’re actually dating now.”
Her jaw dropped.
Carla and Patrick looked equally as stunned.
“And,” Enzo added, because they were in for a penny now, might as well be in for a pound, “we aren’t engaged either. We’re dating, yes, but we’re not going to get married anytime soon. Sorry. It seemed the easiest way to convince you that Will couldn’t leave town, right now.”
“But you can,” Patrick said a little bitterly.
And okay, that was fair. Sort of.
“Enzo has a job that isn’t in town, that he’s very good at, that he’s famous for,” Will said, and he put an arm around Enzo’s waist. Showing a united front. “And yes, maybe I will go with him. When my own business hasn’t been open for only a few months. When my manager isn’t brand-new on the job.”
“And because he wants to. He’s spent all these years working for you. He wants to work for himself now. It’s time,” Enzo retorted.
It was Patrick’s turn for his jaw to drop.
For a moment, everyone was stone still and silent.
Absorbing what they’d just said, no doubt.
“Your first date,” Giana said hesitantly, “it wasn’t at Rudy’s? The first week you came to town?”
Enzo shrugged awkwardly. “We did go out to dinner that night.” He looked over at Will. “What do you think? Should that count?”
“I don’t think it matters when it happened, for real. Only that it did,” Will said steadily, meeting Giana’s dismayed gaze straight on.
“I suppose I can accept that,” Giana said. “But Patrick is right! You can’t leave Will here all the time. You don’t even live here, Enzo! You don’t live anywhere. How can you be together if you’re not together!”
“And uh, that’s the second part of it,” Enzo said, rubbing the back of his neck.
A few people had come in to order coffee and if he wasn’t mistaken they were all listening to the family drama play out.
He supposed he couldn’t blame them, really.
It would’ve been entertaining, if he hadn’t been a part of it.
“I moved into Enzo’s apartment,” Will said. “And he’s going to be coming back to Indigo Bay more.”
“Between every job,” Enzo added.
Will’s parents only looked partially mollified at that. But clearly, they wanted the best for Will, even if, just like Giana, they were apparently the ones who decided what that was.
“It’s not going to be easy for sure,” Will said, glancing down at Enzo, and it was so easy to fall into the resolute certainty in his eyes.
The steadiness. The ride-or-die loyalty.
Everything he loved about the man—though it wasn’t like his gorgeous body wasn’t a good enough reason on its own.
“But I don’t care. I love him. That’s all that matters, in the end. ”
There was chaos then.
Giana cried.
Carla hugged him, then Patrick shook his hand—and that was slightly awkward; Enzo hadn’t made it a habit to meet his hookups’ parents, for exactly this reason—and then Giana embraced him over and over.
“It’s alright,” she said, right before she pulled away the final time. “I know you’ll marry him someday.”
“Mom,” Enzo groaned.
“I mean it,” she said. “And we’re going to talk more about the fact that you felt like you needed to lie to me.”
He’d already known that was the case. And that wouldn’t be a conversation that would happen around Will or his parents. He nodded.
“I’m working today, or trying to anyway, but I’ll find you later tonight, alright?”
Giana just waved a hand. “Of course.”
“You’ll be at home?” Enzo pressed. It seemed like she was never at home anymore.
“Naturally, where else would I be?” He knew she was lying. He could see it in her eyes. And that baffled him more than anything else. He’d been honest; what was holding her back?
Well, he’d be sure to find out.
They didn’t need any more secrets between them.
“Alright,” Enzo said.
“I’m just gonna grab a coffee to go. Maybe two. I’m meeting Joy,” she said, as Enzo watched Will saying goodbye to his parents out of the corner of his eye. He was hoping they would actually leave and go to Tybee Island this time around.
“Have fun,” Enzo said. He turned to say goodbye to Will’s parents, too, because that was a thing he had to do now. Being in a relationship was sure an adjustment. A good one, but an adjustment nonetheless.
“Enzo,” she said, and he turned back. She cupped his cheeks with her palms and looked him deep in the eye. “I’m so proud of you, you know?”
Enzo swallowed hard. He did know it. Or he mostly did. But sometimes he forgot, or that feeling got consumed by all the other bullshit.
But he knew it right now and whenever he got frustrated with her or sick of her bullshit—and that would happen, because even though they loved each other, they were family, and it was inevitable—he’d remember this moment.
“Thanks, Mom.”
She gave him one last squeeze. “Of course. And I’m sorry you didn’t know it.”
“I do now,” he said.