Chapter Three
Chapter Three
W hen E nzo messaged to say that he’d arrived the following morning, Erin had chosen to compromise between what she would wear and what she imagined Rin would wear.
She knew that Enzo was unlikely to appreciate her usual choice of clothing—which alternated between business suits and lounge wear with a conservative, but comfortable, leaning.
So, she had chosen a pair of wide legged trousers, comfortable but pretty sandals and paired them with an off-the-shoulder cropped linen loose-knit top from Rin’s side of the wardrobe.
Dressing the part, hopefully, would aid in her deception.
And if she ever felt a moment’s guilt, then she called to mind the snap of his fingers, the careless toss of money on the table, and the headlines about the heartbreak he left in his wake.
Mrs Agostino smiled knowingly at her as Erin left the hotel and came to an abrupt halt on the narrow pavement.
Opposite her, Enzo Rossetti leaned lazily against the side of a metallic baby blue convertible that looked like something out of the 1960s.
His legs crossed at the ankles, breeze playing with the linen shirt, sleeves rolled back to the forearms and the tendrils of thick dark hair just above the pair of dark sunglasses bent towards his phone screen.
He tapped away aggressively, belying the adopted appearance of casual carelessness, and thrust it into his pocket when he was done. But the moment he looked up to find her waiting for him, all traces of anger were erased.
‘Rin! Bellezza ! What a sight for sore eyes, as you English say.’
Oh god. Enzo was like the Duracell bunny. He just didn’t stop.
Pasting a smile to her face, she crossed the road and allowed him to air kiss each cheek.
‘Allow me,’ he said, walking her round the car bonnet to the passenger side door, as if she couldn’t have found it herself.
No, that was ungracious. His manners...they reminded her once again of Gio Gallo, and she wondered whether they’d ever met, even though Gio had severed all ties to Enzo’s mother.
‘Thank you,’ she said, as he closed the door for her and returned to the driver’s seat. ‘Where are we going?’
‘It’s a surprise, cara .’
‘Wonderful. I love surprises,’ Erin lied as she settled into the plush leather seat as Enzo guided them out onto the narrow streets.
As Enzo expertly manoeuvred the gorgeous car that, at any other time she would be delighted to be in, around the tourists and the small narrow cobbled lanes, Erin realised why the use of cars was so strictly monitored.
But just a little way out of the main town, the road opened up and the dramatic island views began to take over.
Stunning. There was no other word for it. Clear blue seas surrounded them on all sides. In the distance, she could just make out the Amalfi coastline, as wild and dominating as the man beside her.
With the top down, the wind thundered around them, making small talk impossible, so she allowed herself to take in the moment.
The easy way with which he drove, guiding the car around curves in the road, the way the muscles on his forearm flexed as he changed gear.
The subtle catches of his aftershave—tempting hints of amber and musk—tasteful and not overbearing as she’d expected.
The powerful line of his jaw dusted artfully in dark stubble and the sense that while he was utterly focused on the road ahead, he was also completely aware of her .
And that awareness...she felt it on her skin, heating her cheeks, and in the fluttering of her pulse.
Oh, she could see how women could fall for his charms.
But she needed him to fall for Rin .
‘Might we be going to a café?’ she tried to ask over the roar of the wind as she felt her stomach twist a little. She hadn’t had time for breakfast and she was beginning to get a little hungry.
‘What was that, cara ?’ he asked, raising his voice but pointing to his ears.
She shook her head in an ‘it’s okay’ gesture. She was sure she’d find out where they were going soon enough. No doubt there would be some posh restaurant overlooking the rest of the island and she could eat when they got there.
Only when they got to the surprise destination she realised to her horror that it wasn’t a restaurant, but a helipad. With a helicopter waiting for them.
And the twist of hunger in her stomach morphed into nausea and fear. Because while Rin might have enjoyed a helicopter ride, Erin Carter was very much afraid of heights. And she was pretty sure she remembered telling Enzo that, too.
‘Enzo?’
‘Yes, cara ?’ he said, turning off the ignition and leaning back in his seat, his sunglasses and easy smile utterly at odds with the creeping fear that was beginning to take hold.
‘Why are we here?’ she asked, trying to keep the shiver of revulsion at the sight of the death-trap behind him from her voice.
He looked at her, then to the helicopter and then back at her.
