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I scoff, feeling the hairs at the back of my neck stand. “No, that’s what happens when you are a stalker.”
“I’m not stalking you,” he says in an almost childish whine. “It wasn’t hard. All I had to do was get your name and then go through your social media.”
“Yeah, they call stalking where I’m from,” I reply in a sassy tone.
“Hmm, I see.” He runs his hand across his jawline. “So be it, then. Who cares if I’m a stalker as long as I’m not doing so for terrible reasons.”
“Me? The person being stalked?” I state, with a slightly raised arm, looking at him with disbelief. “Or am I not allowed to have an opinion on?”
My heart pounds fast and heart in my chest despite my outward sass. I study him.
Why did he go through all this trouble just to get to me?
If all he wanted was to reprimand me for leaving him in the hotel room, he could’ve gotten the message across through Alessia or gotten my number from his private investigator. He didn’t have to come all the way here. I frown. Is this just some advanced level of pettiness? Or could this be something more?
“How dare you abandon me?” he asks suddenly, breaking the silence and pulling me away from thoughts that could lead down a rabbit hole. “Nobody has ever tried something like it before.”
Ah! Just his pride, then.
I frown despite myself. The realization isn’t a pleasant one, but one I should’ve seen from over a mile away. There’s no way he’s here because he missed me. My frown deepens. Why does this disappoint me? I should be relieved.
“Aww! Poor you,” I mock. “You need to grow up and get over it because you’re getting emotional over casual sex.”
It’s his turn to show disapproval. “I don’t do casual anymore.”
His words stun me for a second. I slap my hand on the table, laughing wildly.
“Right... of course. The playboy of the century, and you don’t do casual sex?” I stammer, disbelievingly.
“Playboy?”
“You don’t have to pretend, Enzo. Alessia has told us all about your playboy ways and the long line of women you’ve left crying in your wake. I’m not one to judge though,” I say, taking a sip of my macchiato.
I set the drink aside. In the time since he appeared, my drink has since turned lukewarm and almost unfit to drink. I debate between ordering another drink and simply walking away from the coffee shop, leaving Enzo behind, although I doubt he'll be so easily deterred.
What was a lovely afternoon in a lovely coffee shop was now a bothersome outing. Perhaps I should’ve stayed home and helped Molly with her interview for a husband.
The idea is almost as horrendous as staying here with Enzo and listening to him defend himself.
“You know what the problem is?” I ask, shooting him a glare. “Your ego cannot handle the fact unlike the other women you’ve been with, I didn’t cling to you like you hold the moon and stars. Since you have looked me up, I’m sure you’ve realized by now I don’t need you.”
His annoyance is a pleasure to behold, a masterpiece with me being its creator.
“That’s true, for the most part,” he agrees, his voice shockingly calm as opposed to his expression only seconds prior. Something about it has me on edge.
“You come from a good family with a great business,” he says and pauses. “Although you seem to have an issue with sticking to things or people for that matter. Got into MIT, not even with grants… but on scholarship so, you’re very smart. But you left before you could finish.”
I grab my coffee cup; although I have no intention of drinking from it, the solid mass gives me stability albeit a little.
“Yeah, I don’t like you looked me up,” I say, suddenly feeling nauseous.
Is it possible for him to find out the reason I chose this life?
I shake my head. Only a few people know, so there’s no way he could ever find out about it.
“Would you have told me any of these things if I’d asked?” he asks, adding as a second thought. “Nicely?”
I can never allow myself to be vulnerable, especially not with someone like him.
