Chapter 2
Rosie
When we step out onto the veranda, Riccardo instantly spots Gianna, and with a wide grin on his face, he makes a beeline for her.
I watch as he sweeps her up into his arms before shouting, “We have an announcement.” Everyone turns to look at the happy couple. “I’ve asked Gianna to marry me, and she said yes.”
Cheers break out, and I smile happily.
I feel Enzo before he stops beside me. He hooks his arm around my neck, and while my heart sets off at a crazy pace and I practically melt into his side, he takes a sip of his drink before saying, “You know what this means, right?”
Because of the kaleidoscope of butterflies he sets loose in me, I can’t form a single word and end up shaking my head.
“As the maid of honor and best man, we’re going to work our asses off.”
That will probably be the closest I’ll ever get to standing in front of an altar with Enzo.
Riccardo waves his hand in our direction. “Enzo, will you be my best man?”
“Of course.” He pulls away from me, and as he walks to Riccardo, my eyes greedily sweep over the wide expanse of his back.
“Rosie!” Gianna calls out.
For the millionth time since I started crushing on Enzo, his eyes collide with mine and he catches me staring at him.
And just like all the times before, he doesn’t show any reaction.
I walk closer to my best friend and smile at her. “Yes?”
Grinning at me, she asks, “Will you be my maid of honor?”
“What are the magic words?” I tease her.
“Please, with a cherry on top.”
Pulling her into a hug, I say, “It will be my honor, Gianna.”
I’m hit with a wave of emotion, and when she starts to sniffle, I follow hot on her heels.
“God, I’m going to get married,” she whispers. “And you’ll be there every step of the way. Dress shopping. Table placements. Flowers. Cake. Finding the right venue.”
I begin to laugh as she spirals, and pushing her backward, I lock eyes with my friend. “Deep breaths. We have months to plan the most epic wedding ever.”
“Fuck, the two of you are going to bankrupt me,” Christiano suddenly says behind me.
Seeing as he’s the head of the Falco family, he’ll pay for the wedding. Grinning, I turn around and hold out my hand to him. “Just give me your credit card so I don’t have to bug you every time we want to buy something.”
“Hell will freeze over before I give you my credit card,” he grumbles playfully before gesturing at Enzo. “Talk to him. You know he handles all the finances.”
When I glance at Enzo, he lets out a sigh while digging his wallet out of his pocket. “Here.” I’m shocked when he places his credit card in my palm, then he smirks, and it makes me forget how to function like a human being. “This way you won’t drive me insane.”
“Wow,” Gianna gasps. “You must really trust Rosie.”
Enzo keeps his eyes locked with mine. “Of course.”
The intense wave of tingles that rushes over me robs me of my ability to breathe, but then Christiano swipes the card from my hand before I can even take a good look at it.
“Fuck no. I’ll still end up paying whatever she spends.
” He tucks it back into Enzo’s pocket. “I forgot you have an extra soft spot when it comes to Rosie, so I’ll handle all the invoices for the wedding. ”
“Me too,” Augusto says as he joins our group. “Being Riccardo’s older brother, I’ll carry half the expenses.”
I struggle to pay attention to the rest of the conversation, too busy processing that Enzo was prepared to give me his credit card.
It just means he trusts you. That’s all. Don’t go getting any ideas. He’s made it very clear he only sees you as a friend, and there will never be anything more between us.
My gaze lands on the table that’s stacked with bottles of alcohol, and not caring that I’m not twenty-one yet, I head over to it and grab a bottle of wine. While I read the label, the bottle is ripped out of my hand and set down on the table again.
When I glance to my right, Enzo’s shaking his head at me, a dark frown on his forehead. “Don’t even think about it.”
Sweet Jesus, I love it when he looks at me like he’s about to give me a spanking.
“Come on. My birthday’s in two months.”
“I’ll let you get drunk on your twenty-first but not a day before that. Got it?”
When he gets all bossy, I eat it up. There’s another burst of butterflies erupting into flight in my stomach.
Unable to stop myself, I lock eyes with him. “Hmm…” I trail my finger down the bottle. “And how do you plan to stop me?”
Enzo’s eyes narrow on me, making more tingles flood my entire body. He keeps staring me down while he finishes the whiskey in his glass, then slowly sets the empty tumbler on the table.
The next instant, he grabs hold of me, and I’m lifted bridal-style into the air as if I weigh next to nothing.
Half of me swoons unbelievably hard while the other half is stunned for a few seconds. Then laughter breaks out as Enzo heads toward the swimming pool.
I grab hold of his shoulders, practically trying to climb him like a tree while shrieking, “Don’t you dare throw me in the pool! It’s cold!”
A deep chuckle rumbles from him as our eyes lock. With our faces mere inches apart, I swear I feel the earth quake even though my feet aren’t touching the ground.
Because I’m too overwhelmed by Enzo, I forget to put up a fight, and the next instant he tosses me through the air.
When I hit the water, it’s freezing. I gasp from the icy shock to my system and accidentally breath some in. Swimming like crazy, I can’t stop myself from coughing, and it only causes me to inhale more water. My lungs burn, and panic overrides everything in me.
Shit!
