Chapter 7 Megan #2
I’m still buzzing with excitement when we exit the hotel via the lobby. Amber is chatting about Orion and pleading with me to get her a dog when we go back home, so I don’t notice the dark-haired man talking to the concierge.
“Gio!” Amber cries out and runs over to him.
My heart flutters with excitement.
He’s back? Was his flight cancelled? Why didn’t he call me? Unless he wanted to surprise us.
I go to follow Amber, when Ric moves closer to my side and calls her back, his voice cracking like a whip and making her freeze.
The man turns away from the concierge to face us, and disappointment settles in my stomach when I realize that it isn’t Gio.
This guy has the same dark hair, the same brown eyes, and the same smile, but he’s younger than Gio, and there’s something slightly off with his features that make him stand out a little less. Or perhaps I’m just biased.
Amber, uncertain now, doesn’t move. Her gaze flits between me and the stranger, and the realization that this man could snatch her and run before I could react takes my breath away.
Has Gio lulled me into such a false sense of security I’ve forgotten that she is, and always will be, my responsibility?
Before I can move, Ric says, “Your brother isn’t here.”
Brother!
Of course he is. The resemblance, the charming smile, the attitude.
My pulse calms a little, enough for me to remember my manners anyway. I step closer and shake his hand. I don’t want him to tell Gio that I was aloof and unapproachable and … well … British. Gio didn’t mention his brother, but I guess we’ve had other things on our mind.
“Hello, I’m Megan.”
His grip is firm. But before he releases my hand, he pulls me towards him and kisses my cheeks three times.
Heat spreads from my neck upwards. This must be the Sicilian way.
It would be warm and sociable if it were anyone else, but my senses are telling me that Gio’s brother has an ulterior motive behind every gesture.
“Enzo.” He pointedly ignores Ric who is so close to me that I can feel his body heat through his jacket. “My brother failed to mention that he had a friend staying with him.”
“I-I’ve only been here for a few days.”
“And this must be your daughter.” Enzo offers his hand to Amber who skirts around him and leans against me, peering at him from the safety of her big sister’s skirt. “It’s okay, I don’t bite, I promise.”
Enzo’s promises are not like Gio’s. Following hot on the heels of ‘I don’t bite’, I get the sense that he uses the word like sweeties dished out to get what he wants, and I’m not sure that I’m buying into it. So, I don’t correct him about my relationship with Amber.
“We’re on our way out,” Ric says. “I’ll tell Mr. Sabatelli that you stopped by.”
Enzo straightens; his wide smile fixed firmly in place. “What’s the rush? Can’t I even have a coffee with my brother’s friend before you go?” He says all the right words, but something in the way he says them doesn’t sit quite right with me.
Still, he is Gio’s brother, and I don’t want to start off on the wrong foot with his family. So, I tell myself that I’m being overly suspicious since Nikki’s text.
“Sorry.” I match his smile. “We’re going to the zoo, and we’ve already been held up once.”
“The zoo, huh? Maybe I’ll come with you. It’s been a while.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Ric places his bulky frame between me and Enzo. “Mr. Sabatelli left them in my care.”
“With all due respect—” Enzo peers around Ric’s shoulder at me “—I don’t think the decision is yours to make. What do you think, Megan? We could get acquainted outside the monkey enclosure. It’s as good a place as any, and I’ll even buy you a coffee myself.”
Between Ric’s imposing stature and Enzo’s persuasive argument, I’m confused.
Why is Ric so against Gio’s brother being here?
Is it because he has been entrusted with our safety, or is my suspicious mind creating conflict between them that doesn’t exist?
I’m frantically trying to preempt both scenarios on offer here: taking the private elevator up to Gio’s apartment and switching on the coffee machine, or, allowing Enzo to tag along on our trip to the zoo.
Think, Megan. Think!
“Are we going to the zoo, Meggie?” Amber solves the problem for me.
“Yes, sweetie.” I address the back of Ric’s shoulder. “Is it okay if Enzo comes to the zoo with us?”
His spine stiffens, and I realize a beat too late that I shouldn’t have asked the question, I should’ve told him that Enzo was coming. Now, I’ve given him the opportunity to refuse, something that my dad is always telling me I should never do. It’s a tough habit to break.
Ric turns around to face me and slides his phone from his pocket. “I need to make a call.” He walks away, phone raised to his ear, and I wonder if he’s trying to get hold of Gio, who is probably a few thousand feet in the air right now.
“So,” Enzo fills the awkward silence between us. “How long have you known my brother?”
I don’t want to tell him that we only met a few days ago, and I’ve been staying in his apartment ever since.
I’m not worried about what he’ll think of me, I’m worried about what he’ll think of Gio.
It will alter his perspective of Gio’s security team taking care of me and Amber when we hardly know him, and I don’t want to pique his curiosity.
So, I smile and say, “Not long.”
Before he can interrogate me further, Ric returns. “The car is in Mr. Sabatelli’s private lot.” He guides me and Amber through the lobby towards the basement parking area, and Enzo follows us.
He doesn’t sit in the front passenger seat next to Ric. Instead, he joins me and Amber in the back of the car and keeps up a steady stream of chatter about places we should visit while we’re in New York.
