Page 32 of Humility

“Enzo,” came the male voice with just enough gravel to be sexy. “I’m one of the owners. I came to greet you and make sure you’re settled in.”

Jumping up, I didn’t even think about what I must look like as I opened the door. At least I didn’t until Enzo’s mouth fell open and he looked me up and down. I turned to stare at my reflection in the small piece of glass in the door and realized my hair looked like a bird had nested. I had dust and grime smeared all over my face, and there wasn’t a single inch of my body that wasn’t dirty.

Embarrassment flooded me as I stared at the handsome man outside my door. He had sandy wavy hair that fell messily around his eyes. His eyes were an exotic silverI’d never seen on a real-life person before. He held a small basket with plastic on it, and for the life of me, I would never understand why I held the white mouse up like it was a prize.

“I got him. He’s blind, and someone cut off his tail, I think, but I’m going to keep him, so don’t hurt him,” I rambled. “His name is Dock.”

“You named the random mouse in your house?”

“He’s not random anymore. Dock and his friends are my pets.” This argument didn’t make me sound any saner.

“Okay, well…I wanted to bring you this welcome basket,” he said, and I stepped back into the hallway.

“Come on in, let me just put Dock with his friends.” I put my pesky little roommate in the fish tank and made a mental note of all the items I needed to fix it up for them. “I made a list for you. The rent for this place is highway robbery, but I know how you can make up for it. Follow me,” I said and expected him to follow.

Not having servants at my beck and call would take some getting used to, but Enzo followed without question.

“Thank you for the basket,” I said, taking it from his hands. Our fingers brushed briefly, and a thrill ran up my spine. He smirked at me, eyes mischievous under his thick lashes, and I cleared my throat. Although I wanted to hold the basket like a shield, I set it aside and walked over to the kitchen table to pick up my long list.

“That’s the list?”

“Sorry it’s quite long, but several things need to be done around here. I don’t mind the labor. But I need supplies, and I don’t feel I should have to pay for the items when I’m bettering the property. You can rent or sell it for more in the future.” Enzo looked at the list and said nothing, but his expression was baffled. “I’m sure there will be more. This is only from the first level.”

“I see. Well, I’ll take this to the other property owners, and we will see what we can do.”

“Please do so. I want to get started tomorrow if possible.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course. There is no time like the present. Oh, do you happen to have a map of the area? I’d really like to find the grocery store. How far away is the closest town? I don’t have a car, so I hope it is close enough to walk. Darn, taking a taxi whenever I want to go to town will be expensive. I really should’ve looked into that before I decided to rent.” I blathered on like a fool, but Enzo just smiled.

“The town isn’t that far. A thirty-minute walk at most, and I have an old map at home. I can even mark an X on all the best stores. I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.”

Sighing, I smiled. “Great.”

We stood there staring at one another, not saying anything until I finally looked away. “Um, would you like a drink? I had orange juice brought in.”

“No, thank you, I’d better get going. But it was nice meeting you….” Enzo held out his hand.

I slipped my hand into his, and my body warmed with the contact. “Isabella.”

Walking Enzo to the door, I blushed as he turned around, looked at me, and smiled but didn’t say anything further.

“Thank you again,” I called out as he got into the black SUV and waved.

Closing the door, I leaned against it and fanned at my heated face and neck. Maybe everything was going to be okay after all. I now had three roommates and an extremely hot landlord. Things were looking up.

Chapter Sixteen

ENZO

Holy shit, that girl is incredible. Despite looking like she’d been dragged through the house by her hair, she was fucking hot. I really shouldn’t have put that image in my head. I’d pull her hair. She had an accent that reminded me of back home, and her smile reached into my chest, captured my beating heart, and made it race. My jeans were uncomfortable suddenly, and I needed to adjust myself.

The last two years on the run had been difficult, but we were finally on the right path. Angelo had spun his words like magic, and before you could even say real estate, we owned ten different properties that were all making money. Then, like he’d thrown fairy dust on us, we found the perfect location for the distillery, a supplier for all our other needed items, and voilà our whiskey was brewing. I didn’t really understand why Angelo called it The Genie’s Jinn when it was whiskey, but our slogan was Magic in a bottle, so it fit. More importantly, it sold like it had real magic inside. So fast, in fact, that we could hardly keep up.

On the far side of the property, I pulled into the driveway and drove down the long lane of trees that reminded me of home. My family loved having trees, and I’d helped plant the saplings that lined our property when I was just three. By the time I took off with Angelo and Dario, they were tall and shadowed the drive just like these. I wondered what they would look like if we were ever allowed to go home.

I liked it well enough here, but there was no place as sweet as home. Dario was outside smoking a cigarette when I pulled up. I couldn’t see him, but the red, glowing dot gave away his location in the shadows. I’d never met someone who could blend in with the darkness like Dario.