Page 68 of In Ruins
“Aria,” I remind her. “And thank you.”
“Now you go relax and put your feet up or wander around while I clean up. I’ll make dinner later and leave it in the oven for Enzo to heat up,” she tells me as she basically shoos me out of the kitchen.
“Thank you.”
I walk back through the living room and head back upstairs, intent on checking out my surroundings. There’s a library, an office, extra bedrooms, a game room, a theater room, and some other rooms that I don’t even bother checking because I start to feel a little tired.
I go back down to the living room, lie on the sofa, and watch a movie. When it’s finished, I just lie there and take a quick nap. I wake up about two hours later, a bit disoriented, before I remember exactly where I am.
“Enzo?” I call out. “Is anyone home?”
“Just me,” Dorothy says, walking into the living room. “Enzo isn’t home yet.”
“Got it. Thank you,” I tell her. “I’m going to head upstairs for a while.”
“There’s a phone in all the rooms, so you can call me by pressing one if you need anything from me while I’m still here,” she lets me know.
“Thank you,” I tell her, getting up off the chair to find something else to do since I don’t want to just sit there and wait for him like a lost puppy. Plus, I’m kind of bored now.
I decide to check out the library. I’m surprised to find some of my favorite authors’ books on the shelves. I browse all the titles to see which ones he has, then pick one I haven’t read yet.
I walk over to the oversized reading chair that’s by the window and take a seat there. The chair is so huge that I have to crawl to the center to find a comfy spot. The view from here is nothing short of amazing.
About an hour and a half later, Dorothy brings me some snacks and water before she leaves for the day, and I settle in and spend a couple of hours just getting lost in my book. That’s exactly where Enzo finds me when he comes home.
I come up for air as I feel someone watching me, and when I look up, he’s standing there by the door with his hands in his pants pocket, looking hot and fucking delicious as always. The top buttons on his shirt are open, and his tattoos peeking out make me clench my legs a little. Tattoos have always been my weakness, and seeing them on him just makes my body react like some horny teenager.Okay, yeah, I’m still a teenager, but that’s beside the point.
He’s staring at me, and I can’t take my eyes away from him either. I finally look away and realize that the sun is already setting. Huh? I didn’t even realize that so much time had passed already, which means that he spent the entire day away from me.
I don’t know why that thought makes a wave of sadness wash over me. I mean, he hasn’t said anything about our situation yet, about his thoughts on finding out I’m pregnant and he’s going to be a father. But all I want is for him to want to keep us, keep me.
I wish I could tell what he was thinking, what he was feeling, because then things would be so much easier.
“Hello,Principessa,” he says, voice low and husky.
CHAPTER 19
ENZO
The sun is setting by the time I pull into the garage of my building after leaving one of my casinos.Home at last, I think as I head for the elevator. I wonder what kind of mood my girl will be in when she sees me.
The only reason I left before she woke up this morning is that I had some important paperwork to complete and sign at the casino, while also checking up on things there, since it’s one of our big money makers and we own a few of them, not just in Chicago.Oh, who the hell am I kidding? That was not the reason at all.
Though I did have things to take care of, I could have left it for a day or two. I just wanted to get out of the penthouse for a little while, because I was still kind of pissed off when I woke up this morning.
Not at her, per se, but at the fact I just found out I’m going to be a father. Though quite unexpected, it’s actually great news. I just hate that it’s months later, I’m finding out. If I hadn’t been looking for her, if I hadn’t found her, I have a feeling I never would have known we made a baby together. I missed out on seeing her delicious body change as our little one grew.
But I’m trying to be understanding of the situation, since I know things were not great with her father. I mean, he did send her away to a damn convent just because she’s pregnant.That damn piece of shit!
I went to the office to cool down a bit because I didn’t want to stay home and pick any fights with her or say anything I’d eventually regret. I also didn’t want my firecracker to do the same, because she has a mouth on her when she’s peeved. When I really think about it, I can’t put all the blame on her because that would be unfair.
All in all, I’d say that today was productive. I used the time to cool off, so we can be civil toward one another moving forward. We are going to become parents soon, and I have to keep that at the forefront of my mind. Plus, I have to put her health and well-being above everything else.
I’ve never actually thought about becoming a parent before, but now that it’s happening, I realize that I want nothing more than that, especially with her. I want a little family, something to call my own. My business portfolio is pretty extensive, but none of it compares to the feeling of impending fatherhood. We’ve been apart for a couple of months, but she’s still the only woman ever to have me this twisted up in knots. The only one who’s ever been under my skin this much.
And of course, because someone in the universe has a sick sense of humor, it had to be a Bellucci who brought me to my knees. I’m not about to let her know that anytime soon. Don’t need her to know how much power she has over me, yet.
I step off the elevator and walk over to the front door, placing my hand on the scanner. I’m sure my girl noticed that she was locked in today and must have been mad as hell, but I’m keeping her in the apartment for her protection.
