Page 113 of All at Once

He fixes his posture, his voice growing deeper. “You don’t have to explain.”

I explain anyway, “I thought that I could forget about my feelings for someone else. But it turns out I can’t.”

He nods as if he already expected to hear this. “I understand. Luca talked to me earlier.”

“He did?” My brows furrow in confusion.

“Yeah. He told me everything,” Enrique confirms.

Everything?As in everything, everything?Including my lack of experience? Enrique being my first kiss? The fact thatLucaandIalmost kissed?

The knowing look in Enrique’s eyes makes it seem like the answer is yes, he knowseverything.

But now I’m confused. If he knew about my lack of experience, why would he allow things to escalate between us without addressing it?

I question, “So were you going to just let us hook up if I hadn’t stopped it just now?”

I know I initiated it, but given how important intimacy is for me and how this would have been the first time I’d basically be hooking up with someone, I feel my eyes grow a bit angry. Especially since Enrique nowknowsthat I’ve never done any of this.

If he’s hurt that I didn’t tell him, I would understand, but then again I didn’t owe him an explanation to share something this personal with him.

“That’s the thing, I’m a little confused,” Enrique replies, puzzled. “I couldn’t really tell if you liked me or not. So I thought when you kissed me like this just now that maybe it was all in my head.”

My brows furrow, wondering if I’m even hearing him correctly. “You weren’t sure ifIlikedyou?”

“Welldo you?” His gaze turns more serious.

“I did.” I feel awful for the way his eyes immediately look away when I say this. But there’s no point in not being honest now. “But I wasn’t sure ifyoulikedmethis entire time,” I reveal.

“I did like you. I thought I made it obvious. But I guess not obvious enough.” His Adam’s apple flexes as he swallows. “And I also kissed you back right now since I wanted it to beyourdecision. To decide what you want regardless of what anyone else told me.”

The frustration from a second ago dissipates after hearing his explanation, and I remember how I also have my fair share to be blamed for here.

My eyes soften, surprised to hear that he also thinks I gave him mixed signals. “I’m sorry,” I say.

“Yeah. Me too.” A trace of disappointment flickers in Enrique’s eyes, but he tries to smile. “For what it’s worth though, I’d be more pissed if it was anyone but him.”

Now I feel bad for assuming that he didn’t really care about me at all. Even though at some point I didn’t reallycareif he did. And I feel guilty for admitting that as well.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. Or come between you guys at all,” I say. “I feel terrible about it.”

He nods through pursed lips. “So you like him?”

“Yeah. I do,” I say softly.

Enrique pauses for a moment, before he gives me a bit of an awkward grin. “Well, if you need anything for the rest of your stay, just let me know.” As he walks toward the door, he adds, “And thank you again for helping with the wedding. That meant a lot to me.”

I smile at his maturity. “Were your parents pleased?”

“Yes, thank God they were.” He chuckles nervously. “And that’s not the easiest thing in the world to accomplish for me.”

“Oh I could not relate to something more deeply.” I grin, noting how Enrique always manages to return back to a cheerful mood, appreciating it even more now.

His comment almost makes me a little sad that I didn’t get to know him better. I don’t think I fully grasped how much pressure he must have been under. And the more layers I’ve managed to see of Enrique, the more I see why him and Luca are so close.

“Well I better get back to work before they take back their compliments.” Enrique scoffs. As he’s about to open the door, he turns around, and looks at me with a noticeable sincerity in his eyes. “Not to overstep here, but maybe things still have a chance at working out if you’re honest with him.”

I give him a warm nod, hoping he senses how thankful I am for his words. And how they’re exactly what I needed to hear.

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