Chapter 30 #2
“You exceeded my expectations. The balcony, that is. It was even better than I imagined.”
“I’m glad to hear it and I look forward to repeating it as often as you let me.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself buster, I still need time to think this through.”
“Take all the time you need. Evelyn will be here soon, maybe you could go out for coffee and talk it over?”
It’s like he read my mind.
“Thank you, it’s exactly what I was thinking about. How is Evie coming over?”
“Tony will fetch her from the hotel and bring her here.”
“Oh, thank you. I appreciate it.”
Just as Enzo had promised, Tony brought a less than impressed Evie over to the house shortly before lunch. She launched at me as soon as she stepped into the living room.
“You’re positively glowing.” She narrows her eyes at me as she says it, but then she wiggles her eyebrows and gives me a knowing grin. I roll my eyes at her and she giggles.
“Can we go out to coffee? I need to talk to you about… something.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I get my purse from the counter and make my way towards the door.
“Uhm, Ellie! Aren’t you going to let ‘something’ know you’re leaving?”
“Would you hush? Enzo knows I’m leaving.”
“Alright then. No need to get your panties in a knot. You are wearing panties though… right?”
“You’re impossible.” I grumble at her.
“And you’re thoroughly fucked.” She counters.
“Why did you have that pissed off look on your face when you walked in with Tony? Did something happen between you two?” That shut her up. It was supposed to be a joke but judging from her expression, I’m guessing there’s something there.
“What? N-nothing happened between us. He was just being his usual annoyingly charming self. I don’t need to tell you about that.”
“No, you don’t.” I say lightly then drop the matter, sensing that she feels uncomfortable talking about whatever it is that’s bothering her. She’ll tell me when she’s ready.
We get in the car and I drive us to the same coffee shop I went to with Tony. We take our seats in a warm sunny corner of the shop, the window facing the bustle of the street outside. A waiter takes our orders and disappears.
“Okay, spill. What happened after we left the club?”
I tell her everything, the dancefloor at the club…
what he said to me. The filthy words that came out of his mouth.
Then I told her about the balcony and how he had read the scene from my book and how he wanted to make it real on the balcony in my bedroom.
I told her about the mind-blowing sex we had after that and how he made me keep my boots on.
Evie just stares at me, eyes shining, mouth wide open.
“For god’s sake, Evie, close your mouth before you swallow a fly.” She snaps her mouth shut. It’s what I imagine a snap turtle to sound like.
“I knew he was into you Elena… but I had no idea he was kinky like that. He did give daddy Dom vibes but he’s always so rigid, like he has a six-foot rod up his ass. And you say this whole heated hot fucking was a first for him?”
“Yes, he said he and Victoria had a very vanilla sex life. He hasn’t done any of that with her.”
“I see. So now I’m here in this coffee shop with you, totally jealous that my bestie got railed by an Italian stud good and proper but I’m sensing you’re not… happy?”
“He said he wants to pursue our relationship further and I doubt I’m ready for that.”
“Does he know about Matt?”
“He knows that we were engaged and then we had a messy breakup.”
“Uh huh, so you haven’t told him about the attack then?”
“No.”
“Do you trust him?”
“I trust him with my life. He’s an honourable man, a protector, a care giver. He’s the original alpha male in every way.”
“Everything that you’ve ever wanted in a man.”
“Everything I’ve ever wanted in a man.” I repeat softly, my gaze lowering to my cappuccino.
“But you don’t trust him with your heart.”
How does she do that? She knows exactly what’s in my head without me even having to voice it.
“No, I suppose I dont.”
“Do you want to pursue this relationship with him?”
“Yes… no… I don’t know.”
“I think you do know. I think you want to see where this goes, but you’ve been hurt and you wanted me to tell you that it’s a bad idea. That’s why we’re here right? For me to tell you that a relationship with Enzo… your boss, is a bad idea.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No. I don’t think it’s a bad idea. The man is obviously head over heels for you. He almost murdered that man on the dancefloor with his ‘Mine’ attitude. You guys have insane chemistry; his son adores you. I see no reason not to pursue a relationship.”
“That is not what I was expecting to hear you say.”
“That’s because you’re thinking about what I said about Matt. Enzo is not Matt. I think you should say yes, give him a chance. What’s the worst that could happen? Apart from the dead wife, you have nothing to worry about.”
“Evie!”
“What! She’s dead, isn’t she? He needs to let her go and you need to tell him about what happened with Matt. You’re not fully recovered from that ordeal and Enzo is at a disadvantage if he doesn’t know the truth.”
“You really think I should go for it?”
Evie reaches across the table and squeezes my hand reassuringly.
“Yes, I think you should. You both seem to need each other. It might not work out or it could be the best thing to happen to you both. Either way, you’ll never know unless you try.”
“You’re right, I suppose.” I give my best friend a small smile and nod my head.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” We both giggle, and just like that, it’s decided… I’m in a relationship with Enzo Marino.