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Suddenly his lips were on mine and he was walking us backwards towards my bed. My eyes bulged in shock that he would actually try and go through with this! I shoved his chest as he stumbled back in surprise. The rage within was written all over my face.
“What?” he asked in utter confusion.
“You were actually going to do it! You were going to sleep with me?” I roared, shoving his chest again as his arms opened wide at the side in bewilderment.
“Wasn’t that the plan here? Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Nooooo!” I screamed dramatically as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. “I don’t want to sleep with you Enzo! Not now, not ever!”
“Why?” The tensed brows and creases in his forehead showed just how baffled he was by this turn of events as I grabbed a pillow off my bed, catapulting it at his head.
“Why?! How about you tell me why? How about you explain to me why it is that you don’t really want to sleep with me?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Elle,” he started, but I could already see the lie in his eyes.
“I know Enzo!”
He paused, his model-like face turning a slightly lighter shade than usual. “You know, what?”
“I know. I know the real reason you’re marrying me. I know that… I’m not your type,” I lowered my voice as I finished that sentence when I saw the genuine horror in his blue eyes. He slammed his hand over his mouth and turned his back on me.
The anger and hurt had all but disappeared when I saw his body was starting to shake and I suddenly felt awful that he felt he had no choice but to hide who he really was. Who he really wanted.
“He told you?” he whispered, the tremble in his voice tugged at my heart.
I stepped forward and put my hand on his shoulder blade tentatively.
“Finn told me everything. He loves you. And he loves me. And he is hurting.”
Enzo dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling. “Are you going to tell everyone?”
I sighed as I started stroking his back to calm him. “No. But I think you should.”
He spun around abruptly, pure fear on his face. “I can’t, Elle. I can’t. I can’t do it. Do you have any idea what it will be like for me? In this life? Being a Boss who fucks men?”
“It’s the 21st century, Enzo. And anyway, who gives a shit what people think? It is no one’s business but yours. You are the rightful Aiani Boss, gay or not!”
He chuckled as his emotions got the better of him, his eyes turning misty and walked around me, pacing the floor between my bed and ensuite. “No. You have no idea how fucking hard it will be. Yes, the LGBTQIA+ community has made significant progress in Italy, but the mafia hasn’t exactly been a safe place to explore your sexuality!”
“Well, don’t you think it’s about time we changed that?” I asked, sitting on the bed with the bottle of wine. “Enzo you have a right to be happy. To be with someone you want to be with and love.”
“We could be happy, Elle,” he dived down to his knees, grabbing my hand in his. “Please. This marriage isn’t just about keeping you safe, it’s about keeping me safe too.”
I blinked back at him, my heart aching when I saw how much fear and denial lived in his eyes. He wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to tell the world and I couldn’t force him. Now, I understood a tiny bit of how Finn must have been feeling all this time. Keeping his secret because he could see the despair in his eyes.
“But Finn…” I lifted my hand to Enzo’s face as it crippled with pain on hearing his name. “You love him?”
“I do. I hoped that he would want to continue seeing me, but he doesn’t want to love me in the dark. And that is all I can offer him. Maybe now he will change his mind. Now you know, he won't feel like he is betraying you. We could still marry and in secret we could see other people, Elle. It would be the perfect marriage,” he smiled sadly as I scoffed in disbelief, shaking my head. “Just hear me out.”
I sighed and looked down into his eyes, “Go on.”
“We get married and you are safe from Lorenzo and I am safe from being killed for who I am. We have so much respect for each other and we get on so well as friends. I would treat you well, Elle. Allow you to do whatever you liked and to the public we would look like the perfect couple. You could sleep with other men, and I could too,” he gave me a cheeky grin and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Finn said you were marrying me for an heir. You do know what that entails, Enzo?” I smirked, passing him the bottle.
He took a drink as he rolled his eyes. “There are ways to get you pregnant with my child that don’t involve us actually doing… the deed.”
“So romantic,” I replied sarcastically with a smile as he stared up at me with hope in his eyes.
