“Because he might be upset at first . . . and I don’t want that to happen on his birthday. But I do want to tell him. I’m proud of you, Enzo. More proud than you know.”
She takes my face in her hands then, and all I want to do is kiss her.
So I do.
Willing her mouth open, I silently apologize for being ridiculous. For pushing her. Even for coming back home unannounced. I love her lips and can’t get enough. But unfortunately, the car stops in front of Tris’s restaurant.
“Promise me you won’t say anything tonight?” she says softly.
I don’t like lying to Devon, but I’m the one who put us in this position by showing up unannounced.
“Promise. But—”
“I’ll tell him everything on Monday. Before Switzerland.”
I can’t help but smile at that. “We’re leaving on Thursday, so you’re not going to have much of a choice.”
“I know. And I’m going to do it. But for tonight”—she backs away from me as the driver opens the door for us— “we’re just friends. Old friends.”
“With benefits,” I add, sliding out. “Ones I intend to take full advantage of somehow.”
Although I’m not quite sure how. She lives at home. I can either stay with Mom, Dad, and Lusanne, or Tris and Gian, who live together. Either way, there won’t be much privacy. I thought about getting a hotel room, but I didn’t want Chari to think I came here just for sex.
But now that I see her . . .
“I’m sure you will,” she says as I reach out my hand and then quickly pull it back. I glance ahead at the other two cars, which are emptying, but thankfully no one seemed to notice.
16
Chari
Being this close to him, pretending we’re nothing more than friends . . .
It’s impossible.
Maybe Enzo’s right, and I should tell Devon the truth? We’re sitting around the new bar, and Tris and Enzo are slinging drinks and joking around with each other. Every so often, Enzo sneaks a glance at me. My body responds to each one. First, a flush. And then, as his chocolate brown eyes linger just a bit longer than is probably safe, my heart speeds up.
Enzo takes his phone out, and when my pocket vibrates a few second later, I know I can’t reach for it too soon. Besides, maybe it won’t kill me to play it cool for a few seconds.
“So I hear you’re heading overseas this week?” Gian asks Enzo.
Oh boy.
“Yeah, Switzerland. Mom tell you?”
All eyes turn to the youngest male DeLuca. “Yeah, she said she talked to you on your way here. I still can’t believe you came in again so soon after your last visit, and for less than twenty-four hours.”
Enzo looks at me, nodding ever so slightly downward. A nudge to check my phone. Which I was just about to do. But now I think it might be fun to play with him a bit.
Casual in jeans and a button-down, he’s still a bit of a standout in our crowd. If a stranger were asked to pick which of us is worth billions of dollars, they’d have it in one.
“Must be pretty exciting, the idea of Angel making its way to Europe,” says my brother, who’s standing next to me.
“Exciting, yeah,” Enzo says, patting his pocket—his phone—as he answers. I try not to laugh. “But it’s stressful. Just two days ago, we thought the whole thing might fall apart.”
I almost blurt out,You didn’t mention that, but restrain myself.
OK, time to check his text.