Page 44 of Hexed
He frowns, and I don’t like it, so I walk over to him, then reach up and smooth out the crease between his brows before I realize what I’m doing. He stares down at me, and it’s only when our eyes lock that I realize how close we’re standing, how I just touched him without a second thought, and how my fingers are tingling to do it again.
I suck in a quick breath, my hand hanging in the air between us, frozen in space.
A throat clears, and I snap out of it, taking a giant step back, a flush creeping onto my cheeks as I glance at Scotty, who has a goofy grin on his face.
“You two gonna just stand there with stars in your eyes all night, or are we gonna go inside and get a drink?” he says.
“I’m gonna run upstairs and change, okay?” I dip my face down to hide the way touching Enzo affected me. “Go in and make yourselves comfortable.”
Enzo looks up to the second floor of the building. “What’s upstairs, the offices?”
“My apartment.”
His brows rise. “Youlivehere?”
“Yep,” I say, popping thep. “You got an issue with that?”
He shakes his head, but that line is back again, creasing between his brows. “Is it safe?”
“How many times do I have to tell you I can take care of myself before you believe me?”
I make my tone light, but he doesn’t take the bait, his brows dropping like he’s genuinely concerned for my safety. He runs a hand through his hair and tugs on the roots, sighing. “Yeah, whateva.”
I’ve realized that when he’s trying to hide an emotion, his accent gets thicker, and I wish I didn’t find it endearing, but I do.
“Okay. Whateva,” I mimic with a grin.
He chuckles, dark and husky, hitting me right between the legs. “Real cute.” And then he steps closer, because apparently invading my space is his favorite thing to do, and his gaze drops to my mouth.
My stomach tightens.
Enzo shouldn’t be looking at me like this, and I shouldn’t like it when he does.
“Yo, it’s fuckingbuggyout here. Can we go inside?” Scotty complains, smacking at his arm.
Enzo groans and runs his fingers through his hair, looking over at him. “Would you shut the fuck up?”
Scotty puts his hands up in surrender. “My bad, E. It’s not my fault mosquitoes love me. I’ve got sweet blood, you know?”
“You’ve got sweet blood,” Enzo repeats in a bland tone.
“That’s what I said.” Scotty’s eyes widen. “Imagine if vampires were real? I’d be fucked. Or maybefucked, which wouldn’t be so bad.”
Enzo cuts him a sharp look.
“What’d I do?” Scotty asks, throwing his thumb toward Enzo. “This guy, like a brother to me, but treats me like this. Can you believe it?”
“Like a brother?” Enzo laughs, pointing a finger back at him. “More like you’re mymother.Always on my ass, ever since you were a kid.”
“Well, where else am I supposed to go?” Scotty looks around, his arms out to his sides.
“Christ, goinside.”
A giggle bursts out of me, my hand slapping against my mouth to stop it, but it’s too late. It’s cute to see Enzo interact with his family, even if it is him acting like he’s annoyed. I can tell there’s love between them, and it’s charming.
It also makes a pang hit my sternum because that love is something I’ve always dreamed of having. I’ve never had that dynamic with anyone, and it’s so easy when watching them to imagine a giant table filled with laughter and lighthearted jokes. A family.
Arealone. Like you see in the movies.
