Chapter 23
Enzo has been skipping work. He just… doesn’t go.
The first time I ask, he doesn’t even look up from where he’s stretched across my couch, barefoot, suit jacket abandoned.
“I’ve already worked,” he says.
“That’s not how jobs work.”
“That’s exactly how mine works.”
I fold my arms. “You can’t just disappear. People will notice.”
“I have more money than I’ll ever need,” he says, like he’s explaining the weather. “I could buy a private jet every day for years and not feel it. I’ve earned time off. And I want to spend it with you.”
I swallow. “You still can’t terrorize Veronica or dump all the work on her.”
I’ve grown protective of her. Poor thing is just trying to do her job.
“She didn’t do anything,” I add quickly. “She’s doing her job.”
He exhales through his nose. “Fine.”
“Fine…?” I press.
“I’ll try to limit my anger issues at the office,” he says. “I promised you. I don’t break promises.”
“Usually that would be a huge ask,” he adds quietly, “but with your taste still on my lips, it’s become much easier.”
After that conversation, we end up getting pancakes from my favorite café. Enzo looks violently out of place in the humble space. Black coat. A watch worth more than the café’s monthly rent. Eyes that track every movement like he’s mapping exits.
Then I hear my name.
“Mila?”
Luke.
“Hey,” he says. “How are you?”
He completely ignores the man sitting beside me. I force myself to introduce them—the man I went on one date with, and the man who is absolutely not happy about it.
“Hi, Luke. How are you? This is Enzo,” I say quickly. “Enzo, Luke. You two got off on the wrong foot—”
Luke extends his hand first, signaling he’s ready to leave the past behind.
Enzo doesn’t take it. Instead, he drags my chair closer to his. An absolute caveman.
Luke’s smile falters. “Uh—sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“She’s taken,” Enzo says.
“I was just saying hello.”
“You’ve said it,” Enzo replies. “Now leave.”
“I’m so sorry, Luke,” I mumble, not knowing what else to say. I can’t help but feel like I strung him along when I always knew I was Enzo’s.
Luke’s ears go red. “It was nice seeing you, Mila.”
He leaves quickly. I can tell he’s not only given up on the prospect of dating me—he doesn’t want a friendship either.
I grab my bag and stand.
Enzo slaps cash onto the counter without looking. Too much. Always too much. Then he follows me out like a shadow that doesn’t know how to behave in daylight.
Outside, I spin on him.
“What the hell was that?”
He tilts his head. “Why are you angry?”
“You chased him off!”
“Oh. Are you upset I scared away your Luke?”
“He was nothing but polite,” I snap. “And you made him feel like shit.”
Enzo laughs under his breath. “Do you want me to be polite to a man who almost stole you from me?”
“He didn’t steal anything!”
“He wanted to,” Enzo growls. “That’s enough.”
I storm ahead. He follows.
“You don’t get to act like this,” I say. “You don’t own every inch of my world.”
His footsteps are right behind mine. “I own everything, Mila. From the smallest things—like what you eat—to who you talk to. You own me. I own you.”
I stop at my apartment door, hands shaking as I unlock it.
“I need space,” I tell him.
“You have me,” he answers immediately.
I open the door—
—and freeze.
My sister stands in my living room, holding her baby, eyes wide with shock. She looks from me… to Enzo looming behind me with a grin.
“Why,” she says slowly, “is Enzo Morelli standing behind you?”
She adjusts the baby on her hip. “And why do you look like you were just arguing? Spill.”
“Hi, Lilly. It’s nothing,” I say too fast. “It’s just—”
“The fuck we are,” Enzo cuts in.
He steps past me like the apartment belongs to him. Then he smiles.
Smiles.
He extends a hand, perfectly controlled, devastatingly charming. “Enzo Morelli,” he says smoothly. “Mila’s boyfriend. It’s nice to meet you, Lilly.”
Boyfriend.
My sister takes his hand, cautious but curious. “Oh?”
“Oh,” Enzo confirms. He slips an arm around my waist, pulling me in just enough to make a point. “Very much so.”
What the actual hell.
This man terrifies boardrooms. Ruins lives with a phone call. And here he is—polished, charming, almost… likable.
“Well,” she says, shifting the baby, “I figured you were bored with all that time off. Thought I’d drop by, save you from spiraling alone. I hope you don’t mind that I used your emergency key. I wanted to surprise you.”
Her eyes rake over Enzo.
“But clearly,” she adds, amused, “you’re not bored at all.”
“I’m glad you came,” he says graciously. “Family is important.”
He watches my sister the same way he watched Luke earlier—measuring, assessing. Not threatened exactly, but unwilling to share space.
My sister doesn’t miss it.
“You’re intense,” she tells him lightly.
“I tend to be.”
I clear my throat. “He’s… being extra today.”
Enzo’s thumb brushes my side. “I’m always like this with what’s mine.”
My sister raises a brow at me over the baby’s head. We’ll talk later, her look says.
The rest of the day is… unfairly perfect. It makes me forget Luke—and why I was mad at Enzo in the first place.
Enzo kneels on the floor with Leo like he’s done it a hundred times before. One big hand offers a finger, letting my nephew grab it with his entire fist. He lets himself be pulled and drooled on.
My ovaries nearly combust. I have to look away before I embarrass myself.
“Careful,” my sister says lightly from the couch. “He’s stronger than he looks. He’ll tear your hair out if you let him.”
Enzo smiles at the baby. “Good,” he murmurs. “So am I.”
Later, he cooks for us. He moves through my kitchen like he’s memorized it already. I lean against the doorway, stunned.
“You don’t have to do that,” I say.
“I want to,” Enzo replies simply. “Sit.”
I do.
He talks with my sister over dinner, asks about her life. Listens. When Leo fusses, Enzo tells her to eat while he handles it, bouncing him against his chest until he settles.
When my sister finally leaves—promising a very long interrogation later—Enzo closes the door behind her and locks it.
He comes up behind me, his mouth near my ear.
“I saw the way you looked at me,” he murmurs.
“At dinner?”
“No,” he says softly. “When I interacted with Leo. Careful, angel. If I even think you want something…”
His hand tightens around me.
“…I’ll give it to you.”
A promise.
One I can’t wait to see him fulfill.