Enzo (Jinx Tattoos 1)

“Her Uncle Rhys.”

“I should’ve known,” she said, thinking of the younger man’s earlier texts, asking of her whereabouts.

“You ready to go home, now?” he asked.

She turned to Sophia.

Tears glittered in the velvet brown depths of her doe-shaped eyes. “Go. I’ll be fine. I’m leaving right behind you.”

“I don’t want to bail.”

“Girl, don’t make me kick your ass,” Sophia warned.

She snickered and returned her attention to Enzo. “Take me home,” she said, knowing it meant more than returning to his dwelling. She was in this thing until the end.

Chapter Eleven

M’fhiorghra (Meer-Grah): my true love (literal translation of the soulmate concept)

A Chuisle (Uh Khush-leh): pulse

Leanbh (Lan-uv): child

Enzo

Helping her from the car, he led her to the backyard.

“Wait, we’re not going in?”

“No, I need to right another wrong,” he said, leading her to the large white tent he’d set up on the patio to ward off the cold weather and still allow him to get outside. He unzipped the flap and stepped back.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Humor me?” he urged, struggling to keep a calm façade when he was mentally sweating bullets.

Flashing him a smile, she entered. “Oh, it’s beautiful, like the lights of the fae,” she whispered, stepping inside and slowly turning in a circle. She craned her head back, peering at the strands of white and blue lights he’d strung up throughout the tent. Soft blue blankets covered the floor along with large silver pillows.

“Everywhere I look, there’s something new,” she said. The awe in her voice made him grin. She ran over to the blue Tardis stand up from the show Doctor Who. The blue police box that was secretly a time machine was sandwiched between cut-outs of the actors who played the 10th Doctor and the 11th Doctor.

“This is amazing!” she cried. She spun and laughed. “And Amy, my favorite companion.”

“A feisty redhead ... shocker she’s your favorite,” he teased.

“Oh, hush. She was amazing and you know it. Are we having a Doctor Who party?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Not quite. Can you sit on the pillows?”

She nodded and walked over to sink in the cozy space he’d created for her.

Enzo paused ... She

was a goddess in a soft black sweater dress that grazed the top of her thighs along her knee-high black boots. “I did a lot of thinking while you had your time to yourself. I didn’t understand your hesitation. Then I realized, you’ve spent a lifetime waiting for me to get my shit into gear. We’ve had so many false starts. I take responsibility for that, and I apologize.” He knelt in front of her and took her hands. “You’re my girl who waited, and I want to spend the rest of my life making that time you spent worthwhile.”

Her eyes grew wide.

Releasing her hands, he picked up a dark blue gift bag he’d decorated to look like a Tardis. His hands shook as he reached inside and pulled out the small, plastic Tardis he’d filled with foam.

“Enzo?”