A nod, as he brushes his lips against my cheek. The simple touch sends a shiver down my spine. My lips tingle in anticipation. “If I didn’t see you tonight, it would give you time to build up your defenses all over again. I couldn’t let that happen. Now we’d better leave, or we won’t be able to.”
In a happy daze, I follow him down the stairs.
Enzo opens the door of the car for me.
“Sorry,” I mumble as he tucks the dress in after me.
“Don’t apologize. I’m glad you didn’t wear the purple one.”
“I bought this months ago and was afraid I’d have to wait until I went back to Italy to wear it. Nonna makes sure we go to the opera at least once while I’m there, but I haven’t been in years here in Chicago.”
“Che, Dante, and I went in on a box. Bethany and Dante use it most often. I haven’t been in a while.”
“Of course you have a box. I’m jealous. The bimbos didn’t want to go to the opera?”
His chuckle skims up my tummy. “I didn’t ask. I didn’t care to spend more than a few hours with the bimbos. Also, for the record, I haven’t fucked anyone in over six months. And I fucked less than half the women I took out.” I can’t hide my shock, which I know he sees even in the dim streetlights. “In the beginning, yeah, I lost count of how many women I fucked. I’m not proud of it, I was doing my best to hit out at Sheila. Only it didn’t take long for me to grow dissatisfied with what I was doing. I kept going out with women as a way of avoiding my family but my dates are usually home by ten thirty, without me.”
It sounds preposterous, yet I don’t doubt him. He has no real reason to lie. While it shouldn’t matter enough for him to even tell me, it does.
***
Enzo
As badly as I want to take Chloe home and get her into bed, I swallow my need and take her to a well-lit restaurant. Until Everett pulls in front of the place. She pulls back. “You’re going to think I’m crazy. All I want is to grab a burger and fries and get out of these shoes and this dress.”
“Well I’m not going to argue with getting you out of that dress.” I direct Everett to a popular burger place near Chloe’s home.
“I’m getting out of this dress and back into leggings. You get to stay in your tux though.” She laughs.
Fuck, she’s beautiful any damn time. Tonight, though, she’s glowing. There’s no doubt why she’s so happy. I still can’t believe I admitted I walked away from a deal. Any other time I would see it as a whipped move; twenty-seven million was on the line, and there was no hesitation. I’m glad I made the choice I did. There will be other deals, but I’m positive I wouldn’t have gotten another night like this. Chloe would have crawled into a hole, and it would have taken days or even weeks to get to her again.
She blushes as she shakes her head. “What? Stop looking at me like that, it makes it hard to think.”
“I believe I already mentioned I like it when you don’t think.”
When Everett pulls up to the restaurant. I get her order then have her stay in the car while I run in. I’m antsy during the almost ten minutes it takes to order and get our burgers and fries. Once we’re at Chloe’s, I send Everett home for the night. It’s almost ten I’m not going to keep him up any later.
Chloe has the front door open by the time I catch up to her. I’m expecting the roommate but there’s no sign of him. “I’m going to change. I’ll be right back.”
I nod as I get settled on the couch with the food. The cats are doing their best to snatch a fry. However, they aren’t great at being sneaky.
She wasn’t lying she changed right back into the tight black leggings and loose shirt she was wearing when I got here before. I can’t believe I find her as sexy as she was in the dress she was wearing. “I’m starving. Cetta, Pepe, knock it off, you bad kitties.”
She picks them up and sets them on the floor. They lie down as if they’ve been given a death sentence; one tail twitches lazily. “What kind of cats are they?”
“Himalayan. I’d never seen the one before I got them. I have always wanted a cat. We couldn’t have them, though, because my mother was allergic to all animals. Where we lived there were cats everywhere, so I was able to pretend they were mine. Then when I moved to Chicago, I had to have roommates. When I got my own place I was determined to get a cat. The roommate I was leavin
g, her sister-in-law had just started breeding them. The sister-in-law wasn’t going to get much for Cetta, who has a heart murmur, and Pepe because he’s cross-eyed, so she was going to have a vet put them down. My roommate promised to take them to the vet and gave them to me.” Cetta does her impression of begging but falls back onto her back, then just lays there with her tail twitching. “Okay, they aren’t street-smart cats, but they are very sweet.”
I laugh. “No need to convince me. I’ll take your word for it.”
Chloe is snuggled into the end of the couch, her back against the arm and her legs spread out in front of her. I lean back to study her. I like the way she eats with glee, completely focused without any hesitation, no counting calories of every bite.
A little wrinkle appears between her eyes. “Stop looking at me. You’re giving me a complex, I can’t eat when people are staring at me.”
“Who the fuck was evil and made you feel bad about eating?”
A small shrug. “My mom thought she was doing it for my benefit. I was pretty big, but her criticism made it worse and I got bigger. Kind of like, I’ll show you.” Shaking her head, she sighs. “My mom was this beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed, petite little thing who would look fat if she was a size eight.”