‘Why do you think? I want to show you all that Capri has to offer.’
‘But...’ She hesitated. She was sure that she’d told him that she didn’t like heights.
Sure of it. He had either not been listening or hadn’t cared.
And while Erin would have found an excuse to back out of it, Rin knew that it was too good an opportunity to pass up.
A man like Enzo would love to display his prowess, and this was a perfect opportunity for Rin to convince him that she was utterly charmed by him.
All Erin had to do was keep her fear in check. Surely it wouldn’t be that bad?
‘Is something wrong, cara ?’
‘No... Not at all. I can’t wait,’ Erin said with a forced smile.
Enzo did the handover with the pilot as the flight assistant helped a very nervous looking Rin into the passenger seat of the chopper. He’d expected her to back out. To make an excuse, or even remind him that only just the day before, she’d told him that she disliked heights.
He’d been utterly prepared to be gracious about it and even had other plans ready to execute. But no. The silly woman had decided that it would be better to put herself at what could only be described as clear discomfort just to get what she wanted.
It had been a test of sorts. To see how far she would go to draw him in. Which, presumably, included her losing all her brain cells and agreeing to something that would clearly make her miserable.
He didn’t know whether to be infuriated or impressed.
He slipped into the pilot’s seat and donned the headphones that would allow him to talk to Rin through the microphone, as well as connect him to the control tower in charge of the airspace above and around Capri.
She glared at him in alarm. ‘You’re flying this thing?’ she demanded.
‘What self-respecting billionaire doesn’t know how to fly a helicopter?’ he shot back with what many around the world considered to be a winning smile.
He explained to Rin what he was doing as he went through the pre-flight checks, wondering just how far her dislike of heights went. He had no intention of scaring her to death, he wasn’t a monster. Surely if it was a genuine phobia she would have told him—she’d only said she wasn’t a fan.
He frowned, casting a glance at the white-knuckled grip she had on her handbag.
‘Rin, are you sure you’re okay?’ he asked.
‘Absolutely,’ she insisted, even as she paled.
He’d given her all the opportunities he could to let her back out and she had taken none of them.
‘ Va bene ,’ he proclaimed, and lifted them into the air, nearly jumping when she thrust a hand out to the window beside her.
‘Rin—’
He was fully willing to put the bird back down on the ground, when she said, ‘No, it’s okay. Keep going.’
If he didn’t have his hands full of controls, he would have scratched his head in confusion, now most definitely frustrated and impressed with her.
By the time he got them into the air properly, she had prised her eyes open about a centimetre and then shut them again and he almost felt sorry for her. Almost, because clearly she was prepared to do anything to get her hands on his money.
‘You can open your eyes, cara ,’ he said into the headset, his voice in her ear apparently shocking her from the way she jumped in her seat.
‘I will,’ she said and he couldn’t help but smile. ‘How long have you been flying?’
‘Oh, my licence just came through the other day.’
This time her eyes did open, along with her mouth, and he let loose his laugh. ‘I’m joking, amore mio . I’ve been flying for nearly eight years now.’
‘That wasn’t funny,’ Erin chided.
‘It was a little funny,’ he prodded. ‘You should have said something,’ he said.
‘I did. Yesterday.’
‘No, I mean today.’
‘But you’ve clearly gone to so much trouble.’
Oh . He hadn’t considered the fact that she might have agreed because she hadn’t wanted to disappoint him. Had he misread things?
No . He was sure of himself and what he’d heard yesterday. Erin Carter wanted to marry him, to get her hands on something. His money, probably.
It had been confirmed when last night he’d called Marcus to ask about whether he put her on the list. Marcus hadn’t even heard of her before and had no idea how she’d managed to get in to the party.
‘Shall I take her back down?’ he offered, and she shook her head.
‘No, it’s okay, really. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be now that we’re...’ she took a breath ‘...up here.’
‘Okay. Well then, if you’re sure, let me give you the tour.’
Enzo angled the helicopter gently to bank out to the left and took them around the island. As he pointed out the spots on the island she had visited already and some that she hadn’t, he thought back over the plan he had decided on the night before.
He couldn’t let people like Kayla, like Rin, like his parents continue to think that they could get away with taking liberties. He had expected it from his parents, was doing anything and everything he could do to ignore their antics.