I haven’t heard from Enzo in three days. He told me he was busy trying to find the man who attacked me, and he would see me soon. Since then he texted me a couple of times, but other than that I haven’t heard a thing from him.
Maybe he’s realized he’s over the little obsession he had with me.
Maybe he realized that I’m not good enough for him; too shy, quiet, invisible.
That would be a good thing. I don’t want to have a man stalking me, watching me as I walk home from the shadows.
I don’t want a man who’s known to be slightly crazy and involved in the Mafia.
So this is a good thing he’s disappeared without explanation.
Right?
I’m not disappointed by the fact that I’ve not heard from him.
Nope, not at all.
“You’re being ridiculous,” I mutter as I mindlessly look through the mountain of paperwork I have scattered on my desk in the office.
I’ve been hunkering down in the office for the last two days, leaving Luna to run the store while I hide away in here and avoid all human interaction.
Luna started working for me a year ago, straight out of college and knows what she’s doing so I’m not worried about leaving her on her own.
I only have two staff members, and it’s all I need. As well as Luna, there’s also Dean who works for me, though he’s currently sunning it up in Hawaii with his boyfriend.
If I’m being honest, I don’t even need to work on the shop floor because they’re perfectly capable of looking after it on their own, I just like to be out there with them rather than hiding away. I also tend to send them home early half the time because the store just doesn’t need more than one staff member at a time, and I’d be here anyways.
But the last few days have been hell. Between catching up on paperwork, worrying about the threats against me, being confused about Enzo and getting my period, I’ve found my office to be a solace rather than a lonely room.
“Where is she!?” I hear a deep voice roar from the other side of my door.
“Robyn!” the voice sounds again.
I’m just about to stand from my chair when the office door flies open and a frantic Enzo stands in the doorway, a determined expression marring his face before his eyes land on me, and they immediately soften before he heaves out a sigh of relief and his tense shoulders drop as he relaxes at the sight of me.
I have no idea what the hell is going on, all I can do is sit and gape at him.
“What are you doing back here, angel? You didn’t answer your phone, and since you’re normally out front, I panicked when you weren’t there,” he says as he steps into the room and closes the door behind him before taking a seat on the opposite side of the desk.
I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone to see I’ve got three missed calls and six unread messages all from the man sitting in front of me.
“I didn’t realize it was on silent and I’ve been working back here sorting through paperwork. I haven’t seen you for a few days, so I didn’t know if I’d even hear from you again, it’s not like we know each other very well,” I say with a shrug.
“Trust me, I’m not going anywhere,” he says with a pointed look that’s so intense I have to break the eye contact I was holding with him.
“My brother was shot and still hasn’t woken up from surgery. I’m sorry angel, I’d have been here if I could.”
A gasp catches in my throat as I stare at him in horror. I’ve been thinking that he had gotten bored with me while his brother was in the hospital after getting shot.
“Oh my god, will be he okay?”
“Don’t worry angel, he’ll be fine,” he says with a wave of his hand as if he’s not remotely worried.
“Now, I need you to get your pretty little self upstairs and pack a bag.”
“What? Why?” I ask.
“Because you’re coming to stay with me,” he says with finality.
Is he fucking crazy?
“I’m not staying at your place,” I say with a scowl.
“Robyn, I get that you don’t really know me and have no reason to trust me, but I need you to do this. I haven’t been able to find the man who threatened you, you haven’t been able to contact your brother and he’s a fucking ghost. The deadline you were given ends tomorrow, so I need you to stay at mine for a few days so I can get everything sorted out. I just want you safe, uccellina.”
“What does that word mean? You’ve called me that before,” I ask.
“Little bird,” he says with a sheepish smile that does something to my insides.
“Because of my name?”
“Nope. Not because of your name, I’ll tell you another time. Now come on angel, let’s go pack a bag.”
Yep, he’s crazy.
I can’t believe I’m here.
Seriously, how the hell did it come to this?
Oh, that’s right. After a long back and forth with Enzo, I eventually gave in and packed a bag before he brought me to his apartment.
His apartment that is directly opposite mine.
I’m pretty sure I’m losing my mind, because what other explanation is there for me to come and stay with my stalker?
Correction, what other explanation is there for me to willingly come and stay with my stalker?
Right, there isn’t one.
I’ve lost my damn mind.
But it was either stay with Enzo—the man who has done nothing but watch out for my safety for the last few months—or stay in my apartment and wait around for someone to come and hurt me, kidnap me, or kill me.
To be honest, I’m not really sure what they plan to do with me, I just know it’s nothing good.
So I guess staying with Enzo is the lesser of two evils.
Luckily, Enzo’s apartment has two bedrooms, so I get my own room. Apparently, Izzy has been staying with him for the last few days but she’s staying at the hospital until Luca is well enough to go home and then she’ll move back home with him.
Enzo tried to tell me their story, but I got kinda lost after he tried to explain how their family arranged their marriage because of a war before they fell in love and then she was kidnapped… it sounds like something out of a book you’d find on one of my shelves.
Enzo hasn’t been shy about who he or his family is, and the causal way he talked about people getting shot and cars getting blown up sort of made me freak the hell out, which is why I’ve retreated to his spare bedroom to take a serious look at my decision making.
If I thought I would be safe going back home, I’d leave and never look back. But I’m not safe, and it seems the only person who can keep me safe is the man who occupies this apartment.
The room he escorted me to is bare. There’s a bed, a nightstand and a dresser. That’s it. It’s clear that Enzo wasn’t really planning on anyone staying in this room considering the serious lack of decoration. But the plainness of the room brings me comfort. I don’t think I’d cope if this room was full of all things Enzo Romano.
I look around the room with a sigh before I flop down on the bed and close my eyes, deciding to take a nap.
I don’t get that far though, because just as I’m drifting off a knock jolts me awake and I hear Enzo calling my name from the other side of the door.
“Come in.”
The door creaks open and he walks inside as I roll onto my side to face him. His eyes darken as he takes me in, and I’d give anything to know what he’s thinking right now.
“As much as I would love to keep watching you lying on that bed, I’ve gotta go out, angel. My brother’s here to stay with you in case you need anything,” he says with a tilt of his head in a let’s go gesture.
I guess I’m meeting his brother.
