29. Rosalie
TWENTY-NINE
ROSALIE
“ L ook at this one!” I rushed to the cage and peered in at the fluffy white kitten. “Enzo!”
The kitten put his little paw on the wire bars and gave a meow before licking my finger.
Enzo came over and chuckled. “OK. He is cute.”
I looked at him and twisted my hands together. “Do you think I can hold him?”
Enzo smirked at me and nodded at one of the workers. She rushed over and opened the cage. Then, she pulled the little fluff out and handed him to me.
“He came in with his brothers and sisters a few days ago. They all went fast, surprisingly. He’s all that’s left,” she said.
“How old is he?” Enzo asked, petting the kitten’s head.
His little body vibrated in my hands with his purring, making me giddy and excited.
Growing up, I always wanted a cat and a dog, but my dad was against it.
Lately, I was feeling lonely. It was even worse now that Ani had decided to go his own way.
A kitten would be the perfect company for me.
“He’s about fourteen weeks. He’s an absolute doll,” she said, looking fondly over at the kitten in my hands.
“Enzo?” I pleaded softly. “Please? Can I have him?”
Enzo stared at the kitten for a moment before looking back at me. “Are you sure you’ll have time, babe? You’re so busy with school and everything.”
“I’ll have plenty of time.” I kissed the top of the kitten’s head. “Do you think the guys will be OK with it?”
“I think they’d be fine.” Enzo cocked his head and smiled at the kitten. “He really is cute. You should get him.”
“Really?” I widened my eyes at him.
“Yes. I think he’d be good for you.”
I hugged the kitten tightly to me. He snuggled against my chest, purring louder.
“We’ll take him,” Enzo said to the woman, who nodded eagerly and led him to her office to fill out paperwork. I stayed behind, hugging and petting him, excited I’d be able to bring him home.
Within minutes, Enzo was back and kissing the top of my head.
“Come on. We’re good.” He steered me out of the building and back to the Escalade, then helped me inside.
Quickly, he buckled me in with my seatbelt before getting behind the wheel.
I noted he had a few of his men following us.
He didn’t leave alone anymore, which worried me.
To me, that meant things were getting worse.
I didn’t want to know, though. I wanted to pretend things were fine.
“We’ll have to go to the pet store and pick up some things,” I said, kissing the kitten on the top of his head again. He let out a soft, contented meow, his eyes squinting.
Enzo made the appropriate turn to go to the pet store. By the end of the hour, we were loaded down with new stuff for our kitten and driving home.
“What are you going to name your kitten?” Enzo asked as we drove.
I smiled over at him. “You mean our kitten. He’s our baby. Our first pet together.”
Enzo chuckled and squeezed my leg. “Fine. What are you naming our kitten?”
I looked down at the kitten. He was going to have long hair. It was already growing and making him look like a little fuzzball.
“I think I’ll name him… Cotton.”
“Cotton?” Enzo raised his brows but grinned. “I like it. Cotton the kitten. King of the De Luca house.”
It was almost perfect. The only thing missing was a phone call from Anson, but I had gotten the point. He was stepping away. I hoped it wasn’t forever, but if it were, I wouldn’t blame him. A person could only be hurt so many times before they had to move on.
I hated that’s what it was, but it had to be that way.
“You OK?” Enzo asked as Cotton snoozed on my lap.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“Sunshine, talk to me.”
I sighed and looked out the window. “It’s Anson.”
“He’s an idiot.”
I said nothing and continued to look out the window.
“He’s an idiot for leaving,” Enzo continued. “You’re worth fighting for, Rosalie. If he can’t see that…”
“It’s not that. I’m a losing battle. He finally realized it.”
“That doesn’t mean he should throw your friendship away.”
I shrugged and wiped quickly at my eyes. “It’s fine. I’m glad he was strong enough to. I just miss him.”
“I know you do, baby. I’m sorry for what it’s worth.”
I reached over and took Enzo’s hand, grateful he wasn’t being a dick about it. “Thank you.”
He smiled at me and turned the conversation to something lighter.
The wedding.
And for once, I was grateful to have it as a buffer to all my other troubles. That had to mean something.
We walked hand in hand to the house with Cotton tucked away in the sling Enzo had bought me to carry him in.
“Someday, that’ll be my baby,” Enzo said, smiling at me as he reached for the doorknob on the front door.
I pulled him back to kiss him gently. “I love you.”
“Mm, I love you, too, Sunshine.” He nipped my bottom lip. “How about we go inside and see what the guys have been up to all afternoon? Introduce them to our new son.”
“I’d love that.”
He smiled and kissed me sweetly again before opening the door and leading me inside.
“Surprise!” E called out.
Cole released the partially blown-up balloon he was working on. It squealed and sputtered around the room before landing on the top of his head.
“What are you wearing?” I asked, laughter erupting from me as I took Cole in.
In only a man thong.
“No. What aren’t you wearing, Scott?” Enzo said, shaking his head, a look of confusion on his face.
“It’s my new cheek chillers. Got ’em today when we went grocery shopping.” Cole turned around and shook his very muscular ass. All that was there was a pink string up his crack.