The second I break through the surface, I sputter and cough my ass off while struggling to get air into my lungs.
“Rosie!” I hear Gianna shout.
There’s a big splash right beside me, and while I fight for my life, I’m hauled out of the pool in a matter of seconds.
“Christ, Rosie,” Enzo growls, sounding angry as fuck beside me while slapping the hell out of my back. “Just breathe for me.”
Much to my embarrassment, I begin to puke up all the water while sounding like a cat that’s being strangled.
A towel is thrown over my back, and I’m yanked away from Enzo and into Gianna’s warm arms. “You almost drowned her.”
“My fault.” I squeeze the words out through a tight throat, then I see Enzo, all soaking wet and looking hotter than ever, and I start coughing for a whole different reason.
He rubs a hand up and down my arm while leaning closer. “Are you okay?”
I nod, and getting air past my burning throat, I glance down and notice my dress is clinging to my thighs. I quickly try to tug the wet fabric down while climbing to my feet. My voice is hoarse and my eyes water from the scratchy sensation in my throat. “I’m okay. Stop worrying.”
“Let’s get you into dry clothes,” Gianna says, pulling me toward the entrance.
“Wait. I don’t want to leave wet footprints through the house.” Using the towel, I begin to dry myself.
“Rosie!” I hear Adriano shout as he comes barreling out of the house.
Someone must’ve told him, because he looks downright murderous as he hurries toward me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” When he hears how hoarse my voice is, the frown on his face darkens.
“It was stupid of me to throw Rosie in the pool,” Enzo says from behind me, then I feel his hand brushing up and down my back again.
Not wanting Enzo and Adriano to fight, I lie through my teeth. “I dared him to throw me in the pool.”
“The fuck you did,” Enzo mutters angrily. “This is all on me.”
“It’s fucking cold!” Adriano snaps at Enzo right before he grabs hold of me, and I’m lifted bridal-style again. “If she gets sick, I’m beating your ass.”
Knowing it will calm Adriano down, I grin at him while wrapping my arms around his neck and playfully coo, “My overprotective big brother. I like being carried around like a baby.”
“You’re going to make me old before my time,” he mutters.
Gianna rushes ahead of us while Adriano carries me to her bedroom, and once he sets me down on my feet again, he looks me over as if he’s searching for bleeding wounds.
“I’m really fine. Stop stressing.”
“You’re always looking for trouble, so I’ll never stop worrying when it comes to you. Your father will kill me if I let something happen to you on my watch,” he mutters. He presses a kiss to my forehead. “Take a shower to warm up before changing into something dry.”
“Okay.”
When he finally leaves, I let out a sigh and roll my eyes. “Such a big fuss over nothing.”
“That wasn’t nothing!” Gianna snaps, clearly still pissed off. “My heart almost stopped. Come get into the shower.”
Gianna helps me take off the wet dress, and when I step beneath the warm spray, I groan loudly. “God. Heat.”
She shoves the dress into her laundry basket, then glancing at my back, she says, “I’m seriously impressed that you’ve been able to hide your tattoo from your parents.”
“If it’s up to me, they’ll never find out. My dad will freak out, and lord knows how my mom will react.”
“But Uncle Dario has tattoos.”
“You know how it is. I’ll forever be his little girl.” Done warming up, I get out of the shower and dry off.
“Honestly,” she says while leaning back against the counter. “I’m surprised my dad gave his blessing and didn’t tell us we’re too young.”
With Gianna and me being the youngest out of the twelve children in the Cosa Nostra, everyone treats us like babies.
Sometimes it’s annoying, but overall we get spoiled rotten, so we don’t complain.
Once I’m wearing Gianna’s jeans and a warm sweater, I dry my hair enough to put it up in a ponytail.
“Makeup?” she asks.
“No. I’m good as is.”
We leave the bedroom, and when we reach the foyer, I spot Enzo where he’s standing by the open doors, leading to the veranda. The moment he lays eyes on me, he stalks toward me.
Looking worried, he engulfs me in a tight bear hug and almost squashes the life out of me. “I’m sorry, Rosie.”
“It’s okay.”
Taking full advantage of the situation, I wrap my arms around him and rub my palms over his broad back. I inhale deep breaths of his cologne that’s warm and manly with notes of citrus, sandalwood, and rich spices.
Enzo presses a kiss to the side of my head, and for a blessed moment, his hold on me tightens even more before he suddenly lets go and walks toward the front door.
Confused, I call out, “Where are you going?”
Ignoring my question, he slams the door shut behind him.
“He’s upset because he hurt you,” Riccardo says, drawing my attention to him as he stops beside Gianna.
“But he didn’t–”
Riccardo shakes his head. “You puked your guts out, Rosie.”
“Ugh.” I scrunch my nose, giving him a disgruntled look. “Don’t ever bring that up again.”
“Are you okay, Rosie?” Georgi asks.
I let out a sigh. “Yes, I’m one hundred percent fine. Everyone can stop worrying.”
Yeah, I have high hopes.
While I’m bathed in attention, I can’t stop thinking about how upset Enzo was when he left.
Don’t, Rosie. Of course, he loves you, but only as a friend.