Unlike when we’re with Gio, Amber presses her body against mine and doesn’t speak, and I question whether bringing Enzo along was the right thing to do. It already feels as though I’ve spoiled her day, and we haven’t even arrived at the zoo yet. But I’m still torn. He is Gio’s brother after all.
When we get there, Ric walks two paces behind us like a protective big brother. For the first time, I’m aware of Gio’s other men nearby, and I think I know how the animals feel inside their enclosures being gawked at all day by humans. It’s hard to be real when you’re constantly being watched.
Enzo has no such qualms.
He hardly pays any attention to the animals, and it quickly becomes apparent that he’s here out of curiosity, or perhaps because he wants Gio to know that he stepped into his shoes for the day.
He’s like the kid brother who breaks a toy and then blames it on his sibling because he knows that he can get away with it, and I find myself trying to imagine them as children growing up in Sicily.
While Amber is in the children’s area petting the rabbits and guinea pigs, Enzo heads to the café and returns with two coffees in takeout cups. He gestures to a bench where we can keep an eye on Amber, and I sit down next to him.
“So, how did you meet?” His eyes roam the enclosed area, noting everything that is going on. It’s one thing that he has in common with Gio.
“We met in LA.”
I’m conscious of Ric hovering somewhere behind us.
Will he listen to our conversation and report back to Gio later?
I don’t know how I feel about it if that’s the case.
Having his bodyguards around for protection is one thing but not being allowed to have a private conversation …
that’s a whole new level of control that makes me shudder.
That was how it began with my mom and the bastard who killed her.
He told her who she could speak to and when she could go out.
He timed her and got angry if she took a few minutes longer than anticipated, even if it was because she got stuck in traffic.
If I’d paid more attention, I might’ve stopped it from going too far, but men like Amber’s father are insidiously clever and sneaky.
They’re in control before the victim even realizes that it’s happening to them.
I mentally shake myself. Gio isn’t like that. I can’t possibly compare him to Amber’s father, and if Ric is following our conversation, it’s purely for my protection. I have no reason to believe that it will go any further.
“At Gio’s film studio,” I add.
“Ah, the film studio.” Enzo swallows a mouthful of coffee and grimaces, holding the plastic cup up to the light as if checking the ingredients. “Do you act?”
I blink. Did he see the video footage? Or is it nothing more than an innocent question?
“No. My friend does. Amber and I were there as her guests.”
Is this too much information? Ugh! My head is spinning from trying to do the right thing, trying to be pleasant to Gio’s brother without giving too much away.
Mostly, I just get on with life, but occasionally there are moments like this when I wish that Amber’s father didn’t get to control the way we live our lives even when he isn’t a part of our world.
“My brother must’ve been convincing then for you to follow him all the way to New York.”
Okay, so now I know there’s something off about him. I bristle at the inference that I tracked Gio down and wormed my way into his life. Does this guy think that I’m some kind of gold digger? Or does that come with the territory when you’re a sex-on-legs billionaire?
“I didn’t follow him.” I keep my eyes on Amber so that he can’t see the hurt in them. “We had a breakfast date.”
Enzo snickers. “That sounds like Gio. Did he try to impress you with the private jet and the rooftop pool?”
My stomach twists. Gio told me that he’d never fucked anyone else on the rooftop, and in my head, I’d turned it into our special place. Did he lie to me? Is it some kind of joke between brothers, how many women he can bang on the roof?
No! I refuse to let Enzo get under my skin, which is clearly what he is trying to do.
“It wasn’t like that.”
God, I wish I sounded more confident. What did Gio say about believing in myself? I’ve forgotten already.
Enzo arches one eyebrow. “What was it like, Meggie? What did my brother promise you? I’m curious. Perhaps I can learn some tips from him.”
I face him now. He does resemble Gio, but the similarities are superficial.
I can’t imagine Enzo promising to protect me and Amber with his life.
He would be at the front of the line for the lifeboat while women and children are left behind to sink with the ship, and now that the image is in my head, I can’t unsee it.
“He didn’t promise me anything. I’m not after his money if that’s what you think.”
He shrugs. “I never even mentioned money. You did. So, what are you after? Connections? A free flight back to the UK? An escape route?”
I stand up. “Thank you for the coffee, but I don’t like where this conversation is going.”
“Hey, I’m sorry.” He rises too, and his shoulders slump. “Forgive me, Meggie. Is it okay if I call you that? I noticed that’s what your kid calls you.”
He hooks a thumb in Amber’s direction, and I’m flooded with relief to find her stroking a snowy-white rabbit, oblivious to this guy and his accusations. I don’t want him to call me Meggie—that right is reserved for Amber and Gio—but I find myself nodding anyway.
“I didn’t mean to offend you. What you and Giovanni do is none of my business.”
That’s the truest thing he has said so far.
“I’m only looking out for him.”
I swallow. “I’m sure he appreciates your concern.”
He inhales deeply and peers out across the zoo, squinting against the sunlight. “My brother believes that he’s untouchable. An island. He pulled the shutters down when Elisabetta died and pushed everyone else away.”
My heart lurches against my ribcage sickeningly. “Elisabetta?”
“Didn’t he mention her?” Enzo shakes his head. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Elisabetta was his childhood sweetheart. They were engaged to be married when she died.”
And just like that, the sunlight is sucked out of the day and everything fades to gray.