Page 87 of Love to Defy You
“I’m picking you up at five to take you to the airport.”
I roll over onto my stomach. “Make it six. And I prefer pasta.” Before he can answer, I hang up the call.
The phone falls from my hand onto the bed, and I press my palms against my eyes. I don’t know if I bought myself enough time for Alek to get home, but if he finds out I’m flying to Andarusia on Enzo’s private jet, he’ll flip out.
One thing I’m good at is making a mess of things, and this is a giant clusterfuck.
I clutch my phone, staring at the screen, which says it’s five ‘till six. “Come on, Alek. Call me.”
Cars zip by on the street outside our apartment building as I stand on the sidewalk with my suitcase. The aroma of coffee entices me to go into the café and get something warm to drink, but I don’t want to risk missing Alek. I glance down the street each way, but there’s no sign of him.
A black town car pulls up to the sidewalk in front of me, and my heart sinks. Enzo steps out of the back seat of the vehiclein a gray, buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing the tattoo of the Order of Apollo on his forearm, and black slacks accentuating his trim waistline. The top three buttons on his shirt are undone, and his bronze skin peeks through the V-shaped opening.
He has a similar height and build to Alek, and even their jawlines seem chiseled from the same block of marble. That’s probably the reason a small, itty-bitty, tiny part of me finds Enzo Messina attractive. He’s a Sicilian version of Alek. Or maybe it’s because he exudes dangerous power, or that we have great banter, or the fact that I enjoy his forbidden attention.
I have eyes, and Enzo Messina is, objectively speaking, hot. A pair of female students from Weltner sit at an outdoor table at the café and stare at him as he approaches, so it’s not just me.
When he reaches me, I glance sideways at the other girls, and the jealousy marring their pretty faces makes heat race to my core.
“Good evening, Willow.” The corner of his mouth curls into a cocky smirk. “Ready?”
“Can we just... wait a minute?” I bite my lip and check both sides of the street again.
He sighs. “The ritual went longer than expected. Alek isn’t coming for another few hours.”
“Wait, what?”
“I was able to excuse myself early to catch our flight, but I just left, and everyone is still there.”
My heart sinks like a lead weight. “Are you sure?”
He raises his eyebrows. “You don’t believe me?”
“Do you want me to answer that honestly?”
That only makes him grin. “I think I know the answer to that.” Enzo slips his phone from his pocket. “I’ll call Mikhail right now if that will make you feel better?”
I fold my arms. “Go ahead.”
“He’ll answer for me.” He presses his screen, and the dial tone rings out over the speakerphone.
Mikhail answers after the first ring. “Hey, Enzo.”
He doesn’t answer me all day, but he picks up on the first ring when Enzo calls him? “You asshole!”
“Uh... who is this?” Mikhail asks.
Enzo chuckles. “Miss Baker would like an update on the condition of her precious Aleksandr. I’ll take you off speakerphone so you can speak freely.” He taps the screen and passes it off to me.
The phone is still warm from Enzo’s body heat when I press it against my ear. “Is Alek okay?”
Mikhail blows out a long breath. “I won’t lie to you, it’s been a rough weekend, but he’ll be okay. All the candidates are being released tonight.”
I won’t get to see Alek before I leave. Tears well in my eyes, but I hold them at bay with a sniff.
Mikhail’s voice softens. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back. I didn’t know how much I could say.”
“Yeah, whatever.” I shake my head. “Just tell him I’m worried about him, okay?”
