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He considers my request and shrugs. “He’s probably in the gym room. Go up the stairs and take a left. It’s two black double doors, you can’t miss it. I’ll take this up to your room for you.”
I nod, “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
Jason leaves and I find my way to the location he described. I’m struck by how impersonal the house feels. There aren’t any pictures on the walls, no paintings. The dark paint only adds to it all. For a house that’s been lived in for probably as long as mine, it feels very cold. It kind of reminds me of Enzo himself.
Thankfully, I find the gym without running into anyone else. I push the doors open and immediately come to a stop. Enzo’s in the middle of the room, face screwed up in concentration as he lifts two large weights that if I had to guess must be double the size of my body mass. That’s not what makes me pause, though.
He’s shirtless. Sweat clings to his chest and his muscles ripple and contort as he lifts the weight. It’s inherently sexy. My mouth dries and I swallow. He hasn’t noticed me yet, which is great because it would be mortifying if he saw me caught off guard like that. I realize he doesn’t know I’m here because his ears are plugged. I move closer until I’m standing over him. His eyes widen slightly in surprise. A tiny part of me had been hoping to surprise him enough to drop the weights, but of course, that doesn’t happen.
Not that I wanted him crushed. Not really…
His mouth stretches into a smile as he maintains his grip on the weights. I step back so he can lift them back in place. He moves with ease after that, sitting up on the bench. He takes the earbuds out and looks at me. Instead of meeting his eyes, my gaze trails down his body. To the very prominent scar on his chest. It’s the only imperfection on his body—a faded scar running down from his sternum to just above his stomach.
“Hi, honey,” he greets enthusiastically.
“What happened there?” I ask, pointing at the scar, because while it might have been a little rude to ask Jason about his scar, I don’t have any qualms with regard to my future husband.
Enzo’s jaw tightens. “That’s on a need-to-know basis, Rosa,” he says, getting to his feet. “And you don’t need to know.”
I incline my head to look him in the eye. “Ten seconds. That’s how long it took before you started keeping things from me.”
When he smirks, it feels dangerous, cutting.
“You really thought I was just going to be tell you everything? That’s cute,principessa.Real cute.”
My hands curl into fists. I made a decision to at least try to make things work. Because while my brother might have made me a promise, it wouldn’t be fair to put him in such a position. I had hoped Enzo wouldn’t be such an obscure person. Maybe if he showed me something real, I could find a way to understand him. But it’s clear he has no plans to do so.
Which means we’re quite literally at a stalemate.
CHAPTER 7
Enzo
Itilt my head to the side, staring at her. Every conversation we have can’t end in a fight. That would be redundant and terribly unhelpful. I sigh, heading for the towel I left on the table. I clean off the perspiration gathered on my chest before turning to assess my future wife.
Her expression is tight and her jaw is set in a way that’s a little adorable. It’s pretty clear she’s going to continue being difficult. Which is unfortunate. I was a fool to think this would be easy. It’s not like I can force her into submission.
“How did you enjoy the drive here?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
To my surprise, she relaxes slightly. Her expression clears.
“It was fine. Jason was nice. He didn’t talk much.”
“Yeah, he tends not to with people he’s unfamiliar with,” I say. “He’s a dumbass, though. You’ll like him once you get to know him.”
“Okay, good, because your cousin hates me.”
I wince. I don’t have to ask which cousin she’s referring to.
“Can’t help you with that one, sorry. She hates me, too.”
“Why?”
I shrug. “There are a lot of reasons. If I’m being honest, none of my family members particularly like me.”
She arches an eyebrow. “Good to know.”