I let out another burst of laughter while Enzo shook his head.
“You aren’t allowed to talk shit, De Luca. Give me a compliment, or I’ll dry hump your leg,” Cole said, turning around to face us.
“Uh, it’s very, uh, pink,” Enzo said.
“His ass or the string underwear?” E laughed, shooting a grin at me.
I snorted.
“Rosebud likes pink. It’s for her,” Cole said defensively. “Both the shade of my ass and my underwear.”
I shook my head at his antics, the suppressed smile slipping past my lips. That only made Cole’s blue eyes shine brighter.
“And you got this grocery shopping?” Enzo wrinkled his brows as Cole pulled the balloon off his head. “When did the grocery store start selling strings for underwear?"
“No. He made us go to the sex shop. He got them there,” Fox said, coming into the room.
He came straight for me. Judging by how the guys were acting, the feud between Cole and Fox was over.
I let out a breath of relief. It had been plaguing me since Cole told me what had happened.
Fox had already told me his feelings on it and how he blamed himself.
I’d pleaded with him to stop thinking that way, but he’d only cried and held onto me, begging me to forgive him.
But there was nothing to forgive. Bad things happen to good people sometimes. To innocent people. It wasn’t fair, and it hurt, but I would never blame Fox for an ounce of it.
He made to hug me, but Cotton popped his head out and let out a meow.
“Whoa. What’s this?” Fox immediately reached out to Cotton, who sniffed his finger before giving it a lick.
“This is Cotton,” I said, releasing him from the sling. He blinked his big green eyes and purred.
“Oh, he’s cute.” Fox smiled and made to take him, but Cole intervened and scooped him away.
“Look at his fuzzy little ears! And his fluffy tail. These eyes. And whiskers. Aren’t you just the cutest little furball on the planet? Come here. Let’s get you some steak…” Cole took Cotton away, his bare ass on display, and went to the kitchen, still cooing at the kitten, without a backward look.
We all stood rooted to our place, watching him go.
“He has got to be the strangest guy on the planet,” Fox said, shaking his head.
Ethan nodded in agreement. Enzo shook his head.
“I like strange.” I smiled, feeling a sense of relief that the tension in the house was gone.
Something was missing, but I already knew what it was.
Even if Anson didn’t want to talk to me anymore, I knew I’d be OK. It hurt, but I had the best four guys on the planet, even if we did have our issues.
Enzo rubbed my back, bringing me out of my sad thoughts. Fox and E had already left us to make sure Cole wasn’t really feeding Cotton steak.
“Now picture one of your and Cole’s babies toddling around here,” Enzo murmured in my ear. Goosebumps popped along my skin as his warm breath tickled my skin. He placed his hand on my stomach. “And imagine my heir in here. Close your eyes, Sunshine, and imagine our happy family.”
I did as he said, picturing a beautiful little blonde toddler with curly hair giggling while playing with a grown Cotton, her laughter making my heart swell. I rested my hand over Enzo’s, my smile growing, even if my heart was still heavy as I thought about Anson and what could never be.
“Do you like what you see?” Enzo murmured.
I nodded.
“Look at me.” He turned my face toward his and stared down at me. Those warm, playful eyes of the man I’d known looked back at me. “We can have all that and more. I want to give it to you if you’ll accept it.”
“I want it,” I whispered to him.
He cradled my face. “Then it’s yours. Anything you want.”
“You know what I want?—”
“It’s all right here, baby. Take it. Stop fighting it.”
“Enzo, I’m not fighting it. I want us to all get along and be happy. I want you to be safe. I want…”
“I will always be safe. I will always keep the guys safe. We will be happy. I promise you that. It’s a hard journey to the top, but I swear to you, it’s worth the trip. Believe me.”
I stared back at him, my heart at war with my mind.
“Do you promise nothing bad will ever happen to the guys? That you’ll keep yourself and them safe always? Promise me, Enzo. I need to hear you say you’ll swear it. If anything happened to any of them, it would kill me. It would.”
He placed his other hand on my face, cradling both my cheeks, and stared down at me, a fierce look on his face.
“I vow to you that I will keep them safe. That I will keep you safe. If I fail, I’m not a worthy enough man for you and don’t deserve your love. I’ll set you free if I fail.”
I closed my eyes, hating the thought of that. His warm lips pressed against my forehead.
“I will love you until the end of this world and the next,” he said, tilting my chin up as he pulled away. “You, Rosalie Bishop, are my reason for breathing. For existing. If I ever fail you, I will let you find a better man. I promise you.”
I kissed him, letting our love fill my heart and pushing everything else away. He fell into the kiss without hesitation before lifting me into his arms. He carried me to the office and slammed the door closed behind him.
“Just us,” he whispered between kisses as he pushed my skirt up and pinned me against the door. I wrapped my legs around his waist. “For now. Me and you, Sunshine.”
“Just us,” I answered back with a soft cry as he pushed his cock deep inside my pussy.
“Always us,” he said before ravishing my mouth with his, his dick bringing me to new heights.
Everything would be OK.
I was putting all my trust into Enzo and praying he wouldn’t let me down.