Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83248 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
I shake my head. “No, let’s go.”
He opens the passenger door, and my eyes touch on Ciro and Nathan where they’re sitting in an SUV. I get in, and Enzo shuts the door. While he walks around the back of the car, I pull on the seat belt and clip it in place.
He slips in behind the steering wheel, the car shifting beneath his weight, and when he starts the engine, he mentions, “Dr. Milazzo is coming over at five, so we need to be home by then.”
“Okay.”
At my last checkup three days ago, I asked the doctor to bring a birth control implant with him when he comes by again.
Seeing as I’m in a relationship now, I want to be ready when we take the next step. The last thing I want is for things to get awkward, because neither of us considered birth control.
The thought of being intimate with Enzo eases some of the weight off my heart, and the corner of my mouth lifts.
Since Enzo gave me my first kiss, we now spend half the day making out. It never goes further than us removing our shirts. I’m grateful that he’s giving me time to get used to us, but honestly, I’ve been waiting years, so I feel things can move faster.
But I’m sure as hell not telling him that.
“What’s on your mind?” he suddenly asks.
“Nothing,” I blurt out too fast, which makes his eyes snap to me while he steers the Mustang toward the gates of the cemetery.
“That doesn’t sound like nothing.”
Letting out a nervous chuckle, I shake my head, then try to change the subject by saying, “I want to start looking at buildings so I can create a new fortress. The family has been left exposed for way too long, and God only knows what –’
“Stop right there,” Enzo says, his tone firmer than it was a minute ago. “There is no fucking way I’m letting you return to work yet. Everyone can manage just fine for a couple of weeks.”
“I know that,” I mutter. “But we can at least look at buildings. It will take months to get everything up and running again anyway.”
“Could you just be patient a little longer?” Enzo asks, giving me a pleading look.
Damn, he’s become next-level overprotective, so much so that he won’t even let me have my own phone.
Reluctantly, I sigh. “Fine.”
When we’re not heading toward Long Island, where Adriano lives, but into the heart of Manhattan, I frown. “Where are we going?”
“To pick up your prescription glasses. I got a call that they’re ready.”
“So soon,” I gasp. “I thought I’d have to wait another week or so.”
Dr. Milazzo arranged for an ophthalmologist to check my eyes, and after all the strain, I now need to wear glasses whenever I watch TV, read, or work.
Enzo turns into an underground parking area of a random building, and when I notice all the guards standing around belong to the Falcos, I raise an eyebrow at my boyfriend.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” He chuckles, which makes me curious as hell.
I see cars parked everywhere, recognizing most of them, and a wide smile stretches across my face. “Everyone is here? I thought we were getting together at Adriano’s?”
Enzo keeps a quiet, secretive grin tugging at his mouth as he brings the Mustang to a stop. After we get out, he takes my hand and leads me to a set of elevators.
“The building belongs to me,” Enzo says, his hand tightening around mine. “I bought it a few years ago and was going to turn it into office space, but that’s not happening anymore.”
I look up at him, my eyebrows pulling together while we wait for the elevator to open. “What do you mean?”
Enzo’s eyes lock with mine, then he says, “It’s yours now.” My lips part with surprise. “You’ll build the new fortress there, bella mia, but this time, your center of operations won’t be sitting above ground where anyone can reach you. It’ll be beneath the building, reinforced like a damn vault. Concrete, steel, blast doors, escape exits, its own air supply, everything you need to be protected.”
“Holy shit,” I gasp.
Enzo pulls me into the elevator and presses the button before he continues, “You can still run the world from behind your screens, but no one will ever get close enough to touch you again. Not unless they go through me, the family, and every wall I’m putting between you and them first.”
God, my heart.
His eyes soften on me as he cups my cheek. “But I want you to take it slow, Rosie. I won’t allow you to overwork yourself again, and every night will belong to me. Normal working hours from now on. Got it?”
I nod quickly, then throw my arms around his neck and kiss the living crap out of him.