Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 79991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79991 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“No,” I mutter. He’s caught me again. He’s always got me. No matter how old I get, no matter how experienced, none of it matters. He’s always at least one step ahead.
“You’re damn right I haven’t. Get off the phone with me and get inside that girl. I’m sure you won’t have any trouble with that—she’s a nice little piece of ass. You could have done much worse if you had to kidnap a girl.”
Even by my standards, it seems sick to accept praise for something like that, so I don’t bother thanking him.
“I’d better go. I have work to do.” It’s an excuse to get off the phone. I’m not sure how much longer I can be civil.
I have to do this. There’s no question in my mind. I have to at least make an effort.
And while I can’t exactly say the idea of fucking her is a hardship, the idea of hurting her in the process is another story.
23
ALICIA
Something’s up.
I feel it in the air, the way something has changed. It’s not so much in anything specific Enzo says or does. It’s more the general feeling. He’s paying more attention to me today than he normally does, but not in an angry, you’re my prisoner, so you have to do as I say kind of way. I got enough of that before to recognize it.
No, now it’s like he’s actually paying attention to me as a person, ever since yesterday, with that disastrous meeting with his grandfather. It seemed like he really cared that I was upset after all was said and done. And I’m sure more than a little bit of that has to do with the fact that this is his life, too. He’s finally starting to clue in to the fact that we’re in this together. I’m just as trapped as he is, and neither of us has to like it.
After dinner—a meal we shared together in the kitchen after he asked what kind of food I would like to order in—he makes a strange suggestion. “Why don’t you go up and take a shower? I have a little surprise for you.”
I sit and wait for the punchline, but there isn’t one. “Like, a good surprise?”
He snorts, then nods. “I think so.”
“You’re going to make me wait, aren’t you?”
He lifts a shoulder, and his mouth tugs up at the corner. “The sooner you get in the shower, the sooner you’ll find out what it is. It’s really up to you.”
Yes, something is definitely up. He’s almost cheerful and upbeat. In other words, the exact opposite of who he’s been from the beginning of this mess. What’s he going to do? Take me to his grandfather’s, so I can go through an invasive physical exam? Or maybe this is some sick, twisted lead-up to me finding out they know I’ve been lying this whole time. I’ve seen The Godfather. I know how things like this work.
As I climb the stairs because I don’t have a choice, I can’t shake the memory of Michael’s traitorous brother-in-law thinking he’s on his way to the airport when really, someone’s lying in wait for him in the car. And up until the very last moment, everyone lied to his face to make him think he was safe.
No, Enzo wouldn’t do that to me. Not that I have any ideas about him caring. I’m not that far gone. But he’s got a lot riding on this marriage arrangement, too. I don’t doubt his grandfather gave him pretty much the same ultimatum he gave me. This twisted obsession with making sure we have a baby. It’s so gross.
I try to remind myself as I’m washing up that it’s in Enzo’s best interests to protect me now. It helps me shake off the worst of my apprehension.
Not all of it. I’m still trembling and hesitant once I finish drying off, stepping out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around me. My bedroom door is open, the light on. My feet are like lead as I drag myself down the hall, forcing myself to face whatever is coming.
“There you are. That was fast, actually. I just finished laying these things out for you.” He sweeps an arm over the bed, gesturing to an outfit that wasn’t there before I got in the shower.
It’s not the outfit that catches my attention and holds it. It’s him. In the time it took me to shower, he changed into a sexy black suit with a white shirt, with the collar unbuttoned to reveal a hint of his broad, tanned chest. He looks like a million bucks, and it’s enough to take my breath away at first.
I realize he’s staring at me, waiting for me to say something while I wrestle with my hormones. “What’s this all about?” I finally murmur, prying my eyes from him so I can check out what he left for me.