Page 101 of Cherry on Top

“Yeah?” Yep, Enzo’s voice came out as a croak, but he didn’t mind. He’d do it again, in a heartbeat. Will reached down and helped him up, Enzo slumping against the tile wall.

“A perfect way to christen this shower properly,” Will said, eyes twinkling.

“You’d think so,” Enzo retorted. But he’d loved it too. Undeniably. He’d barely had to touch himself to come.

Will raised an eyebrow. And okay, clearly he’d noticed that too. “I was gonna help you out, give you some of what you gave me, but you didn’t even need it.”

“What can I say? You inspire me,” Enzo said casually. But it was more than that, and he knew Will believed it, too.

“I said it, and I meant it, you’re a miracle, Enzo Moretti,” Will said, and then he was kissing him again, fierce and wild.

Will had just wrapped a towel around his waist, believing that nothing could possibly ruin his mood, when his phone dinged in the bedroom.

“I don’t think that’s mine?” Enzo said, leaning over the vanity and spitting in the sink as he finished brushing his teeth.

“I’m gonna order some pizza,” Will said. “And I’ll check when I do that.”

“There’s only Leonardo’s, and his pies are only mediocre. But then you probably already know that,” Enzo said. He ran a hand through his wet curls. It was amazing how gorgeous he looked, even like that. Wet, Will always thought he looked a bit like a soaked golden retriever, but Enzo never did.

Will detoured into the bedroom, and when he grabbed his phone, his jaw dropped at the handful of texts.

One was from Rocco, accompanied by a picture. It clearly had been surreptitiously snapped, the interior of Rudy’s restaurant unmistakable, and sitting in the booth were Will’s parents.

Not sure what you had in mind, but I don’t think it was this, Rocco’s text said. They told everyone in the restaurant. Loudly. Multiple times.

“Shit,” Will exclaimed to himself in a low voice.

The second text was from his mom.

We were halfway to Tybee when we decided the store can wait another day. Grabbed a room in town, and spending the night here. Would love to see you for breakfast, with your fiancé! his mom had sent.

Will’s knees gave out and he collapsed to the edge of the bed.

“What is it?” Enzo said, walking in. “Is everything okay? Did Leonardo’s already close? I keep telling Luca he needs to open a decent pizza place, that stays open later. Some of us aren’t seventy years old and want to eat dinner after five.”

“I . . .you . . .us . . .” Will stammered in a strangled voice.

Enzo frowned. “What?”

Will couldn’t find his words, still, so he held out the phone. Let Enzo look at the damning evidence for himself.

“Shit,” Enzo said.

“Exactly what I said,” Will said heavily. “Your mom knows now.”

“Oh, Stud Muffin,” Enzo said mournfully, “the whole town knows now.”

Will’s knees felt even shakier. He’d been so on board with Enzo’s declaration, imagining that nobody else would find out and it would be easy enough, if things worked out, to eventually make his assertion a reality. And if they didn’t . . .well, that fact would speak for itself.

But he’d never imagined that anyone else would discover the little white lie Enzo had told.

“Has your mom called you yet?” Will asked.

Enzo glanced over at where his phone sat on the charger. It was innocuous, but his look was full of trepidation. “Once she finds out, it’s gonna blow up,” he said. Will noticed he didn’t go over to check it yet. Maybe he wasn’t ready to.

“Not just that.” Will hesitated. Realizing, in real time, that the lie he’d told his parents was not going to hold up. “She’s not going to buy the whole ‘we’ve been texting for months and I knew you were the man for me before we even met,’ because she tried that, and it didn’t work.”

That was true. That story had sufficed for Will’s parents, because they hadn’t known any differently. But Giana had been trying to force-feed Will Enzo’s phone number, and he’d never taken it.

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