“Jesus! You scared me!” She turned to him, anger flickering in her deep blue eyes. “What are you doing here?”
Enzo smiled seductively. “I’m working on a collaboration with Richard, remember?”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, what are you doing in the kitchen? If you want coffee, Mr. Goldman has a secretary.”
“Oh. You got me. Sexy and smart. I like that.”
Penny huffed and made to walk past him, but he stopped her. His warm hand on her waist sent hot shivers up her spine and down her legs. He was barely touching her, and her body was already trembling with desire. How frustrating!
“Are you mad at me, Penny? What have I ever done wrong? Just tell me, and I’ll do my best to fix it. I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to bother you. I just saw you come out of your office, and wanted to talk to you. I’m not here for coffee.”
The sincerity in his voice made her hesitate. She turned to look into his beautiful green eyes, and the genuine concern she saw there melted her resolve. Who knew? Maybe she was, in fact, being unfair to him. Friday night, she had freaked out because he’d asked questions about Juniper and Thorn. The interest he’d shown in them and their story had given her the creeps, so she’d called an Uber and went home without any explanation. Was it possible that she’d exaggerated? Maybe Enzo’s curiosity about the twins had nothing to do with them per se, and it was just that: curiosity.
She sighed and relaxed under his soft touch.
“No, you’ve done nothing wrong. I’m just tired, I guess.”
“Are you sure? Because you seemed quite distressed the last time we saw each other.”
She blushed. The last time they saw each other… Flashes of that night flooded her vision. Her legs wrapped around his waist, Enzo pushing her against the wall, his cock inside her, his lips on her neck… She blinked rapidly to chase the images away.
Enzo noticed her reluctance. To him, her body language was obvious. He almost didn’t need her to say anything to have his fears confirmed. He had screwed up. Asking so many details about the children Goldman had recently adopted had been a mistake. Huge mistake. Penelope was in charge of them, that much he’d figured out, and she cared about them. It was natural. So, having a complete stranger interrogate her to rudely about them had surely made her alarm bells go off. He was in too much of a hurry… Yes, time was of the essence, but he couldn’t afford any rush when the situation was so delicate. This beautiful, curvaceous woman was his only chance. Richard was impenetrable, and so was Marcia. Killian was too much like his father, Zane was away, and Carmine and Opal were clueless about what was really going on in their own house and their own family. Penelope Walton knew, however. She had to. Or, was it possible that Goldman hadn’t told her the truth about his adopted kids? Too many questions… Too many variables…
“Earth to Enzo!” Penny waved his hand in front of his eyes.
“Sorry.” He smiled charmingly.
“You went somewhere far away… Where were you?”
Shit. He had to think fast. “Home. I… I guess I miss Spain. I travel a lot, but I never stay away this long.” He was lying. He hoped to God she wouldn’t catch him.
“Huh. I’d say I get it, but the truth is I haven’t traveled much myself.”
“You’re kidding!”
Penny looked down at her coffee. “N-no. Well, I was born in the most amazing city in the world, so I’m not complaining.”
Enzo smiled indulgently. For a moment, he wanted to contradict her, but then he remembered he needed her on his side. At all cost.
“New York is impressive, I agree,” he said. “Haven’t you ever thought of visiting Europe?”
“Many times. But, you know… life got in the way… College, work…”
“Well, if you ever want to come to Spain, I’m ready to act as your guide.” He winked.
She laughed. “I don’t know. Life is pretty busy right now.”
“And it will always be.” He turned to the coffee machine and made himself a cappuccino. “It depends on you to make it less busy. You know… sort out your priorities and figure out what actually matters. For me, it was very important to have freedom and time to travel and work on any side projects that strike my fancy. So, I delegate a lot.”
Penny laughed. “Yes, but you have your own business. I don’t.”
They went into the common room, where employees could hang out when they took a break, and sat at a table by the window.
“Nothing is stopping you from having your own business, too,” he said. “Let’s see… what do you like doing? I mean, not like. Love. What do you absolutely love doing? What are you crazy about?”
She blinked in slight confusion, then took a sip of her dark, strong coffee. She couldn’t believe this man, this successful Spanish businessman, was sitting before her, asking her about her hobbies. Her own parents hadn’t asked her about what she liked since fourth grade!
“I… I don’t know. I studied Business Management in college…”
